Samson

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• _UID: FB90A9387FB4470E9FB46F7FBED15496AECC

Notes:

Samson was a son of King Chilperic of Soissons. In 578 he was rejected byhis mother, but his father urged that he be baptized a Catholic. Hebecame ill that year and died the next.

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• FamilySearch ID: GJT7-B2D
• _UID: EE9D521BD4E8412F97F020B9E10EE0DF32F9

Notes:

In his ability to generate spouses, Chilperic was no more elegant than his debauched brother Gontran. Audovere was Chilperic's first wife and bore him Merovee, [though some argue that he was Galwinthe's (Chilperic's second wife) son] Theodebert and Clovis, as well as a daughter, Hildeswinthe. Her servant, Fredegonde [whom Chilperic I immediately took as his concubine], may have been instrumental in her demise in her own drive to come to the throne. Note - between 561 and 584: Upon the death of his father Clotaire I, Chilperic I's share of the estate makes him King of Soissons and he reigns from 561 to 584. After the death of his brother, Caribert I in 567, Chilperic I gets Toulouse, as well as the largest part of the ecclesiastical provinces of Rouen and Tours, which gives him a wide access to the sea. Desiring to take revenge on his brother Sigebert I -- Chilperic could not swallow the loss of Galswinthe's dowry in 569 through the Andelot Accord -- Chilperic charges his son Clovis [born of his first union with Audovere] with the occupation of Tours and of Poitiers. Chilperic's other son, [also byAudovere] Theodebert defeats the Austrasian general Gondevald. The warbetween the brothers extends into 574 and 575 at which time the kingdomis invaded, and Chilperic is forced to take refuge in Tournai, and theGreat Nobles [viri in lustres] abandon him. After Siegbert is murdered in575, Chilperic and Fredegonde come out of Tournai. Chilperic piouslyburries his brother [whom he just had murdered] at Lambres, Chilperic I'sreign was marked by many wars he waged against his brothers for theterritories of the kingdom. He was assassinated. He was the King ofNeustrie.

Married between 562 and 584: Galswinthe=Galswitha, daughter ofAthanagild, King of Spain, Chilperic's second wife, and she may have beenthe mother of Merovee, herein ascribed to the first wife. She was to dieby strangling in a plot originated by Fredegonde (Chilperic's thirdwife). This murder began a bloody feud between Fredegonde and Brunehaut(Galswinthe's sister). Married before 584: Fredegonde; First the servantof Audovere, then first wife of Chilperic, Fredegonde was beautiful andambitious. She first had Chilperic I repudiate Audovere and lock her upin a monastery, where the unfortunate was murdered on the orders ofFredegonde after 15 years of solitary confinement. However, all did notgo immediately well, for when Chilperic learned of the brilliant marriageof his younger brother, Sigebert to Brunehaut, he arranged to haveFredegonde relegated to her role as concubine and asked Athanagild forthe hand of another of his daughter, the older sister of Brunehaut, namedGalswinthe. He promised in turn that he would repudiate all his otherspouses so as to be worthy of a wife of such royal blood. When Galswinthearrived, she was greeted with honor and respect as she brought anextensively rich treasure as dowry with her. Fredegonde had Galswitha,second wife of Chilperic strangled and replaced her on the throne. Thismurder began the feud with Brunehaut, Galswinthe's sister.

She had her husband assassinated and had the Archbishop of Rouen(Pretexta) killed. She governed Neustrie in the name of her young sonClothaire II. Died: in 584 in Chelles, Seine-et-Marne, Champagne, France,Chilperic was assassinated, reportedly by a hired hand of Fredegonde ashe was returning from a hunt in Chelles [Seine-et-Marne] . His body wasshipped up the Marne and was buried in the Basilica de Saint-Vincent,near Paris [Saint-Germain-des-Pres].

Chilperic married Fredegonda De Camberic ARDENNES. Fredegonda (daughter of Count Brunulphe D' ARDENNES and Crotechilde The OSTROGOTH) was born in 545 in France; died on 8 Dec 597 in Paris, Seine, Ile-DE-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: GJT7-B2F
• _UID: AEC432F2E6AB4D18BA03BF831D4DB0670C6D

Notes:

Fredegund was the main wife and Queen of King Chilperic I of Soissons.She was an evil women, but strong, and so when Chilperic died in 584 leaving a newborn son Chlotar II, Queen Fredegund ruled the kingdom effectively until he came of age. Her view of politics included assassinations, and so attempts were made at the lives of King Childebert II of Austrasia (585), King Guntram of Burgundy (587), Queen Brunhild(584), and many others. When she died in 597, her son Chlotar II was 13, old enough to rule on his own.

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• FamilySearch ID: GJTW-84V
• Name: The Old
• Occupation: King of France
• _UID: 7F12558251B640A1914C6297F797DA8B19C0

Notes:

King of Soissons 511-558 - King of Austrasia 555-558 - King of the Franks558-561. Son of Clovis I King of the Franks, Chlotar inherited Soissonson Clovis' death in 511. He, with his four brothers, attached and defeated Burgundy under the kings Sigisbert and Godomar early in his reign. With this oldest brother, Theuderic I, King of Metz, he attacked the Thuringian Franks under King Hermanfrid, took the kingdom, and took his daughter Radegund. Next, with his brother Childebert I, King of Paris, Chlotar murdered his nephews who were under the care of Queen Clotilda, his mother. When Theuderic died, the kingdom was up for grabs. Chlotar and Childebert each received only a small part, the most of it going to Theudebert, his son. In 555, Theudebald, who had succeeded hisfather Theudebert in Austrasia, died, and Austrasia passed to Chlotar. When Chlotar died in 561, the kingdom was divided among his four living sons: Charibert (Paris), Guntram (Burgundy), Chilperic (Soissons), andSigebert (Metz).

King of Franks (558-561)
King of Soissons (511), King of Orleans, King of France
Sources - "Rulers of the World" by R.F.Tapsell
Clotaire = Clothar I, King de Soissons (Paul, Nouveau LarousseUniversel.) (Rosamond, Frankish kingdom under Carolingians.)
(Stuart, Royalty for Commoners, Page 216, Line 303-50.) (Andre Castelot,Histoire de La France, Tome 1, Pages 200 - 208, 214).

AKA - Clotaire I, King d'Orleans. AKA: Clotaire I, King d'Austrasie.Born: in 497, son of Clovis I, King des Francs and Sainte Clotilde deBourgogne.

Married between 510 and 515: Ingonthe who was Clotaire I's first wife.She gave him a daughter and five sons, three of whom survived. Marriedcirca 516: Aregonde); Radegonde was Clotaire I's second legitimate wife.Note - between 523 and 560: In accordance with Salic Law, upon Clovis I'sdeath, his four sons [Thierry, the eldest and born from an unknownconcubine before Clovis was married, and the other three, Clodomir,Childebert and Clotaire, divided the kingdom not unlike a cake, but withunequal parts. Clotaire, the youngest, received the most primitive lands,extending from the charbonniere forest [the North of Gaule] to the SommeRiver and beyond to include Noyon, Soissons and Laon. Soissons was itscapital. The brothers constantly engaged in bloody fights in order toaugment their holdings. In 523, three of Clovis I's sons, Clotaire,Childebert and Clodomir, launch their first campaign against theBurgundians. They catch Sigismond=Zygmund, out of the Monastery ofAgaune, as well as his wife and his children. They are given to thecustody of Clodomir. He has the entire family murdered by throwing theminto a well at Saint-Peravy-la-Coulombe [near Patay] . Clotaire I becameKing of Orleans in 526 and King of Austrasie in 555. He was known for hiscruelty and plotted and implemented the murder of his brother's(Clodomir) sons with Childebert, his other brother. In July throughDecember 524, two of Clodomir's sons thus are murdered. Clodomir himselfhad died at the Battle of Vezeronce [in Isere] on 25 June 524. Clotairegets Tours and Poitiers. In 531 Thierry and Clotaire I are occupied inbattle against the Thuringians. Their King, Hermanefried died in combatby falling from a rempart in Tolbiac [with a little push] . His mother,Radegonde, who is among the captives, becomes Clotaire's third wife. In532, Clotaire and Childebert begin their third campaign against theBurgundians. This time, they take Autun. Upon Thierry;s death in 534, hislands are divided, and Clotaire gets the entire southern portion ofThierry's holdings including Grenoble, Die and neighboring cities.

In 536, Clotaire obtains the northern part of Provence encompassingOrange, Carpentras and Gap from Vitiges, King of the Ostrogoths. WhenTheobald dies in 555, Clotaire gives the Auvergne to his son, Chramne.The next year, Clotaire would fail in his campaign against the Saxons,but they will continue to pay him an annual tribute of 500 cows. Chramnerebels and fights against his father. Upon Childebert's death 23 December558, he reunited all parts of the Frankish kingdom, and Clotaire becomessole King of the Francs. The following year, his son, Chramne againrebels, but has to seek refuge with the Count of Brittany, Conober who isestablished in Vannes. In 560, they lose to Clotaire and Chramne, hiswife and their children are burnt alive on the orders of Clotaire.Married circa 547: Radegonde, Princess de Turinge , daughter of Hermanefried, King de Turinge (8164) and N? ; The Thuringians had been submitted to the Francs. Clotaire and his half-brother Thierry had led a brutal campaign against them and had crushed them on the banks of the Saale in 531. Among Clotaire's share of the bounty was a beautiful young girl, the Christian Princess Radegonde. Radegonde was Clotaire I's third legitimate wife, and fifth mate. Clotaire I was about 50 years old.

Clothaire married Saint Radegunda (Aregonde) Von Thuringen in 531. Saint (daughter of King Bertachar, of Thuringia) was born in 501 in Thuringia, Germany; died on 13 Aug 587 in Paris, Seine, Ile-DE-France, France; was buried in St Denis, Paris, Seine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: GJT7-JQT
• _UID: 58AFA0E3FF8E43DE86EF97B3F00EA344DCB8

Notes:

Aregund was one of Chlotar's many wives, and the mother of his sonChilperic, who succeeded him in Soissons. Her husband's previous wife wasIngund, her sister.

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• _UID: F8609A9E00DB4490840331980BDCE547A2D7

Brunulphe married Crotechilde The OSTROGOTH. Crotechilde was born in 508; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• _UID: EB155173B16D4D689F784B9B7542A6E3D4A7

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• FamilySearch ID: GJGB-HMY
• RULED: 481-511
• RULED: 481-511
• Name: The Great
• _UID: D376BB2765A04D8C91F73C5094E68ACEEFFE
• Christened: 25 Dec 496, Reims, Neustria

Notes:

Born circa 466, son of Childeric I, King des Francs and Basine Andoverade Turinge , Clovis I became King between the Summer of 481 and Autumn of482. According to Gregoire de Tours, he was only about 15 years of age atthe time. In any case he was quite young as he was called "juvenis".Timelines here are bound to be fraught with error since the custom ofcounting years from the time of Jesus Christ was not established untilthe 8th Century. Thus, both the Larousse and the History of France asserta birth date circa 466 whereas Stuart's "Royalty for Commoners" claimsClovis I was alive in the year 420! That date is necessary to claim thatSigebert I is the son of Childebert, son of Clovis, since Stuart claimsSigebert I was King of the Salic Francs from 481 to 511.

Significant-Other - Evochilde before 486 - Evochilde was a concubine.Note - between 486 and 507: King of the Franks, Clovis I vanquished theRomans at Soissons in 486. Syagrius, the "Roman King" takes refuge inToulouse under the protection of the King of the Wisigoths, Alaric [whohad just become King in 484]. By the end of the year, Clovis I forcedAlaric to give up Syagrius, and Clovis I secretly has Syagrius put todeath. From 487 to 490, Clovis I extended his kingdom all the way to theLoire River, however, he respects the border of the Wisigoths to theSouth and of the Burgundians to the South-West, as well as that of theriparian Francs to the East. From 490 to 495, Clovis is occupied with theliquidation of the Salic Franc dynasty North of Gaule. King Chararic ofTongres is decapitated, and King Ragnacaire of Cambrai is executed. Uponthe request for aid from the Riparian Francs, Clovis I defeats theAlamans (Germans) at the Battle of Tolbiac in 496 thus bringing Champagneunder his jurisdiction. In 500, he wages war against Gondebaud, King ofBurgundy defeating him near Dijon. Gondebaud retreats to Avignon. In502, on the Cure and the Cousin, Clovis I and Gondebaud seal an alliance.From April to June 507, the French Army attack the Wisigoths, whoseKingdom extends from the Mediterranean to the ocean, and cross the Loire,going up the Valley of Calin toward Poitiers and encounter the VisigothArmy in the plain of Vouille, 15 km West of Clain. Alaric II, King ofthe Visigoths is killed and the Wisigoths thus are defeated. By 507,thanks to the efforts of his son, Thierry, the entire Meridional Gaulefalls into Clovis I's control. In 508, the Franc Army lays siege onArles in order to secure Provence. Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths,occupies Provence, and his general, Ibbas, crosses the Alps to deliverArles from Clovis I's clutch. Theodoric conquers the Burgundians atAvignon and Orange and makes Amalaric, his grandson and son of Alaric II,King of the Wisigoths. Clovis I loses the Bas-Languedoc, then calledSeptimania.

Around 510, Clovis has Cloderic, King of the Riparian tribes who hadfought in his support at Vouille, assassinated, and proclaims himselfKing of the Riparians. Thus, the Kingdom extends from the Pyrenees, tothe ocean to beyond the Rhine. Upon his death, according to Frankishcustom, his kingdom was divided among his four sons: Thierry, Clodomir,Childebert and Clotaire. Married circa 493: Sainte Clotilde de Bourgogne, daughter of Chilperic, King de Bourgogne and N?; Clotilde was aMerovingien. By the time Clovis I married her, he already had a sonthrough his concubine. Clotilde contributed to the conversion of Clovisto Christianity. After his death, she retired to the monastery ofSaint-Martin in Tours (France). Her Feast Day is 3 June. Baptized: on 25December 496; When the Queen, Clotilde, convinced Clovis I to have theirson Ingomer baptized, he relented. Shortly afterwards, the son died.

481 - Clovis - "The Franks were a Germanic tribe just east of the Rhinewho, even in the time of Julian, had carried through serious raids intoGaul. The rulers of the Franks were descended from a leader namedMerovech, so that they were called the 'Merovingians.' In 481, a15-year-old Merovingian named Clovis succeeded to the leadership of theFrankish tribes." [Isaac Asimov, Asimov's Chronology Of The World]

"When Meroveus's son Childeric died in AD 481, he was followed by his sonClovis, the most prominent of all the Merovingians and traditionallyreckoned founder of the French monarchy. At that time the Roman Churchgreatly feared the increasing popularity of the Arian religion in Gaul [aChristian faith which did not subscribe to the divinity of Jesus], andCatholicism was dangerously close to being completely overrun in WesternEurope. Clovis was, in practice, neither Catholic nor Arian and itoccured to the Roman hierarchy that the rise of Clovis could be used totheir advantage. As it transpired, Clovis aided them quite inadvertentlywhen he married the Burgundian Princess Clotilde." [Laurence Gardner,Realm Of The Ring Lords]

486 - Clovis - Clovis beat Syagrius at Soissons in northern Gaul. Thelast bit of land in the west that might be considered Roman was gone.
500 - Clovis - "About 500, Clovis defeated the Burgundians [his wife'skingsmen] in eastern Gaul."
507 - Clovis - "In 507, Clovis defeated the Visigoths and drove them outof Gaul."
508 - Clovis - "Clovis made his capital at Paris."
511 - Franks - "By the time of his death in 511, Clovis was master ofvirtually all of Gaul. In centuries to come, Gaul was the one province inthe west that lost its name. It was Gaul no more, but eventually became'France,' from the word 'Frank.' In German, the land is called'Frankreich' ['realm of the Franks']. On Clovis's death, his four sonseach inherited a portion of the Frankish kingdom and, as was inevitable,they fought eachother. This happened over and over and kept the Franksfrom becoming stronger than they were." [Isaac Asimov, Asimov'sChronology Of The World]

Clovis married Saint Clotilda (Queen Of The Franks) BURGUNDY in 492 in France. Clotilda (daughter of King Chilperic II Des BURGONDES and Caratene Of The Suevics (Agrippina De Narbonnaise) NARBONNE) was born in 475 in Remu, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France; died on 3 Jun 545 in Tours, Indre-Et-Loire, Touraine, France; was buried in Basilica Of The Holy Apostles Church, St. Genevieve, Paris, Ile-DE-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: G611-BCW
• _UID: 7D2FEF41446C4A1AA63BAA2815C0C8C00007

Notes:

Clotilda was the wife of Clovis I, and the daughter of Chilperic, King of Burgundians of Lyons, and Caretena. After the death of King Gundovic (Gundioch), the Kingdom of Burgundy had been divided among his four sons, Chilperic reigning at Lyons, Gondebad at Vienne, and Godegisil at Geneva; Gondemar's capital is not mentioned. Chilperic and probably Godegisil were Catholics, while Gondebad professed Arianism. Clotilda was given a religious training by her mother caretena, who, according to Sidonius Apollinaris and Fortunatus of Poitiers, was a remarkable woman. After the death of Chilperic, Caretena seems to have made her home with Godegisil at Geneva, where her other daughter, Sedeleuba, or Chrona, founded the church of Saint-Victor, and took the religious habit. It was soon after the death of Chilperic that Clovis asked and obtained the hand of Clotilda.

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• FamilySearch ID: GJT7-6TJ
• _UID: 6C011A0629524C7BB3077175BE41C6447889