Chloderich

Chloderich , called the patricide († 509 ), was the son of Sigibert of Cologne and, after his murder, King of the Rhine Franks for a short time .

Origin and family

Little is known for sure about Chloderich's family, only that his father was the little king Sigibert of Cologne. Whether this, and thus also Chloderich, can be assigned to the Merovingian dynasty is doubted in recent research. It is also unclear whether a certain Munderich was Chloderich's son.

Life

In 507, King Clovis I marched in an alliance with the Burgundians and the Rhine Franks in a campaign against the Visigoths . The Rhine Franks were led by Chloderich, probably on behalf of his father Sigibert I. He could no longer walk due to a war injury to his knee that resulted from the battle of Zülpich . In the Battle of Vouillé, the Visigoths were defeated by the Franks.

The murder of Chloderich on his father Sigibert

His nickname parricide was chlodoric the parricide by a cabal of the Frankish King Clovis I put this chlodoric the parricide secretly successor as viceroy in Cologne for the old and - according to source reports - lame father Sigibert prospect. However, he required an amicitia alliance (such as friendship alliance), in this case an alliance with Chloderich or his followers. Chloderich then had his father murdered while he was on a country trip.

After the death of his father, Chloderich regarded himself as a legitimate successor not only because of the promises made by Clovis, but also because he was in possession of Sigibert's realm and his crown treasure . At that time, he could not rely on one line of succession alone.

Murder of Chloderich and political consequences

Chloderich had Clovis informed of Sigibert's death and invited him to send messengers to him in order to enrich himself with Sigibert's treasure, which he now owned. When Chloderich reached deep into the money box at the request of one of the messengers, he was said to have been killed from behind with an ax.

Clovis I had eliminated both Sigibert and Chloderich, but publicly protested his innocence, since he had not committed the atrocities himself. He marched into Cologne and was elevated to king by acclamation . Some historians consider this to be a non-liturgical type of appointment based on the Germanic model.

A rebellion by Chloderich's presumed son Munderich, who claimed the successor to Chloderich, was put down by Theuderich I in 532 .

Possible burial place

A vague reference to the burial place of Chloderich and his father Sigibert can be found in the older research literature: In a letter, the abbot Rudolf von Sint-Truiden reported on September 15, 1122, how he was an eyewitness to the discovery of four preciously endowed warriors on October 13 1121 in the Church of St. Gereon was present. While he and his contemporaries initially interpreted these four graves as those of the Theba martyrs (based on the example of a first find from 1071), in the early 20th century, based on the grave goods mentioned in mediaeval reports, the graves of noble Franks or Merovingian kings.

Since one of the corpses was beheaded, it was identified as the murdered Sigibert in 1928, which was, however, strongly doubted as early as the 1940s, since Sigibert was not beheaded but stabbed to death. The clothing of the dead (silk robes and purple cloaks) and the grave goods (jewelry and swords) allow the interpretation that they are actually nobles or even kings. However, it cannot be said with certainty whether Chloderich and Sigibert are among them. If they were buried in a church, they should have already adopted the Christian faith: After his victory over the Alamanni in the Battle of Zülpich, the Frankish king Clovis was baptized and converted from paganism to Catholicism . Whether Frankish petty kings or allies like Sigibert or Chloderich followed him cannot be proven in every case. But that would have been necessary for burial within a church.

Reception at Gregor von Tours

Gregor von Tours compiles the little information that has survived for the person of Chloderich. The parts of the ten history books relevant for the Merovingian ( Decem libri historiarum ) were written between 573 and 575. The work can, however, be enjoyed with thorough source criticism, since it was actually not written as a “classic” historical work, but with “salvation-historical intention”. The story is presented in Gregory's notes as a divine world order: permeated by miracles, divine punishments and rewards, as well as many contrasts of good and bad. The occasionally used title History of the Franks ( Historia Francorum ) also exacerbates possible misinterpretations as a historical work.

Gregor's view of the world stands out particularly in his judgment of his protagonists. B. interpreted the murder of Clovis as an immediate punishment from God for his patricide, whereas Clovis' policy was rated relatively mild.

Sources and literature

swell

• Gregory of Tours , Historiae II, 12, 27-32, 35-42,; III 1, 31 (main source, but not without problems).

Book (monograph)

• Martin Heinzelmann : Gregor von Tours. (538-594); "Ten Books of History"; Historiography and concept of society in the 6th century. Knowledge Buchges, Darmstadt 1994, ISBN 3-534-08348-2 .
• Ulrich Knefelkamp : Worldview and Reality. Introduction to medieval historiography. Centaurus-Verl.-Ges, Pfaffenweiler 1992, ISBN 3-89085-404-4 .
• Reinhard Schneider : Election and elevation of the king in the early Middle Ages. Investigations into the succession of power among the Longobards and Merovingians. Zugl .: Berlin, Freie Univ., Habil.-Schr., 1970/71. Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1972, ISBN 3-7772-7203-5 .
• Fritz Witte : The golden shrine. A book about Cologne. Transport and Economic Office of the City of Cologne, Cologne 1928.
• Ian N. Wood : The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450-751 . Longman, London / New York 1994, ISBN 0-582-49372-2 .

Journal article

• Karl Corsten : The Franconian royal graves in Cologne. In: Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter. 1940, No. 10 1940, pp. 168-171.
• Eugen Ewig : The Diocese of Cologne in the Early Middle Ages. In: Annals of the Historical Association for the Lower Rhine. 1954, No. 155 1954, pp. 205-243.
• Mario Kramp : World history at the gates of Cologne. In: History in Cologne. 43, No. 1 1998, pp. 41-66 ( [1] ).
• Daniel Carlo Pangerl : The royal treasure of the Merovingians. An interdisciplinary historical-archaeological study. In: Early Medieval Studies. 47, No. 1 2013, pp. 41-66.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gregory of Tours , Historiae II, 40.
2. ↑ Reinhard Schneider : The election of the king and the elevation of the king in the early Middle Ages , p. 61.
3. ^ Gregory of Tours, Historiae II, 40.
4. ↑ So z. B. Reinhard Schneider: Election and elevation of the king in the early Middle Ages , p. 238.
5. ^ Karl Corsten : The Frankish royal graves in Cologne. , Pp. 169-171.
6. ↑ Fritz Witte : The golden shrine. A book about Cologne. , P. 27f.
7. ^ Karl Corsten: The Frankish royal graves in Cologne. , P. 169 f.
8. ↑ Eugen Ewig : The Diocese of Cologne in the Early Middle Ages , p. 208.
9. ^ Ulrich Knefelkamp : Worldview and Reality. Introduction to Medieval Historiography , pp. 62–72.
10. ^ Gregory of Tours, Historiae II, 40.

predecessor	Office	successor
Sigibert of Cologne	King of the Rhine Franks 509	Clovis I.