Why clovis converted

On Christmas Day, Clovis I , king of the Franks, converted to Catholicism at the instigation of his wife, Clotilde , a Burgundian princess who was a Catholic in spite of the Arianism that surrounded her at court. Clovis was baptized in a small church in the vicinity of the subsequent Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims. While the theology of the Arians was declared a heresy at the First Council of Nicea in AD, the missionary work of the bishop Ulfilas converted the pagan Goths to Arian Christianity in the 4th century.

The king's Catholic baptism was of immense importance in the subsequent history of Western and Central Europe in general, for Clovis expanded his dominion over almost all of Gaul. It also shaped the future of Europe. His conversion subsequently gave birth to the early Holy Roman Empire. Later Life and Death : Clovis died after a brief illness on 28th November, However, some historians believe that he lived till AD.

Before his death, Clovis divided his holdings between his sons, Theuderic, Chlodomer, Childebert and Clotaire. This division gave rise to disunity among Franks which continued for a long time.

Clovis invaded most of Roman Gaul and parts of Western Germany. He is credited for the founding of France by French which bolsters his legacy. Queen Clotild continued to pray that her husband might recognize the true God and give up his idol worship.

Nothing could persuade him to accept Christianity. Finally war broke out against the Alamanni, and in this conflict he was forced by necessity to accept what he had refused of his own free will. It so turned out that when the two armies met on the battlefield, there was great slaughter and the troops of Clovis were rapidly being annihilated.

He raised his eyes to heaven when he saw this, felt compunction in his heart, and was moved to tears. If you will give me victory over my enemies, and if I may have evidence of that miraculous power which the people dedicated to your name say that they have experienced, then I will believe in you and I will be baptized in your name.

I have called upon my own gods, but, as I see only too clearly, they have no intention of helping me. I therefore cannot believe that they possess any power, for they do not come to the assistance of those who trust in them.