They were all very young, but as heirs to Orléans, they were an obstacle to anyone who wanted to take over Orléans. One of the people who wanted to rule Orléans was their uncle, Chlodomer's brother Clothar I. Clothar, King of Soissons, sent a messenger to Clotilde bearing a sword and scissors, telling her that the boys needed to be shorn and made monks, or killed. She refused, so Clothar took the matter into his own hands, stabbing Theodebald and Gunthar.
Clodoald, however, escaped. Hidden by members of the household and smuggled away, he found safety with Bishop Remigius of Rheims (c.437 – 13 January 533), who had baptized Clodoald's grandfather Clovis I. Clodoald became a pupil of St. Severin of Paris, a hermit who lived on the banks of the Seine.
From Severin Clodoald learned monastic ways. At the age of 20 he went to the Bishop of Paris and members of the royal family, allowing his hair to be cut. Clothar realized he was not going to be a threat to Clothar's possession of Orléans, and let him live out his life in peace.
After Severin's death, Clodoald left the hermitage and went to Provence, where many came to see him, believing he had a gift of healing. (This idea may have come from his being of royal birth. The idea that a king's hands could heal seems to have started with Clovis. See this post.) After 11 years in Provence, he returned to Severin's hermitage where he was gladly received.
In 551 he was ordained a priest by Bishop Eusebius of Paris, but the praise and attention he received from performing his public duties that he decided to retreat to the quiet life along the Seine in a place that is now the commune of Saint-Cloud. There he built a church in honor of St. Martin of Tours. Eventually this grew to a monastery, endowed with gifts given him by his uncles. He died on 7 September 560.
Legend says that miracles took place around his tomb. He was quickly canonized. His feast day is 7 September. Towns in Florida, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are named St. Cloud after the French town St. Cloud.
Let's go back and see what Clothar was up to during these years.
