Kingdom of Soissons (Chlothar I)

This article is about the specific polity Kingdom of Soissons (Chlothar I) and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.

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Was one of the many Frankish Teilreiche (polities emerging from the hereditary divisions of the Frankish Kingdom that repeatedly divided and reunited) of the Merovingian Dynasty. It originated with the division of the Empire at the death of King Clovis I.

Establishment

November 511: Frankish King Clovis died in Paris in 511. According to old Germanic custom, his kingdom was divided equally among his four sons. Chlothar received the Kingdom of Soissons.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. Frankish Partitions

The Frankish Kingdom was partitioned and reuinited several times as the Frankish rulers used to divide their territories equally among their heirs. This lead also to a number of wars and revolts.

1.1.Partition of the Frankish Kingdom (511)

After the death of King Clovis I, the Frankish Kingdom was divided among his four sons.

1.2.Partition of the Kingdom of Orleans

The Kingdom of Orleans (a Frankish Kingdom originated from one of the many Frankish partitions) was to be divided among the three sons of late King Chlodomer but was finally occupied and partitioned between Chlothar I and Childebert I, who were Chlodomer's brothers.

January 525: The three sons of Clodomiro, Theobald, Guntario and Clodoaldo, were entrusted to the custody of their grandmother, Saint Clotilde, and her kingdom was divided between the brothers Clotaire I and Childebert I, waiting for the legitimate heirs to come of age. But Clotaire I and Childebert I agreed to divide the kingdom and had their two eldest nephews suppressed: only Clodoald escaped the massacre and managed to hide until he was an adult, then accepting to become a monk in Novientum and thus being spared.

1.3.Conquest of Burgundy

The Burgundian kingdom was invaded and divided between the Frankish rulers.

January 535: In 532, Childebert and Chlothar seized Autun. They hunted for Godomar III, brother of Sigismund, with the help of his father and ally, the king of the Ostrogoths Theoderic the Great. The death of Athalaric, the grandson and successor of Theodoric the Great, in 534 generated a succession crisis in the Ostrogothic kingdom, the Burgundian ally. Chlothar, Theudebert, and Childebert took the opportunity to invade the Burgundian kingdom, now devoid of Ostrogothic protection. The Burgundian kingdom was overtaken and divided between the three Frankish rulers. Chlothar received Grenoble, Die and many of the neighbouring cities.

1.4.Acquisition of Metz

When the Frankish subking of Metz Theudebal died, the frankish subking Chlothar married his widow to take control of the kingdom.

January 556: Theudebald, Chlothar's great-nephew and the grandson of the late Theuderic, died childless in 555. So Chlothar immediately went to Metz to take possession of the kingdom from his late nephew, but under Salic Law he had to share it with his brother. So he married Vuldetrade, Theudebald's widow and the daughter of the Lombard king Wacho. This ensured the smooth succession to the kingdom of Great Metz, as well as an alliance with the Lombards, established since the reign of Theudebert. But the bishops condemned this incestuous marriage and forced Chlothar to divorce her. They gave her in marriage to the Bavarian Duke Garibald. To compensate for the breakdown of the marriage with Vuldetrade, Chlothar gave Chlothsind, his daughter, to the Lombard prince and future king, Alboin.

1.5.Unification of the Frankish realm (558)

On 23 December 558, Childebert, the Frankish sub-King of Paris and Orléans died childless after a long illness. This allowed Chlothar, who ruled all other Frankish territories, to reunite the Greater Frankish Kingdom.

December 558: Childebert and Chlothar were sons of King Clovis I of the Franks. Chlothar took advantage of his brother's death in 558 to reunite the Greater Frankish Kingdom and consolidate power by seizing his brother's treasure. This event solidified Chlothar's control over the kingdom.

2. Conquest of Thuringia

Was the Frankish invasion and conquest of the Kingdom of the Thuringians.

January 532: In 531 Hermanafrid, king of the Thuringians, promised to give Chlothar's half-brother, Theuderic, part of the Kingdom of Thuringia if he would help to depose Baderic, Hermanafrid's rival and brother. Theuderic accepted. However he appealed to Chlothar to continue the war. Hermanafrid died around this time, and the goal became simply to conquer Thuringia. The alliance, along with the aid of his nephew Theudebert I, conquered Thuringia, and it became a part of the Frankish domain. During the division of the spoils, Chlothar and Theuderic argued fiercely over the hand of Princess Radegund, but eventually Chlothar won the dispute on the grounds that it had been his men who had captured her.

3. Origin of the Kingdom of the Saxons

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century the Old Saxons who remained in Germania were loosely associated with the Merovingian kingdom of Franks, but practically remained independent and maintained their old pagan religion.

January 532: After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century the Old Saxons who remained in Germania were loosely associated within a confederation. Hadugato was the first documented duke of the Saxons.

4. Military campaign of Clothar and Childebert against the Visigoths

A military campaign by Frankish subkings Clothar I and Childebert against the Visigoths in northern Spain.

January 542: In 541, the Frankish kings Clothar I and Childebert I attacked the Visigothic kingdom in Gascony, besieging Pamplona and Zaragoza for forty-nine days. However, they were ultimately repulsed by the Visigothic forces.

February 542: In 542, Gascony was invaded by the Frankish kings Clothar I and Childebert I, who besieged Pamplona and Zaragoza for 49 days. The territory eventually fell under the Kingdom of the Visigoths after the failed invasion.

5. Frankish-Visigothic War

In spring 542, Childebert and Chlothar, accompanied by three of his sons, led an army into Visigoth Hispania. They seized Pamplona and Zaragoza but were finally forced to abandon after conquering most of the country.

June 542: In spring 542, Childebert and Chlothar I, kings of the Kingdom of Soissons, led an army into Visigoth Hispania. They seized Pamplona and Zaragoza but were forced to abandon most of the country. They were ceded some lands beyond the Pyrénées by the Visigoth king Theudis.

July 542: In spring 542, the Frankish kings Childebert and Chlothar, along with their sons, invaded Visigoth Hispania, capturing Pamplona and Zaragoza. However, they were eventually forced to retreat. Due to the Visigoth king's army being occupied elsewhere, they were able to secure some territories beyond the Pyrénées.

6. War with the Saxons

Was a war between Frankish subking Chlothar and the Saxons.

January 556: Between 555 and 556, the Saxons revolted again, perhaps instigated by Childebert. Faced with the Saxon revolt and threat of a massacre, Chlothar preferred peace talks. He offered to forego battle if they would accept his demand to continue to pay him tribute, despite a previous rejection. But his men, aggressive, eager for battle, contested the decision.

February 556: After an incredibly bloody battle, the Saxons and Franks made peace.

7. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

January 552: In surviving records, the Bavarian name was first mentioned historically by the Franks in a list of peoples, prepared in c. 520 AD. The first document that also describes their location (east of the Swabians) is the History of the Goths by the historian Jordanes dating from 551 AD. Probably the Bavarians invaded Austria and southeastern Germany at the time of the Gothic-Byzantine wars.