FRANCE; 
650 
the authority of Gondebaud ; who now declared to Clo¬ 
vis that he nuift no longer expect the tribute he had 
prefumed to extort. Although the pride of Clovis 
nuift have been fenfibly wounded by this declaration, 
though he could not be indifferent to the fate of his fub- 
jeCfs and the death of his ally, yet he diffembled the in- 
fult, releafed the tribute, arid accepted the alliance and 
military fcrvice of the king of Burgundy. 
The next expedition of Clovis was againft th.e Vifi- 
goths, w ho pofteded confiderable territories on both fides 
of-the Pyrenean mountains. . His motives were exprelTed 
in the following fpeech to his nobili y affembled in the 
city of Paris, the capital of his dominions: “ It is with 
concern, laid he, that I fuffer the Arians to pollefs tlie 
moft fertile part of Gaul ; let us, with the aid of God, , 
march a gain if them ; and, having conquered them, annex 
their kingdom to o;nr own.” The nobility gave their af- 
feiit, and Clovis marched againft a prince for whom he 
had but juft before profeffed tlve greateft regard, vowing 
to erect a church in honour of the holy apoftles, if he fuc- 
ceeded in his enterprife. Alaric th.e king of the Vifi- 
goths was a young man deftitute of military experience ; 
though perfonally brave. He did not therefore hefitate 
at engaging his antagonist; bur, unable to contend with 
the veteran troops of Clovis, his army was utterly de¬ 
feated on the banks of the Clain, ten miles fouthof Poic- 
tiers, in the year 507. Alaric, perceiving the ruin of his 
troops, ruflied againft Clovis in perfon, by whom he was 
killed. After this victory the province of Aquitain fnb- 
mitted, and Clovis eftablifhed his winter-quarters at 
Bourdeaux. Thou’oufe furrendered in the enfuing 
fpt'ing ; and the royal treafures of the Viligoths were 
conveyed to Paris. Angouleme was next reduced, and 
the city of.Arles inverted. But th.e victorious career of 
Clovis was now checked by Theodoric king of the Oftro- 
goths, wlto had overturned the empire of Odoacer in 
Italy. He had married Abolfleda the lifter of Clovis, but 
had alfo given his own daughter in marriage to the king 
of the Vifigoths, and had therefore endeavoured to pre¬ 
fer ve a good underftanding between the two lovereigns. 
Finding this impoffible, and that no bounds could be fet 
to the afpiring ambition of Clovis, he fent a powerful 
army againft him ; by which the French monarch was de¬ 
feated with the lofs of thirty thoufand men. Clovis was 
now obliged to raife the fiege of Arles with precipitation; 
yet the Franks retained the greateft part of their con- 
quefts, and the province of Aquitain was indiffolubly 
annexed to the French empire. 
In 509, Clovis received the title of a Roman conful; 
by which means the people of Rome were infenfibly led 
to pay a peculiar regard to the French monarchs. He 
was folemnly inverted with (his new dignity in the church 
of St. Martin in the city of Tours; atrer which he enter¬ 
ed the cathedral cloihed in a purple tunic and mantle, 
the badges of his office After this, Clovis proceeded 
to augment his power by the murder of all his kinfmen 
who were princes of the Merovingian race. Among thofe 
who pe'rifhed were Sigebert king of Cologne, with his 
fon Clpderic ; Cararic, another prince vvhofe dominions 
have not been accurately pointed out by hiftorians ; Ra- 
nacaire, who governed the diccefe of Cambray ; and 
Renomer, king of the territory of Maine. All thefe 
murders, however, were expiated, according to the views 
of the clergy of thole times, by great liberality to the 
church. 
Clovis died in 511, after having reformed and publilhed 
the Salic laws: a few lines of which, debarring women 
from inheriting any part of the Salic lands, have been ex¬ 
tended fo far as to deprive the females of the royal family 
of France of their right of fuccefiion to the throne of that 
empire-. The Salic law was not originally intended to 
cut oft'the fucceftion of the.female line, but was a fubSe¬ 
quent violation of it, and contrary both to its letter and 
1 pi fit. It referred, in the ftrft initance, to the Salic lands 
only; that is, to the lands he.d according to the cuftom 
of the Saliansj a particular nation of Franks, whofe im¬ 
portant fervices Clovis had remunerated by a grant of 
large trndts of territory. He was defirous that thefe pof- 
feflions ftiould be held in perpetuity by the male offspring 
of the foldiery, whole heroifm had gained him fo many 
victories, to the end that the fon ftiould, by keeping in 
view the honourable inheritance which had fallen to him, 
rival tire father in great and noble exploits. Herein we 
trace the very ftrft feature of the feudal fyftem, which 
was afterwards enlarged by Charles Martel, whofe j-urif- 
prudence regulated the mutual obligations of the lord of 
tlie fee, and his feudatory. 
Clovis was interred in the church of St. Peter and 
St. Paul, afterwards Genevieve, in the city of Paris. His 
dominions were divided among his four fons. Thieri, or 
Theodoric, the eideft, had the eaftern part of the em¬ 
pire ; and, from his making the city of Metz his capital, 
l'.e is often called king of 'Metz. Clodomir, the eideft fon 
by Clotilda, had the kingdom of Orleans; Childebert,. 
and Clotaire, who were both infants, had the kingdoms 
of Paris and Soiffons, under the tutelage of their mother- 
The prudence of Clotilda kept matters quiet in all the 
parts of the empire for eight years; 'but, about the year 
520, a numerous fleet of Danes arrived at the mouth of 
the Meufe ; and their king Chochiliac, having landed his 
forces, began to deftroy the country with fire and fword. 
Againft him Thieri fent his fon Theodobert, who defeated 
the Danifii army and navy, killed their king, and forced 
the reft to retire with precipitation. 
In 522, Hermanfroi king of Thuringia, having deftroy- 
ed one of his brethren named Berthaire, and feized on his 
dominions, applied to Thieri forafliftance againft his other 
brother Balderic, whom he intended to treat in the fame 
manner. In this infamous enterprife Thieri embarked, 
on condition that he ftiould pollefs one half of Balderic’s 
dominions ; but after the unhappy prince was killed, 
Hermanfroi feized all his dominions. Thieri had no op¬ 
portunity of revenging himfelf till the year 531 ; when 
perceiving the power of the Oftrogoths, whom he much 
dreaded, to be conliderably leflened by the death of Theo- 
doric, lie engaged his brother Clotaire to aftift him; and 
they entered Thuringia with two powerful armies. They 
joined their forces as foon as they had palled the Rhine, 
and were quickly after reinforced by a confiderable body 
of troops under the command of Tiieodobert. The allies 
attacked the army of Hermanfroi, which was advantage- 
011 fly polled ; and, having totally defeated it, he was forced 
to fly in difguife. .Soon after this the capital was taken, 
and Hermanfroi being invited to a conference, was trea- 
cheroufly murdered; after which his extenlive dominions, 
became feudatory tci Thieri. 
In the mean time, Clotilda had inftigated her children 
to make war on the Burgundians, to revenge the death of 
her father Chi 1 peric, whom Gondebaud king of Burgundy 
had caufed to be murdered. Gondebaud was now dead, 
and had left his dominions to his fons Sigifmund and Go¬ 
demar. Sigifmund’s forces were foon defeated ; and he 
himfelf delivered up by his own fubjedts to Clodomir, 
who caufed him to be thrown into a pit, where he perilhed 
iniferably. By his death Godemar became foie mafter of 
Burgundy. Clodomir marched againft him, and defeated 
him; but, purfuing his vidlory too eagerly, was fur- 
rounded by his enemies and (lain. After the reduction 
of Thuringia, however, Childebert and Clotaire entered 
th.e kingdom of Burgundy at the head of a powerful 
army, and in 534. completed the conqueft of it; in which, 
according to lome, Godemar was killed; according to 
others, he retired into Spain, and from thence into Africa. 
In 360, Clotaire became foie monarch of France. He 
had murdered the fons of Clodomir, who was killed in 
Burgundy ; and Thieri and his children were dead, as was 
alio Childebert; fo that Clotaire became foie jieir to all 
the dominions of Clovis. He had five fons ; and tlie eideft 
oi them, named Chramnes, had rebelled againft his father 
in Auvergne. As Ion as Childebert lived, he fupported 
