Childeric I

Childeric I (chil'durik) [key], c.436–481, Merovingian king of the Salian Franks (c.457–481), a Germanic tribe; son of Meroveus and father of Clovis I. Information on him is mostly legendary. His rule was that of a tribal chieftain. He defeated (463) the Visigoths at Orléans as an ally of the Roman general Aegidius. Subsequently he defeated the Saxons and the Alemanni. His tomb, containing armor and ornaments, was discovered in 1653 at his capital, near Tournai, Belgium.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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