CI11LPERIC I

This article appears in Volume V06, Page 163 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: CHR-CLI

CI11LPERIC I . (d. 584) was one of the sons of Clotaire I. Immediately after the death of his father in 561 he endeavoured to take possession of the whole kingdom, seized the treasure amassed in the royal town of Berny and entered Paris. His brothers, however, compelled him to divide the kingdom with them, and Soissons, together with Amiens,

Arras

ARRAS

, Cambrai, Therouanne, Tournai and Boulogne, fell to Chilperic's share, but on the death of

Charibert

CHARIBERT (d. 567)

in 567 his estates were augmented. When his brother Sigebert married Brunhilda, Chilperic also wished to make a brilliant

marriage

MARRIAGE

. He had already repudiated his first wife, Audovera, and had taken as his concubine a serving-woman called

Fredegond

FREDEGOND (Fredigundis) (d. 597)

. He accordingly dismissed

Fredegond

FREDEGOND (Fredigundis) (d. 597)

, and married Brunhilda's sister, Galswintha. But he soon tired of his new partner, and one morning Galswintha was found strangled in her bed. A few days afterwards Chilperic married Fredegond. This murder was the cause of long and bloody wars, interspersed with truces, between Chilperic and Sigebert. In 575 Sigebert was assassinated by Fredegond at the very moment when he had Chilperic at his mercy. Chilperic retrieved his position, took from Austrasia Tours and Poitiers and some places in Aquitaine, and fostered discord in the kingdom of the

east

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

during the minority of Childebert II. One day, however, while returning from the chase to the town of Chelles, Chilperic was stabbed to death.
Chilperic may be regarded as the type of Merovingian sovereigns. He was exceedingly anxious to extend the royal authority. He levied numerous imposts, and his fiscal

measures

MEASURES

provoked a

great

GREAT

sedition at

Limoges

LIMOGES

in 579. He wished to bring about the subjection of the church, and to this end sold bishoprics to the highest

bidder

BIDDER, GEORGE PARKER (1806-1878)

, annulled the wills made in favour of the bishoprics and abbeys, and sought to impose upon his subjects a rationalistic conception of the Trinity. He pretended to some literary culture, and was the author of some halting verse. He even added letters to the Latin alphabet, and wished to have the MSS. rewritten with the new characters. The wresting of Tours from Austrasia and the seizure of ecclesiastical property provoked the bitter hatred of Gregory of Tours, by whom Chilperic was stigmatized as the Nero and the Herod of his time.
See Seresia, L'E`glise et l'E`tat sous les rois francs au VP siecle (

Ghent

GHENT (Flem. Gent, Fr. Gand)

, 1888).

End of Article: CI11LPERIC I

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/CHR_CLI/CI11LPERIC_I.html">
CI11LPERIC I
</a>

(Previous)
CHUVASHES, or TCHUVASHES

(Next)
CIBBER (or CIBERT), CAIUS GABRIEL (163o-1700)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email