Clovis I

German name Chlodwig. ?466--511 ad, king of the Franks (481--511), who extended the Merovingian kingdom to include most of Gaul and SW Germany

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Clovis I

Born circa 466; died Nov. 27, 511, in Paris. Became king of the Salian Franks in 481; subsequently king of the entire Frankish kingdom. Member of the Merovingian dynasty.

Clovis routed the army of Syagrius, a former Roman vicegerent who ruled the area of Gaul surrounding Soissons, in 486 and extended the dominion of the Salian Franks to the banks of the Loire. This expansion constituted the first step in the formation of the Frankish state. Clovis conquered many of the Alamanni’s holdings in 496 and expelled the Visigoths from southern Gaul in 507. He also subjugated the Franks living along the middle course of the Rhine.

In 496, Clovis embraced Christianity in its orthodox form (the other German tribes adhered to Arianism). This move bolstered his authority by securing the support of the clergy and the good will of the native Gallo-Roman population. Clovis made Paris his residence. He consolidated his royal power and made the throne hereditary. The Salic Law was promulgated during Clovis’ reign.

References in periodicals archive

";If we are going to limit ourselves to the Prussian system of education, Clovis is the best we are going to get in a tax-financed school,"founder of the Fresno- based Separation of School and State Alliance and the father of four Clovis students.

Humble Clovis defies the education visigoths

However, the sale process advised by Credit Suisse AG (NYSE:CRP.CL) among others, is at an early stage and Clovis is not engaged in exclusive negotiations with any potential buyer, one insider said.

Clovis Oncology reportedly seeking buyers

The only other American archaeological site older than Clovis is at Monte Verde in Chile, which is about 13,900 years old.

Oldest American artefact unearthed dates back to 14,230 years

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