Editing Chlothar I (section)

{{short description|King of the Franks (r. 511–558) of the Merovingian dynasty}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name        =Chlothar I
|title       =
|image       = Monnaie d'argent de Clotaire Ier.jpeg
|caption     = Silver coin of Chlothar I, marked:<br/>{{Smallcaps|{{Abbreviation|d·n·|DOMINUS NOSTER}} chlothaharivi rex}}
|succession  =[[King of Soissons]]
|reign       =511–558
|predecessor = [[Clovis I]]
|successor   = [[Chilperic I]]
|succession1 =[[King of Orléans]]
|reign1      =524–558
|predecessor1=[[Chlodomer]]
|successor1  = [[Guntram|St. Guntram]]
|succession2 = [[King of Reims]]
|predecessor2=[[Theudebald]]
|successor2  = [[Sigebert I]]
|reign2 = 555–558
|succession3 = [[King of Paris]]
|predecessor3=[[Childebert I]]
|successor3 = [[Charibert I]]
|reign3 = 558
|succession4 = [[King of the Franks]]
|predecessor4 = Vacant <small>(last held by [[Clovis I]])</small>
|successor4 = Vacant <small>(next held by [[Clotaire II]])</small>
|reign4 = 558–561
|spouse      =[[Guntheuc]]<br/>[[Radegund]]<br/>[[Ingund]]<br/>[[Aregund]]<br/>[[Chunsina]]
|issue       =[[#Family|Gunthar]]<br/>[[#Family|Childeric]]<br/>[[Charibert I|Charibert]]<br/>[[Guntram|St. Guntram]]<br/>[[Sigebert I|Sigebert]]<br/>[[Chilperic I|Chilperic]]<br/>[[Chlothsind (queen)|Chlothsind]]<br/>[[Chram]]
|house       =[[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]]
|house-type  = Dynasty
|father      =[[Clovis I]]
|mother      =[[Clotilde]]
|birth_date  = 
|birth_place = {{circa}} 500 (?)
|death_date  = December 561 (aged {{circa}} 60)
|death_place = [[Compiègne]]
|burial_date =
|burial_place=
|religion    =[[Chalcedonian Christianity]]
}}
'''Chlothar I''',{{efn|Also spelled ''Chlothachar'', ''Chlotar'', ''Clothar'', ''Clotaire'', ''Chlotochar'', and ''Hlothar'', giving rise to the name ''Lothair''.}} sometime called '''"the Old"''' (French: le Vieux), (died {{circa}} December 561){{efn|His death date is sometimes given as 29 November 561, but this is not accurate. Chlothar was still alive in 28 November, and died before the end of the year.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Levison|first=Wilhelm|author-link=Wilhelm Levison|year=1910|title=Das Nekrologium von Dom Racine und die Chronologie der Merowinger|journal=[[Neues Archiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde]]|volume=35|pages=15–53 (37–39)|url=https://archive.org/details/neuesarchiv35geseuoft/page/15/mode/2up}}</ref>}} also anglicised as '''Clotaire''' from the original French version,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hare |first=Augustus John Cuthbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qbxRAQAAIAAJ&dq=valliquerville+church&pg=PA69 |title=North-western France (Normandy and Brittany) |date=1895 |publisher=G. Allen |pages=68 |language=en}}</ref> was a [[king of the Franks]] of the [[Merovingian dynasty]] and one of the four sons of [[Clovis I]].

With his eldest brother [[Theuderic I|Theuderic]] (c. 485 – 533/34) being the son of Clovis I and his first wife, Chlothar followed his two elder brothers [[Chlodomer]] (495–524) and [[Childebert I]] (496–558) as third surviving son of Clovis I and his second wife Queen [[Clotilde]], lastly followed by their sister [[Clotilde (died 531)|Clotilde]] (500–531). The name 'Chlothar' means "glory".<ref>Jean-Louis Fetjaine, ''The Purple Queens: The Robes of Fredegonde''. Chap 1, Belfond, Paris, 2006, p. 14.</ref>

In 511, Clothar I and his three brothers Theuderic, Chlodomer and Childebert inherited their shares of their father's kingdom. Chlothar spent most of his life in a campaign to expand his territories at the expense of his relatives and neighbouring realms in all directions.

His brothers avoided outright war by cooperating with Chlothar's attacks on neighbouring lands in concert or by invading lands when their rulers died. The spoils were shared between the participating brothers. By the end of his life, Chlothar had managed to reunite [[Francia]] by surviving his brothers and seizing their territories after they died. But upon his own death, the [[Kingdom of the Franks]] was once again divided between his own four surviving sons. A fifth son had rebelled and was killed, along with his family.