Chlothar I
497-561
Reign: 511-561
King of Soissons, later King of all the Franks.
J. Morris claims that Cunomorus (see Mark of Cornwall) fell in rebellion against him in AD 560.
Clothar I was one of the Merovingian kings who ruled the Frankish Kingdom, and he played a role in the history of Soissons.
Clothar I inherited the Franksih kingdom along with his brothers after the death of their father, Clovis I, the founder of the Merovingian dynasty. The division of the kingdom among the Merovingian heirs led to a period of frequent intercine conflicts and shifting territorial boundaries. Soissons, as a significant Frankish city, was often a focal point of these struggles.
One notable event associated with Clothar I and Soissons is the Cursus Honorum or “Curse of the Royal Race.” According to historical accounts, Clothar I and his brothers established a system to regulate the inheritance of royal lands. However, conflicts over these inheritances persisted, and Soissons was at the center of one such conflict.
After the death of one of Clothar’s brothers, Charibert I, in 567 AD, Clothar I seized Charibert’s kingdom, which included Soissons. This act marked a significant consolidation of territory under Clothar I’s rule. The city continued to be important in the years that followed, and Clothar I’s descendants continued to play roles in the history of the region.
The Merovingians, with their complex interdynastic conflicts, played a crucial role in shaping the early medieval history of the Frankish Kingdom and, by extension, the history of Soissons.