page_title: First Council of Orléans
section_title: Location
hierarchical_section_title: First Council of Orléans / Location
caption_attribution_description: English: The map comes from Vidal-Lablache, Atlas général d'histoire et de géographie (1894). It shows Gaul in 511 AD. Français&#160;: Monarchie franque à la mort de Clovis (511). Paul Vidal de La Blache, Atlas général d'histoire et de géographie (1894).
context_page_description: The First Council of Orléans was convoked by Clovis I, King of the Franks, in 511. Clovis called for this synod four years after his victory over the Visigoths under Alaric II at the Battle of Vouillé in 507. The council was attended by thirty-two bishops, including four metropolitans, from across Gaul, and together they passed thirty-one decrees. The bishops met at Orléans to reform the church and construct a strong relationship between the crown and the Catholic episcopate, the majority of the canons reflecting compromise between these two institutions.
  The 511 Council of Orléans was the first national Merovingian church council. It was an important milestone in creating a unified Gallic Church under Frankish rule, and accordingly the matters addressed at the council reflected the concerns of the Catholic episcopate in this new political context. The council established a Merovingian conciliar tradition, being the first of ‘no less than forty-five provincial and national Church councils’ in the sixth century.
context_section_description: For the location of his synod, Clovis chose the civitas of Orléans, located in north-central Gaul, on the Loire River. Its central location allowed for accessibility, and its status as a frontier city between Clovis’ kingdom and the newly conquered Visigothic territory gave the location significance.
  In 511 Orléans had no import in Gallic conciliar affairs, but over the Merovingian period was to become a prominent meeting place for national church councils. Four further councils took place in Orléans in the sixth century.
caption: Map of Frankish Gaul in 511, showing the location of Orléans.
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