Clotaire Ier
King of the Franks · 511-561 · born in 498, died on 29 November 561
Son of Clovis and Clotilde, Chlothar I was the last surviving son of the conqueror of Gaul. After his father’s death (511), the kingdom was divided among his four sons; Chlothar, the youngest, received the north of the Frankish kingdom. His career was a long conquest of his brothers’ shares, as they died or were eliminated.
He notably eliminated his nephews, the sons of Clodomir, and seized their territories. In 531 he subdued the Thuringians; with his brother Childebert, he took part in the conquest of the Burgundian kingdom (532-534). In 558, on the death of his brother Childebert, he once again brought the whole Frankish kingdom under his sole authority.
An energetic and brutal king, he died in 561, at Soissons. His kingdom was then divided among his four sons, including Sigebert I and Chilperic I: this new division reignited the rivalries between the Frankish kingdoms.
In the tree of power
- Era: Merovingians
- Predecessor: Clovis Ier (481-511)
- Successors: Charibert Ier (561-567), Gontran (561-592), Sigebert Ier (561-575), Chilpéric Ier (561-584)