The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-11-27
THE KINGS OF FRANCE

In the French calendar today is the
anniversary of the death in ell OF
Clovis the Great, the first King Of
France and the founder OF the
Ffankisch monarchy. Clovis was the
son II Childeric. a petty potentate OF
that period, and at the age of ID he
succeeded his father as ruler Of the
Salian tribe, then residing within the
territory of his native town of Tour
nay. At that. time central Gaul was
still governed by a Roman warrior,
and Clovis marched against him at
scissors, routed his. legions. and put
him to death. The whole Belgic
country and the. cities of SCISSORS,
Rheims. Troyes, Beauvis and Amiens
submitted to- Clovis. AS the most
powerful prince in Gaul, he was
courted by the Catholic bishops. who
induced him to put aside his first wife
and marry :. Clotilda, a Catholic
princess. At first she found him re-
luctant to renounce the national god
Of his country and embrace the
Christian faith. There is a legend
that he remained a pagan until, by
the aid of Christian god. he gained
a victory over the Germans. The
Alemanni, ancestors of the modern
Teutons, then as now coveted the
rich country of northern France.
They crossed the Rhine with a great
army and invaded France, and Clovis
fastened to repel them, In a. great
battle near Tolbiac the Germans at
first proved too powerful, for the de-
tenders of France, and they had al
ready shouted their chant Of victory
when Clovis, in despair, fell upon his
knees. According to tradition, he
prayed: "God Of Clotilda, give me
and I confess thy NAME" The course
of victory was Immediately turned,
the Germans broke and fed, and the
flower Of their forces and their king
were slain Within the same year
Clovis was. baptized at Rheims, and
with him 5000 of his companions. In
a short time his example was follow
ed by the greater part Of his subjects.
After routing. the Visigoths and kill
ing their king, Alaric, Clovis annexed
the greater part Of Aquitania, COM
prising southwestern France, and ex-
tended his dominions from the lower
Rhine to the Pyrenees. Clovis con-
version to Christianity. did not seem
to affect any change in his moral ma
ture, and in disposing Of his relatives
who were the petty princes OF terri
lies he coveted he resorted to the
most revolving devices which treach-
cry and cruelty could suggest.
Clovis died at the age OF 40, and
he divided his empire among his four
sons The eldest, Theodore, the
child Of his first wife-who was de-
clared by the church to have been
merely his mistress obtained the
eastern portion, together with what
is now western Germany, while the
remainder of Gaul was divided
among the three sons Of Clotilda. The
country was reunited under Clotaire
I. in 558, but was again divided
among his four sons. This process
was continued throughout the greater
part of the rule Of the Merovingian
race, which continue to the eighth
century, when the Carlovingian dyn-
asty was founded by Charles Martel.
and attained great power under his
grandson. Charlemange. In the lat
ter part of the tenth century the Ca
pets gained sovereignty over France,
and they in turn gave way to the
House Of Valois in 1928. The Bour-
bon dynasty commenced with Henry
w. the Great, in 1889, and continued
to rule France until it was swallowed
up in the mad swirl of the revolu-
tion Then followed the first repub-
lie, the empire of Napoleon, the brief
restoration Of the Bourbons. the al
most equally brief reign Of Louis