Clovis I
Clovis I (Latin: Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: *Hlodowig; German: Chlodwig; c. 466 – 27 November 511) was the first Frankish king to unite the Franks, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single king, and ensuring that the kingship was passed down to his heirs. He is considered the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish kingdom for the next two centuries.
Quotes
[edit]- Iesu Christi, quem Chrotchildis praedicat esse filium Dei vivi, qui dare auxilium laborantibus victuriamque in te sperantibus tribuere diceris, tuae opis gloriam devotus efflagito, ut, si mihi victuriam super hos hostes indulseris et expertus fuero illam virtutem, quam de te populus tuo nomine dicatus probasse se praedicat, credam tibi et in nomine tuo baptizer. Invocavi enim deos meos, sed, ut experior, elongati sunt ab auxilio meo; unde credo, eos nullius esse potestatis praeditos, qui sibi oboedientibus non occurrunt. Te nunc invoco, tibi credere desidero, tantum ut eruar ab adversariis meis.
- Jesus Christ, whom Clotilda asserts to be the son of the living God, who art said to give aid to those in distress, and to bestow victory on those who hope in thee, I beseech the glory of thy aid, with the vow that if thou wilt grant me victory over these enemies, and I shall know that power which she says that people dedicated in thy name have had from thee, I will believe in thee and be baptized in thy name. For I have invoked my own gods but, as I find, they have withdrawn from aiding me; and therefore I believe that they possess no power, since they do not help those who obey them. I now call upon thee, I desire to believe thee only let me be rescued from my adversaries.
- Prayer before the Battle of Tolbiac (c. 496) in Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum, bk. 2, sec. 30 (tr. Ernest Brehaut, 1916). See also: Saint Remigius
