Author's Notes

CHLPERIC II
Clotilde’s father, son of King Gundioc, thought to have lived 443-480.  Gundioc’s sons, Gundobald, Godegesil, Gundomar, and Chilperic, inherited a divided kingdom, and Gregory of Tours condemns Gundobald for murder and usurpation in a bid for Gundioc’s entire inheritance.  Chilperic’s daughter Chrona was said to have taken the veil and later founded the church of Saint-Victor, and Clotilde was exiled, eventually marrying Clovis (and supposedly setting her husband and even her sons against the traitorous Gundobald and his son Sigismund).


CHLODERIC
King of the river-dwelling Franks, killed by Clovis in 509.  Chloderic was the son of Sigibert, and called The Parricide, I saw in one source an undoubted typo referring to him as “the parasite”.  This was just appealing enough to use anyway, and informs what character he’s allowed to display in these pages (little enough, as it happens).  Clovis used Chloderic to achieve the murder of Sigibert, who had fought beside him in multiple battles—and then used Chloderic’s crime of betrayal to then remove him also from the picture.


CHLODOMER
495-524; inherited Orléans (Poitiers, Orléans—Aureliani, the city of Aurelius—Tours).  Eldest surviving son of Clovis and Clotilde, he is most closely involved in the legends of Clotilde’s (likely fictitious) lust for revenge against her own family in Burgundy.  He was killed at the Battle of Vézeronce in Burgundy, having assassinated Sigismund of Burgundy and both of Sigismund’s sons.  His widow was married, possibly without her consent, by Clotaire, who then murdered Chlodomer’s children, excepting the youngest, Clodoald, who escaped and gave up his long hair, emblem of his royalty.  Clodoald was canonized Saint Cloud.  (Clodomir, Clodomer)


CHOLWIG
FICTIONAL.  As with Pharamond, Cholwig is a piece of imagination.  He fills the role of sage elder for Clovis—indeed, he is almost the only member of the preceding generation who makes up Clovis’ court from the beginning.  He represents the sole tie to the old ways, to Clovis’ ancestors, and takes on the literary position of surrogate father to the king.  He is Merlin and Mr. Miyagi, Spock and Mickey Goldmill.  Completely imaginary, but for the way I found this novel developing, completely necessary.


CHROTILDA
Sole daughter of Clovis and Clotilde, born 506, between his conversion and eventual baptism.  The name Chrotilda is cognate with Clotilde; she was named for her mother.

In the years after Clovis’ death, given in marriage to Amalaric, she was “rescued” by her brothers after, according to legend, she sent a towel stained with her own blood to her brother Childebert, who brought an army to defeat the Visigoths and retrieved his sister, only for her to die on the journey homeward of unrecorded causes.


As always, Author's Notes excerpts are excerpted from the MS, which means they are written "in-universe."  These posts should not be taken as historical resources.