Christmas 496

The baptism of Clovis and the conversion of the Franks

The Merovingian king Clovis was married to the Catholic Christian Clotilde, niece of the Burgundian king. He vowed to adopt her faith if her God granted him victory over the Alemanni (495). Persuaded also by Bishop Remigius of Reims, Clovis was baptized on Christmas 496 along with many Frankish nobles. Most of his people followed him.

The Franks became the only major Germanic people to adopt Nicene rather than Arian Christianity directly from paganism. This allowed them to present themselves as liberators of Gaul's Roman population from the Arian Visigoths and Burgundians and to secure Rome's support. In 534 they subjugated Burgundy.