Chilperic I: Difference between revisions

'''Chilperic I''' ([[Frankish language|Frankish]]: ''Hilperīk''; {{c.}} 539 – September 584) was the king of [[Neustria]] (or [[Soissons]]) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the [[Franks|Frankish]] king [[Clotaire I]] and Queen [[Aregund]].

Immediately after the death of his father in 561, he endeavoured to take possession of the whole kingdom, seized the treasure amassed in the royal town of [[Berny-Rivière|Berny]] and entered [[Paris]]. His brothers, however, compelled him to divide the kingdom with them, and Soissons, together with [[Amiens]], [[Arras, France|Arras]], [[Cambrai]], [[Thérouanne]], [[Tournai]] and [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]] fell to Chilperic's share.{{sfn|Pfister|1911}} His eldest brother [[Charibert I|Charibert]] received [[Paris]], the second-eldest brother [[Guntram]] received [[Burgundians|Burgundy]] with its capital at [[Orléans]], and [[Sigebert I|Sigebert]] received [[Austrasia]]. On the death of Charibert in 567, Chilperic's estates were augmented when the brothers divided Charibert's kingdom among themselves and agreed to share Paris and the territory around it.

Not long after his accession, however, he was at war with Sigebert, with whom he would long remain in a state of—at the very least—antipathy. This started when Sigebert marched against the [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] and defeated himthem possibly in Thuringia and possibly pushed them out of the [[Elbe]]. Chilperic, seeing that his brother was far from his lands, attacked [[Reims]] and took it. Soon Sigebert returned however and took Reims and marched to Soissons, where he defeated, seized the city, and imprisoned Chilperic's eldest son, [[Theudebert of Soissons|Theudebert]]. The war flared in 567, at the death of Charibert. Chilperic immediately invaded Sigebert's new lands, but Sigebert defeated him. Chilperic later allied with Guntram against Sigebert (573), but Guntram changed sides due to fear of a large army Sigebert gathered past the [[Rhine]] and he crossed through Burgundy to bypass Chilperic’s strong defenses. Chilperic again lost the war.

This murder was the cause of more long and bloody wars, interspersed with truces, between Chilperic and Sigebert, usually ending in a status quo in Tours and Poitiers. In early December 575, Sigebert was struck down by two assassins working for Fredegund, atwho were clerks promised that their parents would be very wealthy as she knew this was move was very risky. At the very moment when he had Chilperic at his mercy, as he was besieged in Tournai and Rouen and Thibert, a son of Chilperic was killed near Paris while Sigebert illegally entered and seized the city. Chilperic then made war with the protector of Sigebert's wife and son, Guntram. Chilperic retrievedgot histhe positionloyalty from the nobles who’ve sided with Sigebert, took from Austrasia [[Tours]] and [[Poitiers]] and some places in [[Aquitaine]] like Saintes and the territory in Auvergene which a large battle was done against Mummol, who was serving under Guntram.,<ref>Armand, Frédéric. Chilpéric Ier: le roi assassiné deux fois. France, Louve, 2008. pg. 141</ref> and fostered discord in the kingdom of the east during the minority of [[Childebert II]].{{sfn|Pfister|1911}}

Most of what is known of Chilperic comes from ''The History of the Franks'' by [[Gregory of Tours]]. Gregory detested Chilperic, calling him "the [[Nero]] and [[Herod the Great|Herod]] of his time" (VI.46): he had provoked Gregory's wrath by wresting Tours from Austrasia, seizing ecclesiastical property, and appointing as bishops counts of the palace who were not clerics. Gregory also objected to Chilperic's attempts to teach a new doctrine of the [[Trinity]],<ref>[{{Cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html |title=Gregory of Tours] |access-date=2005-12-31 |archive-date=2014-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814182657/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> although some scholars dispute the extent to which Gregory disliked Chilperic.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Halsall|first=Guy|title='Nero and Herod? The death of Chilperic and Gregory of Tours' writing of history' in The World of Gregory of Tours|publisher=Brill|year=2002|editor-last=Mitchell|editor-first=Kathleen|pages=337–350|editor-last2=Wood|editor-first2=Ian}}</ref>

According to Gregory of Tours, Chilperic also engaged in [[forced conversion]] of Jews. <ref> Gregory of Tours. A History of the Franks. Pantianos Classics, 1916</ref>

*[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html History of the Franks: Books I-X] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814182657/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html |date=2014-08-14 }} At Medieval Sourcebook