Battle of Tolbiac
| Battle of Tolbiac | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 "The Battle of Tolbiac" by Ary Scheffer. Galerie des Batailles |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Franks | Alemanni | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Sigobert the Lame Clovis I |
Gibuld † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| very heavy | heavy | ||||||
Decisive Frankish victory
The Battle of Tolbiac was fought between the Franks, who were fighting under Clovis I, and the Alamanni, whose leader is not known. The date of the battle has traditionally been given as 496, though other accounts suggest it may have been fought in 506. The site of "Tolbiac", or "Tolbiacum", is usually given as Zülpich, North Rhine-Westphalia, about 60 km east of what is now the German-Belgian frontier. The Franks were successful at Tolbiac and established their dominance over the Alamanni.
The Franks were two neighboring peoples, and allies: the Salian Franks, whose king was Clovis, and the Ripuarian Franks, whose capital was Cologne and whose king was Sigebert the Lame. Bordering on Sigebert's kingdom were the Alemanni, a confederation of Germanic tribes. Border incidents, looting and punitive raids multiplied between the Alemanni and Ripuarian Franks, but in 496 Sigebert suffered a real invasion and called on Clovis for help. Clovis responded favorably to his ally and raised an army. It is generally accepted that in defending Tolbiac, Sigebert and his army suffered heavy losses. There were two battles of Tolbiac.
Little is known about the battle, except that the Ripuarian Franks were probably of no help after the first battle. Clovis saw his warriors being killed and felt the battle was getting out of hand. Moved to tears, he called upon the God of his wife Clotilde, the God that she had preached to him since their marriage in 493, asking for his help.
Gregory of Tours records Clovis's prayer in chapter II of the History of the Franks: "O Jesus Christ, you who as Clotilde tells me are the son of the Living God, you who give succor to those who are in danger, and victory to those accorded who hope in Thee, I seek the glory of devotion with your assistance: If you give me victory over these enemies, and if I experience the miracles that the people committed to your name say they have had, I believe in you, and I will be baptized in your name. Indeed, I invoked my gods, and, as I am experiencing, they failed to help me, which makes me believe that they are endowed with no powers, that they do not come to the aid of those who serve. It's to you I cry now, I want to believe in you if only I may be saved from my opponents." At these words, the Alemanni began to flee, as their leader had been killed with an axe. The Franks subdued or killed the remaining Alemanni.
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Wikipedia