Chlodomer

Who was Chlodomer?

Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, King of the Franks. On the death of his father, in 511, he divided the kingdom of the Franks with his three brothers: Theuderic I, Childebert I, and Clotaire I. Although Theuderic, the eldest, had a better claim, Chlodomer divided half of the kingdom with his two other brothers. This was the kingdom of Orléans, taken from the former kingdom of Syagrius. This kingdom included, most notably, the bishoprics of Tours, Poitiers and Orléans. Chlodomer married Guntheuc, with whom he had three sons: Theodebald, Gunthar, and Clodoald.

In 523–24, possibly at the instigation of his mother Clotilde, who was eager to avenge her nephew who had been assassinated by Sigismund of Burgundy, Chlodomer joined with his brothers in an expedition against the Burgundians. After capturing Sigismund, Chlodomer returned to Orléans. However, Sigismund's brother Gondomar returned triumphantly to Burgundy at the head of the troops sent by his ally, the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. There, he massacred the garrison the Franks had left behind.