Not very long after Clovis became king he heard of a beautiful
young girl, the niece of Gon'de-baud, king of Burgundy, and he
thought he would like to marry her. Her name was Clo-tilde', and
she was an orphan, for her wicked uncle Gondebaud had killed her
father and mother. Clovis sent one of his nobles to Gondebaud to
ask her for his wife. At first Gondebaud thought of refusing to
let the girl go. He feared that she might have him punished for
the murder of her parents if she became the wife of so powerful
a man as Clovis. But he was also afraid that by refusing he would
provoke the anger of Clovis; so he permitted the girl to be taken
to the court of the king of the Franks. Clovis was delighted when
he saw her; and they were immediately married.
Clotilde was a devout Christian, and she wished very much to convert
her husband, who, like most of his people, was a worshiper of the
heathen gods. But Clovis was not willing to give up his own religion.
Nevertheless Clotilde continued to do every thing she could to
persuade him to become a Christian.
[Illustration: CROSSING THE RHINE]
Soon after his marriage Clovis had a war with a tribe called the
Alemanni. This tribe had crossed the Rhine from Germany and taken
possession of some of the eastern provinces of Gaul. Clovis speedily
got his warriors together and marched against them. A battle was
fought at a place called Tolbiac, not far from the present city
of Cologne. In this battle the Franks were nearly beaten, for the
Alemanni were fierce and brave men and skillful fighters. When
Clovis saw his soldiers driven back several times he began to lose
hope, but at that moment he thought of his pious wife and of the
powerful God of whom she had so often spoken. Then he raised his
hands to heaven and earnestly prayed to that God.
"O God of Clotilde," he cried, "help me in this my hour of need.
If thou wilt give me victory now I will believe in thee."
Almost immediately the course of the battle began to change in
favor of the Franks. Clovis led his warriors forward once more,
and this time the Alemanni fled before them in terror. The Franks
gained a great victory, and they believed it was in answer to the
prayer of their king.
When Clovis returned home he did not forget his promise. He told
Clotilde how he had prayed to her God for help and how his prayer
had been heard, and he said he was now ready to become a Christian.
Clotilde was very happy on hearing this, and she arranged that her
husband should be baptized in the church of Rheims on the following
Christmas day.
Meanwhile Clovis issued a proclamation to his people declaring
that he was a believer in Christ, and giving orders that all the
images and temples of the heathen gods should be destroyed. This
was immediately done, and many of the people followed his example
and became Christians.
[Illustration: THE BAPTISM OF CLOVIS]
Clovis was a very earnest and fervent convert. One day the bishop
of Rheims, while instructing him in the doctrines of Christianity,
described the death of Christ. As the bishop proceeded Clovis became
much excited, and at last jumped up from his seat and exclaimed:
"Had I been there with my brave Franks I would have avenged His
wrongs."
On Christmas day a great multitude assembled in the church at Rheims
to witness the baptism of the king. A large number of his fierce
warriors were baptized at the same time. The service was performed
with great ceremony by the bishop of Rheims, and the title of "Most
Christian King" was conferred on Clovis by the Pope. This title
was ever afterwards borne by the kings of France.
Like most of the kings and chiefs of those rude and barbarous times,
Clovis often did cruel and wicked things. When Rheims was captured,
before he became a Christian, a golden vase was taken by some soldiers
from the church. The bishop asked Clovis to have it returned, and
Clovis bade him wait until the division of spoils. All the valuable
things taken by soldiers in war were divided among the whole army,
each man getting his share according to rank. Such things were
called spoils.
[Illustration: CLOVIS FINDS FAULT WITH THE SOLDIER]
When the next time came for dividing spoils Clovis asked that he
might have the vase over and above his regular share, his intention
being to return it to the bishop. But one of the soldiers objected,
saying that the king should have no more than his fair share, and
at the same time shattered the vase with his ax. Clovis was very
angry, but at the time said nothing. Soon afterwards, however,
there was the usual examination of the arms of the soldiers to
see that they were in proper condition for active service. Clovis
himself took part in the examination, and when he came to the soldier
who had broken the vase he found fault with the condition of his
weapons and with one blow of his battle-ax struck the man dead.