'''Clovis''', ('Chlodowech' in the Old Franconian language) also called Clovis I, lived from (466 to 511. He AD) was the first king of the [[Franks]] starting . His reign began in 481 after the death of his father and shortly after the fall of the [[Roman Empire]] ushered in a period of uncertainty in Europe.
Clovis united all of [[Gaul]] under his rule. At that time the Franks were a pagan people. Clovis's wife, [[Clotilda]] converted Clovis to [[Catholicism]] and then Clovis converted his entire army. Because of this, Clovis gained the [[Pope|Pope's]] support and became very powerful. His war and defeat of the [[Visigoths]] in 507 helped to solidify Catholicism over [[Arianism]] in western Europe.
Clovis I instituted the ban or system of compulsory military service, which reached its high point under [[Charlemagne]].
==Contested memory==
The 1500th anniversary of the baptism of Clovis in 496 occasioned vitriolic debate between the right and the left in France. To conservatives, the essence of France emerged from the union of Catholicism and a uniform society; to leftists, Clovis's conversion was a minor event eclipsed by the universalist French Revolution. In the debates over the proper place of Clovis in the origins of the French nation, both sides employed historians and public officials to trumpet their positions. There was agreement only in that the central government was key to continuing French unity and that a unified, homogenous population was the basis of French existence. Muslim and other immigrant narratives were omitted entirely as their histories and presence challenge the French origin myths.
==Further reading==
* Terrio, Susan J. "Crucible of the Millennium? The Clovis Affair in Contemporary France," ''Comparative Studies in Society & History'' 1999 41(3): 438-457,
[[Category:French History]]
[[Category:Military CommandersMedieval History]]
[[Category:French Monarchs]]