Clovis (Latin: Chlodovechus; c. 466 – c. 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of royal chieftains to rule by a single king and ensuring that the kingship was passed down to his heirs. He succeeded his father in 481, at the age of fifteen. He conquered the remaining rump state of the Western Roman Empire at the Battle of Soissons (486), and by his death in 511 he had conquered much of the northern and western parts of what had formerly been Roman Gaul. Clovis is important in the historiography of France as "the first king of what would become France". Clovis is also extremely significant due to his conversion to orthodox Chalcedonian Christianity in 496, largely at the behest of his wife, Clotilde, who would later be venerated as a saint for this act. The adoption of Nicene orthodoxy (as opposed to the Arianism of some other Germanic tribes) by Clovis led to a widespread conversion among the Frankish peoples, installing a unified religion all across modern-day France and Germany, and allowing Charlemagne's alliance with the pope and birth of the early Holy Roman Empire. The Merovingian dynasty was founded by Childeric I (c. 457 AD – 481 AD), the son of Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, but it was his famous son Clovis I (481 AD – 511 AD) who united all of Gaul under Merovingian rule. After the death of Clovis there were frequent clashes between different branches of the family, but when threatened by its neighbors the Merovingians presented a strong united front. During the final century of Merovingian rule, the kings were increasingly pushed into a ceremonial role. The Merovingian rule ended in March 752 AD when Pope Zachary formally deposed Childeric III. Zachary's successor, Pope Stephen II, confirmed and anointed Pepin the Short in 754, beginning the Carolingian monarchy.

• published: 20 Sep 2015
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