Childerich I.

Copy of a lost signet ring with the image of Childerich and the inscription CHILDIRICI REGIS ("[possession] des rex Childerich")

Childerich I. († 481 or 482 ), also called Childerich von Tournai , was the first historically verifiable Frankish small king or rex from the Merovingian family . He established his rule in northeastern Gaul in the 460s and 470s , while the western Roman administrative order there gradually collapsed. He laid the foundation stone for the rise of the later Frankish Empire under his son and successor Clovis I. Childerich was buried with rich gifts in a grave in Tournai, which was discovered in 1653.

Life

Starting point and beginnings

Childerich's life and rulership can only be reconstructed in outline due to the problematic sources. Several points are unclear or controversial, including his alleged “exile”, the legal framework of his power (was he already a regular king or rather a warlord ?) And his relationship with the last Western Roman commanders in Gaul.

Approximate area of ​​the Salfranken in the Belgica Secunda at the time of Childerich

Rhine Franconia

Alemanni

The political situation in Gaul was confused in the 60s of the 5th century: the central government of western Rome had lost control over large parts of the empire in the course of the last few years and was only able to intervene conditionally in southern Gaul. The power vacuum was filled by the leaders of the foederati (warrior groups allied with Rome under their own commanders). The Visigoths sat in southwestern Gaul, and the Burgundians in the southeast . In northern Gaul, which was increasingly slipping away from the control of western Rome , the Roman army master Aegidius , after falling out with the western Roman government in Ravenna led by Ricimer , established his own domain in the area around Soissons in 462/63 . In the northeast of Gaul and on the Rhine, the Franks also expanded their sphere of influence. At this time Childerich was apparently leading parts of the Salfranken , a Franconian association west of the Rhine, which served as a Roman foederati in Gaul in the late late antiquity . The Salfranken took advantage of the collapse of Roman power in Gaul and expanded. Several Roman civitates were captured and formed Franconian rulers.

Childerich is documented for the first time as a Sal-Franconian ruler in 463. According to the Liber Historiae Francorum , which was only created around 727, he is said to have ruled for 24 years and therefore would have led his association since 457/58, but this information is not very reliable. He is said to have been the son and successor of Merowech , a Frankish leader in the area of ​​the town of Tournai, which seems to have fallen to the Franks early on. Childerich's wife Basena (Basina) was of Thuringian origin; the stories about her marriage to Childerich, however, have fabulous features. With her Childerich had a son, Clovis († 511), and three daughters: Audofleda († after 526), ​​Albofleda and Lantechilde.

In fact, nothing is known about Childerich's life before 463. In the Fredegar Chronicle (7th century) there is a short story according to which he and his mother were kidnapped by the Huns and freed again, but this is hardly credible.

Deposition and exile

The historian Gregor von Tours reports that Childerich was deposed by the federated Franks during his reign, but was later reinstated. According to Gregors, this event took place as follows: Childerich gave himself up to fornication and abused the Franconian daughters. Thereupon he was ousted by the Franks. When he found out that they were trying to kill him because of that, he fled to Thuringia. The Franks raised the Roman army master Aegidius to their rex . Aegidius led them for eight years. Then Childerich was recalled from his Thuringian exile and reinstated. Later, Basena came to him from Thuringia, the wife of the Thuringian king whom he had met there. She left her husband to connect with Childerich. According to Gregor, the reason she referred to Childerich's supposedly special abilities:

“I know your ability and know that you are very brave, that's why I came to live with you. For if I had known a man on the other side of the sea who was more capable than you, I would certainly have endeavored to live with him. "

Gregor's narrative regarding Childerich's exile shows obvious fabulous features, but research often assumes that it has a historical core, which, however, has been distorted in Gregor's version. What this consists of is controversial. It is likely that Basena actually came from Thuringia and was perhaps even of royal origin. Before her connection with Childerich, however, she was hardly the wife of the Thuringian king Bisinus , who ruled around 500 and was married to a Longobard named Menia . Presumably there is simply a mix-up with Gregor. Childerich's temporary presence at the Thüringerhof on the right bank of the Rhine and thus a relatively close connection is possible even without being exiled. In the research, Gregor's statement about the location of the Thuringians in Childerich's time and that his son and successor Clovis I (around 492) is said to have warred and subjugated the Thoringi , whose possible west Rhine empire had existed largely autonomously until then and not with the Central German, is controversial Thuringian Empire is to be confused.

The role of the Roman Aegidius as rex der Franken also appears problematic . The process is of constitutional importance. The question arises whether it was possible in the 5th century for the Franks to depose their leader or king by exercising a right of resistance , so that the dynasty also left and submitted to a person of foreign origin. The answer that is given depends directly on how one understands Childerich's position: was he already, like the later Merovingians, a real king who was dynastically legitimized (as especially the older research assumed), or was he just the elected leader of one Warrior Association? Among other things, the following interpretations were suggested:

• Eduard Hubrich and Reinhard Schneider believed that Childerich's dismissal showed that the free Franks' right to vote at that time was more important than the Merovingian royal family's claim to rule. The election of the Roman as king was possible because the Ostrogoths had still intended in 540 to elevate a Roman, the Eastern Roman army master Belisarius , to their ruler (which other researchers doubt, however). Thus Aegidius was actually king of the Franks.
• Heike Grahn-Hoek said that although the Franks deposed Childerich, they did not leave the dynasty, but only subordinated themselves militarily to the Roman Aegidius and remained kingship until Childerich's return. After all, they (ie the people, not a class of aristocracy) could depose and reinstall a king according to their will, whereby only his suitability or unsuitability was the criterion.
• Eugen Ewig considered Childerich's exile to be unhistorical; He said that the legend was only linked to the fact that the Salfranken, as foederati, were temporarily under the command of Aegidius.
• Konrad Bund considered the deposition and the exile of King Childerichs historical, but believes that the motive given (fornication) was a legendary ornament and the actual background was political.
• Guy Halsall assumes that the report should be understood in such a way that the Merovingian Childerich, in his function as commander of the western Roman troops in northern Gaul, which largely consisted of Franks, was temporarily ousted by his rival, the magister militum Aegidius. During the migration period, the expression rex not only referred to a real "king", but also to military leaders who were elected by their troops themselves. According to Halsall, it was not a question of kingship over the Franks (who at that time were not even united under a single monarch), but rather to control the remaining imperial army in the Soissons area. Gregory von Tours, who was already used to the Frankish monarchy, later no longer understood this and therefore anachronistically redesigned what his sources reported.
• Matthias Becher refers to the alliance between Childerich and Aegidius (if it really existed in the form, see below); this or the presence of former troops of Aegidius in Childerich's army is a possible real core of the story. Aegidius could also have exerted an unusually strong influence on the Franconian Federation for some time.

Relationship with the Gallo-Romans

Childerich of Roman Gaul acted in the final stages appear as a manager (administrator) of the Roman province of Belgica Secunda , where he also military commander (dux) was. In a later letter from the Gallo-Roman Bishop Remigius of Reims to Childerich's son and successor Clovis, he is addressed accordingly:

“We got a loud announcement that you have taken over the administration of Belgica secunda. It is not surprising that you are beginning to be like your ancestors always have been. "

In individual cases it is not always clear whether Childerich acted as a Roman commander or as a Frankish leader or king; It is very likely that both roles increasingly merged, especially since such a double role was not atypical for the Federation leaders of the time. Ultimately, it was not the formal powers that were decisive, but the real balance of power and thus Childerich's military resources. Although Childeric was not a Christian, Remigius' letter indicates good contacts with the Gallo-Roman leadership and clergy in this region.

Most modern representations emphasize Childerich's close collaboration with the last Roman or Gallo-Roman commanders in northern Gaul, but this assumption is based on a thoroughly contestable interpretation of the relatively few sources. In 463 Childerich fought victoriously against the Visigoths near Orléans . Perhaps this happened under the command of the army master Aegidius , but it is also possible that Aegidius and Childerich were opponents at the time and not, as is usually assumed, close allies. If both were opponents or at least rivals, it is also unclear whether Childerich fought Aegidius on his own account or on behalf of the Western Roman government. Aegidius died in 464/65 and Childerich probably gained new room for maneuver in the period that followed.

Probably in the year 469, a second advance by the Visigoths was stopped by Roman troops and Franks under the command of the otherwise unknown comes Paulus . Paul fell at the relief of the city of Angers , which was attacked by Saxon plunderers under Adovacrius ; Childerich was then able to take the city:

“Then Paul, the Roman commander, attacked the Goths with the Romans and Franks and made rich booty. But when Adovacrius came to Angers, King Childeric appeared the next day and, after Paul was killed, won the city. That day the church house went up in flames. "

It must again remain open whether Childerich was previously under Paulus (perhaps a successor to Aegidius, but this cannot be proven) or allied, which is often assumed, or whether the Franconian acted on his own account. The common notion that Childerich was a close ally of the Gallo-Romans is based primarily on the interpretation that he fought together with Aegidius in the Battle of Orléans in 463, but this cannot be clearly established due to different sources. The relationship to Aegidius' son, Syagrius , is also unclear due to the sparse sources . Childerich may have supported him, but there may already have been tensions between the Salfranken and the Gallo-Roman special empire that Aegidius had created in the Soissons area and that was held under Syagrius until 486/87.

Shortly after the Battle of Angers in 469/70, Gallo-Roman troops, probably in alliance with Childerich, but in any case in cooperation with Frankish troops, succeeded in driving out the Saxons who had established themselves at the Loire estuary . In research, attempts are sometimes made to connect the Saxon leader Adovacrius with the Odovacrius mentioned shortly afterwards in the report of Gregory of Tours , but this is controversial. Both passages in Gregor's text ( Historiae 2,18 f.) Are very likely based on the same source, which is now lost, the so-called Annals of Angers . Odovacrius is usually equated with Odoacer , who deposed the last Western Roman emperor in Italy in 476 and ruled there until 493. In any case, Childerich concluded an alliance with Odovacrius against Alemanni (perhaps also meaning Alans ) who had advanced into Gaul, but no details are known.

The last few years

Gaul when Childeric I died in 481. However, the exact extent of the Syagrius Empire and the Frankish territories is uncertain.

Childerich's area of ​​influence was not too extensive, it was largely limited to northern Gaul as far as the Loire. The Loire region seems to have been the area where Childerich mainly operated until at least 470. The main reason may have been the continued sufficient resources in this region, where the main areas of influence of Aegidius and later Syagrius were and where there had been repeated fighting, such as with the Saxon looters under Adovacrius.

Childerich also tried to gain influence in the Paris area , but in the end he did not have lasting success here. This is probably alluded to by the legendarily decorated reports in the Vita of Genoveva of Paris from around 520 . According to this, Childerich has besieged Paris for ten years, which is probably an allusion to the legendary siege of Troy . Childerich may have blocked the city in the course of his campaigns in the Paris basin. Genoveva appears to have come into contact with Childerich. It may have been able to mediate successfully, but no details have survived.

Otherwise Childerich is no longer mentioned in the sources after 469/70. It can be assumed that he had to contend with the increased and successful expansion of the Visigoths under King Eurich in the 470s . In this context, it is possible that Childerich restricted his rule to the core area of ​​Tournai and used this area as a retreat, after he had previously always operated further south. Childerich does not seem to have become active in the Loire region after 470, at least there is nothing to do with this in the sources. Some researchers, however, regard him as the most important power factor north of the Loire until his death.

Childerich died in 481/2. His son Clovis followed him in the sense of an army king as rex of his troops (which were no longer part of a Roman army association) and on the other hand as administrator (here still based on known Roman statehood) of the province of Belgica secunda . In Tournai Childerich was buried with the insignia of a Roman officer, dressed in the paludamentum (a pompous coat of high Roman officers) and with other rich accessories. Last but not least, such a magnificent burial was of great symbolic importance; it indicates both the prestige of the deceased and the memory cultivation pursued by the successor. Clovis was able to symbolically underline that the Merovingians wanted to continue to play an important political role in Gaul and at the same time still belonged to the Roman Empire . The later actions of Clovis show that he was very ambitious.

Position and importance of Childerich

In his dual role as Franconian prince and Roman commander, Childerich was still fully in the tradition of the late Roman military aristocracy of Gaul and based his power on the former Roman armaments factories ( fabricae ) still operating in his residence Tournai, which was a considerable advantage. There was also the seat of his military and civil governorship, to which the term administratio used by Bishop Remigius refers. This bundling of political and military powers was atypical for a federal commander in chief and indicates the quite important position of Childerich. This position may have been formally legitimized by a Roman official. It is often assumed that as the Roman district commander he enjoyed a higher authority than other federal leaders. Childerich's rise to power took place as part of the process of dissolving Roman rule in Gaul, but not in open confrontation with the empire. He should be classified as “a leader of a late Roman army in the service of Rome, who rose to become the military and civil administrator of the province of Belgica Secunda”.

Sometimes it is also assumed that Childerich formally submitted to the Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople at an early stage and was financially supported by him. The coin finds in his grave indicate at least certain contacts with the (Eastern) Roman imperial court, although much remains unclear, because the money can also have flowed indirectly to Childerich and not necessarily in the form of official Eastern Roman aid payments. Although the exact relationship between Childerich / Chlodwig and Aegidius / Syagrius must remain open, a competitive relationship between Franks and Gallo-Romans in the crumbling western Roman Gaul can be assumed. In recent research it has been plausibly assumed that Aegidius and Childerich had for years rivals for control of the remains of the western Roman army in Gaul (the exercitus Gallicanus ); as Childeric and Clovis were ultimately able to prevail against Aegidius and his son Syagrius in this conflict, they would have laid the decisive basis for the success of the Merovingians.

Childerich was a not insignificant Frankish army king (or, according to more recent interpretations, a warlord ) who apparently maintained good relations with the Gallo-Roman elite and used the troubled situation in Gaul in his favor. He managed to consolidate his own position of power in Gaul as a whole, especially after the death of Aegidius. On this basis, his son Clovis was able to build up and create the most important Romance-Germanic successor empire in the West.

swell

In several historical works of the late 5th / early 6th century, the events in Gaul in the 460s and 470s are addressed, for example in the Chronicle of Hydatius von Aquae Flaviae , the Gallic Chronicle of 511 and Marius von Avenches , but this only very close. Childerich is partly not mentioned by name, so that only assumptions about a reference to him are possible. Also of importance are the letters and poems of Sidonius Apollinaris and the letter from Bishop Remigius of Reims to Childerich's son and successor Clovis on the occasion of his assumption of government. The main source, however, is the report of Gregory of Tours in the second book of his histories (Historiae) . This part (the first four books) was written around 575, partly on the basis of older models such as the so-called Annals of Angers . Later early medieval sources are often dependent on Gregory. Some additional information, such as in the Liber Historiae Francorum from the early 8th century or in Merovingian saints' lives, is not without problems.

The most important non-written source are the finds from Childerich's grave, although only small remains of them have survived today.

The Childerich tomb

Received grave goods from Childerich (gold bees)

Decorative elements set with garnet stones from the scabbard and handle of the short sword (sax)

Childerich's grave was discovered by a worker on May 27, 1653 during excavation work to build a hospice near the Saint-Brice church in Tournai ( Hainaut province ) in what was then the Spanish Netherlands (now in Belgium ). The grave contained splendid additions of weapons such as spathe , sax , lance , Franziska and shield hump , as well as valuable jewelry such as a golden onion button fibula, a golden arm ring and several gold and silver coins. The last gold minting of the coins dates from the time of the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno . The spathe handle, parts of the sax case as well as numerous buckles and applications were made of gold and decorated with extensive cloisonné and almandine decorations. Allegedly about 300 golden bee-shaped pendants are said to have belonged to a brocade coat . The grave could be clearly identified through a signet ring with a stylized portrait and the inscription CHILDIRICI REGIS. Thus Childerich is also the first historically absolutely certain Merovingian, as his predecessors are only documented in a few narrative sources.

The doctor and antiquarian Jean Jacques Chiflet (1588–1673) examined and described the grave goods with extraordinary care, had copperplate engravings made of them and published them in 1655 in his work Anastasis Childerici I. Francorum regis in Latin. In the context of the clashes between France and the House of Habsburg at the time, Chiflet took a pro-Habsburg stance and denied the French kings' claim to be descendants of the Merovingians. The then governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm , took the treasure with him to Vienna after he stepped down from office. In 1665 it went to Paris as a gift to the French King Louis XIV , as thanks for French support against the Turks. There the treasure was kept in the Royal Library, later the French National Library. After the French Revolution showed Napoleon Bonaparte so impressed with the treasure that he as heraldic symbol on the former site of the Childerich Bees Bourbons - Lily continued. On the night of November 5th to 6th, 1831, the treasure and some other valuable objects were stolen from the National Library. The thieves melted down some of their loot. Only a fraction of the Childerich treasure, including two of the bees, could be found again. Of the many grave goods that the grave contained, only a few original pieces have survived. Chiflet's detailed illustrations, his extensive descriptions and some reproductions from Vienna make it possible to reconstruct the appearance and size of the grave goods.

During new excavations in the 1980s, additional graves were found that belong to a Franconian cemetery. The remains of several sacrificed horses without harness were also found at a distance of 15 to 20 m from the presumed position of Childerich's grave. They are dated to the late 5th century and are attributed to Childerich. This is interpreted as evidence that Childeric was not Christianized , which is also indicated by the other grave goods. More precise statements about the pagan religion of the Merovingian are hardly possible. The horse graves may indicate influences from the Thuringian Empire, but otherwise they were unusual among the Franks.

The grave belongs to a small group of rich princely graves from the migration period . It is the only rich grave find from this period that can be dated more precisely and can also be assigned to a historical person. The signet ring and the Roman official clothing indicate the intention to convey a Roman character despite the "barbaric" burial form. The equipment therefore shows Childerich's dual role as a Frankish army king and late Roman commander. The gifts were supposed to testify to the power and prestige of the deceased and thus had a symbolic meaning that should not be underestimated. However, it is controversial in recent research whether all finds can only be assigned to Childerich or whether there were other grave groups. The historical classification of the grave finds is also discussed: If the finds are only related to Childerich's residence Tournai, he appears more like a limited acting “Civita King”; on the other hand, they can also be classified in the overall historical context of a Roman commander operating on a larger scale.

literature

• Matthias Becher : Clovis I. The rise of the Merovingians and the end of the ancient world. CH Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-61370-8 , pp. 123-138.
• Reinhard Wenskus , Kurt Böhner :  Childerich von Tournai. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 4, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1981, ISBN 3-11-006513-4 , pp. 440-460.
• Guy Halsall: Childeric's grave, Clovis' succession, and the origins of the Merovingian kingdom . In: Ralph W. Mathisen, Danuta Shanzer (Ed.): Society and culture in late antique Gaul. Revisiting the sources. Ashgate Books, Aldershot 2001, ISBN 0-7546-0624-4 , pp. 116-133 (with a controversial reinterpretation of some details).
• Stéphane Lebecq: The two faces of King Childeric: History, archeology, historiography. In: Walter Pohl , Maximilianhabenberger (ed.): Integration and rule. Ethnic identities and social organization in the early Middle Ages (= Austrian Academy of Sciences. Philosophical-historical class. Memoranda. 301 = Research on the history of the Middle Ages. 3). Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-7001-3040-6 , pp. 119-132.
• Ulrich Nonn : The Franks (= Kohlhammer Urban pocket books. Vol. 579). Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-17-017814-4 , especially p. 97 ff.
• Sebastian Scholz : The Merovingians. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-17-022507-7 , pp. 30–34.
• Karl Ferdinand Werner : The origins of France up to the year 1000 (= history of France. Vol. 1). Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-421-06451-2 , especially p. 301 ff.
• Erich Zöllner : History of the Franks up to the middle of the sixth century. CH Beck, Munich 1970, ISBN 3-406-02211-1 , especially pp. 39-43.

Web links

Commons : Childerich I.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ↑ For details see Penny MacGeorge: Late Roman Warlords . Oxford 2002, p. 71 ff. In general, see also Henning Börm: Westrom. From Honorius to Justinian . Stuttgart 2013, p. 94 ff .; Guy Halsall: Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West . Cambridge 2007, p. 266 ff .; Karl Ferdinand Werner: The origins of France up to the year 1000. Stuttgart 1989, p. 296 ff.
2. ↑ Overview in Eugen Ewig : The Franks and Rome (3rd – 5th centuries). An attempt at an overview . In: Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter 71, 2007, pp. 1–42, especially pp. 33 ff.
3. ^ Liber historiae Francorum cap. 9.
4. ↑ Skeptical among others Erich Zöllner: History of the Franks up to the middle of the sixth century. Munich 1970, p. 39; Matthias Becher: Clovis I. The rise of the Merovingians and the end of the ancient world . Munich 2011, p. 123 f., However, accepts this.
5. ↑ See Erich Zöllner: History of the Franks up to the middle of the sixth century. Munich 1970, p. 42.
6. ^ Matthias Becher: Clovis I. The rise of the Merovingians and the end of the ancient world . Munich 2011, pp. 124–126.
7. ↑ Fredegar 3:11. Since the narrative has novel-like features, it is mostly ignored in research. Compare, however, Matthias Becher: Clovis I. The rise of the Merovingians and the end of the ancient world . Munich 2011, p. 120 f.
8. ^ Gregory of Tours, Historiae 2.12. Research has doubted Basena's identity with the Thuringian queen, see Stéphane Lebecq: The two faces of King Childeric: History, archeology, historiography. In: Walter Pohl, Maximilianhabenberger (ed.): Integration and rule. Vienna 2002, pp. 119–132, here p. 120.
9. ^ Gregory of Tours, Historiae 2.12. Translation after Rudolf Buchner.
10. ↑ Cf. Eugen Ewig: The naming of the oldest Franconian kings and the Merovingian royal family . In: Francia 18/1, 1991, p. 21 ff., Here p. 49.
11. ↑ Eugen Ewig: The Franks and Rome (3rd – 5th centuries). An attempt at an overview . In: Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter 71, 2007, pp. 1–42, here p. 34.
12. ↑ Gregor, Historiae 2,27: Nam decimo regni sui anno Thoringis bellum intulit eosdemque suis diccionibus subiugavit. See e.g. B. Heike Grahn-Hoek: Was there a Thuringian empire on the left bank of the Rhine before 531? In: Journal of the Association for Thuringian History 55, 2001, pp. 15–55, especially p. 26 ff.
13. ^ Eduard Hubrich: Franconian electoral and hereditary kingship during the Merovingian period . Königsberg 1889, p. 8; Reinhard Schneider: Election and elevation of the king in the early Middle Ages . Stuttgart 1972, pp. 67-69. The only source for the events of 540 is Prokopios of Caesarea ( Histories 6.29 f.). According to recent research, Belisarius 540 should not be raised to the rank of Gothic king, but to the new Western Roman emperor; see. z. B. Henning Börm: The Western Roman Empire after 476 , in: Josef Wiesehöfer et al. (Ed.): Monumentum et instrumentum inscriptum . Stuttgart 2008, here pp. 56–59.
14. ^ Heike Grahn-Hoek: The Franconian upper class in the 6th century . Sigmaringen 1976, pp. 134-137.
15. ↑ Eugen Ewig: The naming of the oldest Franconian kings and in the Merovingian royal house . In: Francia 18/1, 1991, here p. 49; see. also Eugen Ewig: The Franks and Rome (3rd – 5th centuries). An attempt at an overview . In: Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter 71, 2007, pp. 1–42, here p. 34.
16. ^ Konrad Bund: overthrow and deposition of rulers in the early Middle Ages . Bonn 1979, pp. 236-239.
17. ↑ Guy Halsall: Childeric's grave, Clovis' succession, and the origins of the Merovingian kingdom . In: Ralph W. Mathisen, Danuta Shanzer (Ed.): Society and culture in late antique Gaul. Revisiting the sources . Aldershot 2001, pp. 116-133, especially pp. 123 ff.
18. ^ Matthias Becher: Clovis I. The rise of the Merovingians and the end of the ancient world . Munich 2011, pp. 124–127.
19. ↑ Epistolae Austrasicae . MGH Epp. III. Berlin 1892, No. 2, p. 113.
20. ^ Translation of Erich Zöllner: History of the Franks up to the middle of the sixth century. Munich 1970, p. 45.
21. ↑ See also Erich Zöllner: History of the Franks up to the middle of the sixth century. Munich 1970, p. 43.
22. ↑ Beginning with Wilhelm Junghans: The story of the Frankish kings Childerich and Chlodovech . Göttingen 1857, this view has largely prevailed. See e.g. B. only Eugen Ewig: The Merovingians and the Franconian Empire . 5th updated edition. Stuttgart 2006, p. 16 f .; Friedrich Prinz: European Basics 4. – 8. Century . In: Gebhardt. Handbook of German History . Volume 1. 10th edition. Stuttgart 2004, p. 291.
23. ↑ See also David Frye: Aegidius, Childeric, Odovacer and Paul. In: Nottingham Medieval Studies 36, 1992, pp. 1-14. See also Guy Halsall: Childeric's grave, Clovis' succession, and the origins of the Merovingian kingdom . In: Ralph W. Mathisen, Danuta Shanzer (Ed.): Society and culture in late antique Gaul. Revisiting the sources . Aldershot 2001, pp. 116-133.
24. ↑ See David Frye: Aegidius, Childeric, Odovacer and Paul. In: Nottingham Medieval Studies 36, 1992, pp. 1–14, here p. 13 f.
25. ↑ Gregory of Tours, Historiae 2,18; Translation after Rudolf Buchner (slightly modified [instead of Adovaker the original Latin form]).
26. ↑ For more details see the argumentation by David Frye: Aegidius, Childeric, Odovacer and Paul. In: Nottingham Medieval Studies 36, 1992, pp. 1-14, especially pp. 11 ff.
27. ↑ David Frye: Aegidius, Childeric, Odovacer and Paul. In: Nottingham Medieval Studies 36, 1992, pp. 1–14, here pp. 6–8 and p. 13.
28. ↑ See generally Edward James: The Franks . Oxford 1988, p. 64 ff.
29. ↑ Alexander Demandt pleads for the equation of Adovacrius with Odovacrius / Odoaker : Die Spätantike . 2nd edition, Munich 2007, p. 212 and note 70; however, u. a. Guy Halsall: Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West . Cambridge 2007, pp. 270f .; Penny MacGeorge: Late Roman Warlords . Oxford 2002, p. 102 ff .; Stéphane Lebecq: The two faces of King Childeric: History, archeology, historiography. In: Walter Pohl, Maximilianhabenberger (ed.): Integration and rule. Vienna 2002, pp. 119–132, here p. 121. According to text-critical investigations by Fredegar , who always passed down the spelling of the Eastern Roman Skiren and that of the Saxon Führer appearing in Angers without any literal deviations and thus clearly distinguishable, Ulrich Nonn sees no evidence for equating them (Ulrich Nonn: Die Franken. Stuttgart 2010, p. 103), which Herwig Wolfram considers a “prosopographical relationship mania” (cf. article Odowakar in Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde , Volume 21, here p. 574).
30. ↑ Erich Zöllner: History of the Franks up to the middle of the sixth century. Munich 1970, p. 39 f., Note 10.
31. ^ Gregory of Tours, Historiae 2.19.
32. ^ Matthias Becher: Clovis I. The rise of the Merovingians and the end of the ancient world . Munich 2011, p. 129 f.
33. ↑ Cf. Matthias Becher: Chlodwig I. The rise of the Merovingians and the end of the ancient world . Munich 2011, p. 131 f.
34. ↑ Guy Halsall: Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376-568 . Cambridge 2007, p. 270; see. also Edward James: The Franks . Oxford 1988, p. 75.
35. ↑ On the dating see Bruno Krusch: Computationes et adnotationes , in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica , Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum Vol. 7, Hannover 1920, p. 486.
36. ↑ Cf. Mischa Meier: History of the migration of people. Europe, Asia and Africa from the 3rd to the 8th centuries. Munich 2019, p. 600.
37. ^ Eugen Ewig: The Merovingians and the Franconian Empire . 5th updated edition. Stuttgart 2006, p. 17.
38. ↑ Guido M. Berndt: The rex Francorum Childerich, the restructuring of power in Gaul and a grave in Tournai. Evidence of a change of religion. In: N. Krohn, S. Ristow (Ed.): Change of religions - religion of change. Conference contributions of the Working Group on Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages 5. Religion in Archaeological Findings (Studies on Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages 4). Hamburg 2012, pp. 167–192, here p. 176.
39. ↑ Cf. Patrick J. Geary : The Merovingians . Munich 2004, p. 87.
40. ↑ Cf. Eugen Ewig: The Franks and Rome (3rd – 5th centuries). An attempt at an overview . In: Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter 71, 2007, pp. 1–42, here p. 36.
41. ↑ See Guy Halsall: Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376-568 . Cambridge 2007, p. 303 f.
42. ↑ See also Reinhold Kaiser: The Roman Heritage and the Merovingian Empire. 3rd revised and expanded edition. Munich 2004, p. 84 f.
43. ^ Matthias Hardt: Childerich I. in the historical sources. In: Dieter Quast (ed.): The grave of the Frankish King Childerich in Tournai and the Anastasis Childerici by Jean-Jaques Chifflet from the year 1655. Mainz 2015, pp. 217–224.
44. ^ Gregory of Tours: Ten books of stories. Based on the translation by Wilhelm Giesebrecht , revised by Rudolf Buchner. 2 vols. Darmstadt 1955/1956.
45. ↑ In detail on this Dieter Quast (ed.): The grave of the Frankish king Childerich in Tournai and the Anastasis Childerici by Jean-Jacques Chifflet from the year 1655. Mainz 2015. Cf. also Matthias Becher: Chlodwig I. Der Aufstieg der Merowinger und das End of the ancient world . Munich 2011, p. 132 ff .; Raymond Brulet: La tombe de Childéric et la topographie funéraire de Tournai à la fin du Ve siècle . In: M. Rouche (Ed.): Clovis: Histoire et Mémoire . Volume 1. Paris 1997, p. 59 ff .; Kurt Böhner :  Childerich von Tournai III. (Archaeological). In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 4, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1981, ISBN 3-11-006513-4 , pp. 441-460.
46. ↑ See Svante Fischer, Lennart Lind: The Coins in the Grave of King Childeric . In: Journal of Archeology and Ancient History 14, 2015, pp. 3–36.
47. ↑ Joachim Werner : Childerichs horses . In: Heinrich Beck, Detlev Ellmers, Kurt Schier (eds.): Germanic religious history . Berlin / New York 1992, pp. 145 ff.
48. ↑ See also Michael Müller-Wille: Two religious worlds. Burials of the Frankish kings Childeric and Clovis. Stuttgart 1998.
49. ↑ See also Michael Richter: Why did Childerich have a signet ring? . In: Dieter Hägermann , Wolfgang Haubrichs , Jörg Jarnut (Ed.): Acculturation. Problems of a Germanic-Roman cultural synthesis in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages . Berlin / New York 2004, pp. 359–366.
50. ↑ Overview with Reinhold Kaiser: The Roman Heritage and the Merovingian Empire. 3rd revised and expanded edition. Munich 2004, p. 85 f.

predecessor	Office	successor
Merowech	King of the Sal Franks 457 / 63–481 / 82	Clovis I.

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on December 19, 2012 .