Saint Clotilde and Murder

Clotilde is considered a saint by both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. She was an early supporter of St. Geneviève, she built the chapel that later became the Abbey at Chelles, and it was probably her influence that persuaded her husband, Clovis, to return the Vase of Soissons to St. Rémy after one of his soldiers took it post-conquest.

Most details of her life come from Gregory of Tours. She was born about 474 at Lyons, the daughter of King Chilperic II of Burgundy. Chilperic had two brothers, Gundobad and Godomar. At the death of their father, Gondioc, Gondioc's kingdom was divided among the three brothers. Gundobad turned on Godomar, and then on Chilperic, killing his brothers and their families, in order to reunite their father's kingdom under one ruler. Clotilde fled to her uncle, Godegisel.

Clovis and Godegisel joined in war against Gundobad, eventually defeating (but not killing) him; Clovis, King of the Franks, received an annual tribute from Burgundy after that. He also requested Clotilde's hand in marriage; Gundobad was not in a position to refuse.

Clovis I and Clotilde were married in 493. They had four sons (Ingomer, who died shortly after birth; Chlodomer, Childebert I, and ClotharI) and a daughter, Chrotilda. Clotilde insisted on baptism for her children; Clovis, not a Christian, objected, and when Ingomer died soon after birth and baptism, he criticized her. Yet, she persisted, and Chlodomer survived baptism, after which she had less opposition to raising the children in her faith.

Her greatest religious triumph may have been in 496 when Clovis was on the eve of battle with the Alemanni. He prayed to her God that he would be baptized if he were victorious. He prevailed in the Battle of Tolbiac and was baptized by Bishop Remigius of Reims on Christmas Day 496 (he is the St. Rémy in the link above). This Catholicism would aid him and his children in the future, ensuring the political support of the Roman Empire against many of the Franks' foes, who were Arian Christians.

When Clovis died in 523, Clotilde retired to the Abbey of St. Martin at Tours. She did not retire from public influence entirely, however. Even a saint is not immune to the desire for revenge, and the murderer of her father, her uncle Gundobad, was still ruling Burgundy. It is believed that her three sons' attack (and decade-long war) on Burgundy was instigated by her.

Also, her position as queen may have overruled the softer sensibilities one might expect from a mother and one who would later be considered a saint. During the war with Burgundy, her eldest son Chlodomer was killed. His part of the kingdom was to be divided among his three sons, further fracturing the kingdom of the Franks. Childebert and Clothar did not want this, and (the story goes), turned to Clotilde for... "advice." The two sent her two items: scissors and a sword. The implication was clear: the boys could be killed, or they could be shorn. (Long hair was a necessary mark of kingship for this particular culture, as mentioned here.) Supposedly, her reply was "It is better for me to see them dead rather than shorn, if they are not raised to the kingship." (Of course, we have no proof of this, but for these anecdotes to circulate about someone who was generally revered suggests there may be a kernel of truth.)

Clotilde died in 545 and was buried beside Clovis in the Church of the Holy Apostles (which is now the Abbey of St. Geneviève). Veneration of her made her the patron saint of queens, widows, brides, and those in exile.

Now, about that long hair think: how important was it? Let's talk about that tomorrow.

Childebert I

Childebert was the third of the four sons of Clovis I, who united all the Frankish tribes in Gaul for the first time, and then had it divided up again at his death (511 CE) among his sons. Childebert's brothers were Theuderic I, Chlodomer, and Clothar I. In the division, Childebert received Paris and everything to the north to the English Channel coast and west to Brittany and its coast.

The brothers joined in 523 to war against Godomar of Burgundy and his brother, Sigismund. (Clovis had defeated Godomar's father in 500, forcing Burgundy to pay tribute.) Godomar escaped the first encounter, but Chlodomer took Sigismund prisoner. Godomar rallied the Burgundians and regained his lost territory, but Chlodomer executed Sigismund. Fighting continued for a decade until 534 when Godomar was killed and Burgundy taken over.

Sadly for Chlodomer, he was killed in the final battle. Childebert and Clothar did not want his kingdom of Orléans to be divided among his three children, so they conspired to eliminate them. The eldest two were killed; the youngest escaped to a monastery. Childebert annexed Orléans and Chartres.

Future military campaigns gained him Geneva and Lyons. The king of the Ostrogoths ceded Provence to the Franks in 535; Childebert's share of the spoils were Arles and Marseilles.

He also invaded the Iberian Peninsula on behalf of his sister, Chrotilda. She had been married to King Amalaric of the Visigoths. (A purely political move: Amalaric's father Alaric II had been killed by Chrotilda's father, Clovis I. This marriage was supposed to cease national hostilities; it did nothing to assuage personal hostility.) She was Catholic; he pressured her to convert to the heretical Arianism. Gregory of Tours writes that he even beat her until she bled, and she sent a bloody towel to her brother.

Childebert attacked Amalaric, who fled but was assassinated. He brought his sister home, but she died along the way; he buried her in Paris next to their father. He also brought back the tunic of St. Vincent of Saragossa, patron of vintners, sailors, and brickmakers.

Childebert expanded his boundaries and built more religious structures than any of his brothers. He died on 13 December 558, leaving two daughters, who according to Salic Law could not inherit. His territory went to his younger brother Clothar I.

Here's a question: if Burgundy was already paying tribute to Gaul, was the war against Godomar necessary? Necessary, no; but motivated by a powerful force: a mother's wishes. I also left out a crucial and related detail regarding the disinheriting of Chlodomer's sons. I'll explain tomorrow.

Conomor the Cursed

There flourished around 540 CE a ruler in Britany called Conomor the Cursed, so notorious for his cruelty that some think he provided the seed of later legends of vicious characters.

He had no biography, but he is mentioned in some of the vitae ("lives") of Breton saints; he is mentioned several times by a contemporary, Gregory of Tours. From these saints' biographies we can glean that there was a king of Dumnonia—not the one in Cornwall, but the colony in northern Brittany established by folk from Cornwall fleeing the Saxon invasions—and prince of Poher named Conomor or Conomerus (Welsh Cynfawr, "big dog").

According to Gregory of Tours' Historia Francorum ("History of the Franks"), a Breton count named Chanao decided to eliminate his competition by killing his brothers. One of them, Macliau, escaped to Conomor, who "hid him in a box underground," explaining to Chanao that Macliau was dead. After Chanao died, Macliau was free to take over. This sounds admirable, and I offer it in the interests of "equal time." Other anecdotes are not so complimentary.

Conomor is said to have received his position by murdering his predecessor Jonas and marrying his widow, becoming regent to her son Judael. Conomor tried killing Judael, but Jonas' widow fled with Judael to the Frankish court of King Childebert I, who aided his vassal Conomor by incarcerating Judael. Fortunately, Samson of Dol, Gildas, and others persuaded Childebert to abandon Conomor and free Judael.

Conomor also married Tréphine, daughter of Count Waroch I of Vannes, but killed her and their son Trémeur. Tréphine is considered a saint, patron saint of sick children and those whose birth is overdue. The story of Tréphine and Trémeur is considered to be the origin of the legend of Bluebeard, the French folktale of a wealthy man who murders his wives.

After Childebert's death (13 December 558), his brother Clothar I becomes king. Clothar leads an expedition into Brittany to deal with Conomor's villainy. Judael accompanies him, and manages to kill Conomor in battle.

There is a possible link with the Tristan legend. King Mark sends his nephew (in some version his son), Tristan, to escort his new bride Iseult to him. Tristan and Iseult have a steamy affair, and Mark intends to execute Tristan, who escapes. A stone inscription in Cornwall refers to "Drustanus son of Cunomorus." A biography of a 6th century Welsh bishop, Paul Aurelian, refers to "King Marc whose other name is Quonomorus." The legend of a father or uncle being cruel to a son/nephew fits the profile of Conomor.

This is a good time to stay in this time period but turn eastward from Brittany to the land of the Franks and  the Merovingian Childebert I, whose father was first king of the Franks and whose mother was a saint. See you next time.

Samson of Dol

Unlike most of the early Celtic saints, we know much more detail about the life of Samson of Dol (c.486 - 565), thanks to a biography written only a few years after his death. His parents, Amon and Anna, had tried for years to have a child; when they finally had Samson, they considered him a special gift from God, and so at the age of five sent him to study at the famous monastery school under St. Illtud.

There he learned how to live an ascetic life, and was ordained by St. Bishop Dubricius, at which event a white dove descended onto his shoulder. Samson left the monastery when two nephews of Illtud who envied him tried to slander him; they fed him poison, which had no effect.

He started traveling. He founded a community in Cornwall, he went to the Scilly Isles where the island of Samson is named for him, then to Guernsey where he is the patron saint. In Brittany, he found the monastery of Dol.

While in Brittany, he became involved in local politics. There was a king, Conomor, who was serving as regent for a nephew whom he tried to have killed. Samson, along with Gildas and others, persuaded the local bishops to excommunicate Conomor. Samson also persuaded King of the Franks Childebert I to stop supporting Conomor's position as "protector of the English Channel."

We know the date when he was ordained, because it is recorded as taking place on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter (22 February) at the beginning of Lent. For February 22 to be at the beginning of Lent (a "floating" holiday), it would have to take place in 521. Traditionally, one was ordained at the age of 35, which would mean he was born in 486. Samson attended a religious council in Paris which took place sometime between 556 and 573, at which time he would have been already quite old. His signature is on documents from it as "Samson, a sinner." The estimated date of his death is halfway between the estimates of the date of the Paris council. He was buried in the Cathedral of Dol.

But about this Conomor character: he is thought to be the historical foundation for the folk tale of Bluebeard, and of the wife-beating giant Cormoran, and Tristan's uncle. How bad could he be to inspire three vile characters of legend? We'll find out tomorrow.