King Chlodevech and 3,000 of His Franks Are Baptized by Archbishop Remigius: December 25, 496

This text comes from our book, Hope for the Ages.

In the region north and east of Gaul, along the Rhine and Main rivers and northward to the sea, lived a Germanic people called the Franks. For centuries, they had dwelt along the Rhine in three distinct groups: the Salian (who lived near the sea), the Ripuarian (who dwelt inland along the Rhine), and the Chatti. The Franks had not been part of the great invasions of the empire, though in the mid fourth century they had moved into a region (now part of Belgium) that had been abandoned by Rome. Becoming foederati, the Franks supported the Roman legions quartered in the great fortress city of Trier. Little by little, they were influenced by Roman civilization.

Being Roman allies, however, did not keep the Franks from seizing Roman lands. By 480, they had established themselves in northeastern Gaul where they overwhelmed the Gallo-Romans living there. Gradually, these exiles of Roman civilization merged with the conquering Franks, losing their Latin tongue and their Roman culture. These helpless people did not, however, lose their Catholic faith. For, though the Franks were pagan, their relations with the Catholic clergy of Gaul were not unfriendly. This was shown when, in 481, Remigius, archbishop of Reims in northwestern Gaul, sent a letter of congratulations to the newly crowned king of the Salian Franks—a boy only 15 years old, named Chlodevech.

Remigius could not have known it, but this Chlodevech (whom history remembers as Clovis) was soon to play a pivotal role in Gaul and in the history of western Europe. For Remigius, Chlodevech and his Franks were but one—and not even the most important—power in Gaul and on its borders. Indeed, Chlodevech was not even the only Frankish king. More important to Remigius was Syagrius, a Roman count who was maintaining a remnant of Roman power in northern Gaul. Southern Gaul belonged to the Visigoths, whom Remigius would have considered a greater threat than Chlodevech on account of their Arianism.

A circa 1500 painting of the baptism of Chlodevech (Clovis)

Indeed, Remigius had no reason to think Chlodevech was anyone extraordinary. For five years, the young Frankish king ruled his lands in peace and, it seems, without ambition. Then in 486, when he was only 21, Chlodevech led his men into the Seine River valley, driving out Syagrius and taking the town of Soissons. So formidable was Chlodevech that the Visigothic king, Alaric II, to whom Syagrius had fled, delivered up the fugitive to him. Chlodevech forthwith had Syagrius beheaded. From Soissons, Chlodevech conquered all of northern Gaul to the River Loire; now, not only Soissons, but Rouen, Paris, and Remigius’ Reims belonged to the young Frankish king. Like Remigius, other Catholic bishops of northern Gaul welcomed and aided Chlodevech in securing his power over the region.

Chlodevech’s conquests brought him into contact with the Burgundians, another Germanic invader nation, to the south. The Frankish king sent ambassadors to the Burgundian king, Gundobad, asking for the hand of his niece, the princess Clotilde, in marriage. Clotilde was a devout Catholic and demanded that she be allowed to bring chaplains with her to Chlodevech’s court. Moreover, she was determined to draw her new husband into the Catholic Church—but for a long time, her efforts were fruitless. Chlodevech saw no reason to abandon the gods of his people for the God of the Romans.

It was in these years that another Germanic tribe, the Alemanni, threatened Chlodevech’s kingdom. From forth their lands along the Rhine, the Alemanni were seeking to extend their power westward, over the Vosges Mountains, into Gaul. Legend has it that, in the midst of a battle with the Alemanni, when it appeared his men would be driven from the field, Clovis at last called on Clotilde’s God, the Lord of Hosts and Judge of all battles. “O Christ Jesu,” he prayed, “I crave as suppliant your glorious aid; and if you grant me victory over these enemies, I will believe in you and be baptized in your name!” The Franks then drove the Alemanni from the field in defeat.

The Catholic King

It was Archbishop Remigius who at Reims baptized the Frankish king and 3,000 of his Franks on Christmas Day, 496. At the font, Remigius is reported to have greeted Chlodevech with stern words: “Bow your neck, Sicambrian, adore that which you have burned and burn that which you have adored.”

The consequences of Chlodevech’s conversion to the orthodox Catholic faith were most important. He was the first Germanic king who adopted the faith of his Roman subjects, who would thenceforward serve him with a loyalty no Arian Visigoth, Ostrogoth, or Vandal could ever command. The religious division of rulers from their people that was found in lands under Arian kings disappeared in Frankish lands. By his conversion, Chlodevech benefited from an alliance with the Catholic clergy of Gaul. They could give him a working organization along with their faith. Their loyalty reinforced his sword. As Bishop Avitus of Vienne declared to Chlodevech: “Your faith is our triumph. Every battle you fight is a victory for us.”

Chlodevech’s conversion moved the rest of his people to follow him. In a single generation, the old Frankish paganism disappeared, and the Franks became Catholic Christians. Sharing the same religion with the Gallo-Romans helped break down the cultural barriers between the two peoples, as did Chlodevech’s wise policy of treating Gallo Romans as equals enjoying the same privileges as his Franks. That Chlodevech was Catholic and his rule benign made, it seems, all Gallo-Romans welcome rather than dread a conquest by him.