The Children of Clovis a Merovingian TL

[WhiteSpider]

After defeating the last Frisians who were ravaging Neustria* Clovis now back in Paris decided to turn his attention back to the British Isles he had heard of a king who had united most of the Isles around his banner rumors that and decided to send some envoys to go see the full scope of the situation and see if it might undermine his plan of influence.
A few moths later two envoys arrived in the court of the Kentish king Eomenric and his Frankish bride Bertha (daughter of Frankish king Charibert I) who welcomed them and told them about what had been happening. Oswiu king of Northumberland had conquered Mercia and become the hegemon of the British Isles expect for the land up north where the Picts dwell. He also Informed them that Oswiu had forced most of Mercia to become Christian and had baptized king Sigeberht of Essex and this pleased to envoys who went back
*Most wanted to go home after hearing about Pepin's punitive raid into Frisia after the night attack.

 

[Nuraghe]

After defeating the last Frisians who were ravaging Neustria* Clovis now back in Paris decided to turn his attention back to the British Isles he had heard of a king who had united most of the Isles around his banner rumors that and decided to send some envoys to go see the full scope of the situation and see if it might undermine his plan of influence.
A few moths later two envoys arrived in the court of the Kentish king Eomenric and his Frankish bride Bertha (daughter of Frankish king Charibert I) who welcomed them and told them about what had been happening. Oswiu king of Northumberland had conquered Mercia and become the hegemon of the British Isles expect for the land up north where the Picts dwell. He also Informed them that Oswiu had forced most of Mercia to become Christian and had baptized king Sigeberht of Essex and this pleased to envoys who went back
*Most wanted to go home after hearing about Pepin's punitive raid into Frisia after the night attack.

now things get very funny, I'm interested in how Clovis will relate to this Oswiu, is in particular whether he will consider him as a potential threat or even an ally, speaking of the Channel , how things are going in Brittany ? ( which until Charlemagne was quite out of Frankish control and had important links with Cornwall and Wales as well as with Ireland )

 

[Andristan]

Oswy is just about to become overlord of the picts too in OTL, once he can turn his attention to them also Alt Clut as well.

 

[WhiteSpider]

Sorry Its been a while I have midterm exams
Pepin had returned to the capital after his raid into Frisia where he was greeted by his father Ansegisel "you have proved yourself a warrior but more importantly you have proved yourself as my son". As they were celebrating Balthild was talking with one of her servants "I've been here (Astrasia) long enough I want to go back to to Neustria where my Husband is" the servant was pretty understanding seeing as she had been treated worse by the Astrasian nobility and to everyone around her they could tell that she wanted to leave. So they servant began "as you are the Queen once you leave you will be able to meet up with your husband. "I cannot handle government affairs and I want some quiet in my life to raise my sons" Soon the servants had begun packing meanwhile one of them got a pen and paper and began writing
For Clovis II
We are heading back toward Neustria and and should arrive in Paris in a few days once their we can send some administrators back to Metz to cool some heads. Once back in Neustria we can focus back to the more important issues. Once their we can head towards Soissons, connect with our allies, and stick together

 

[WhiteSpider]

Clovis decided something should be done but what exactly needed or should be done he was not sure. His beloved Anglo-Saxon wife had arrived in Paris with his son Chlothar. Though Neustria was doing perfect Astrasia was getting more separated without much royal authority while the Mayor of the Palace Ansegisel starts gaining power and is forcing him to focus on that front while the lombards are becoming more of a problem. So he sent some administrators to Metz as well as Theudebert to guard the borders with the Frisians and inspire personal loyalty. Then he relocated to the city of Soissons which was close enough to Astrasia for him to get news quickly. It also would also help reduce tensions after news of the royal family's flight from Metz.
Meanwhile the two envoys had arrived back in Soissons and relayed what they had learned Clovis thought for a while and decided to wait and see what happens next. He was more interested in keeping the Frankish realm united so he decided to just keep tabs on the situation. He decided to build some forts where Neustria borders the Frisians for some added stability. With that done he decided to focus on finalizing the terms Bertrand had asked for which would conclude their alliance.

 

[WhiteSpider]

Receswinth was not sure what to think of the new alliance between Aquitaine and Frankia but the last thing he wanted to do was to create a conflict of which he would probably loose. So he decided to wait and see how things turned out and not to rush into anything he might regret. He had decided to create a navy though in case he might need to capture Tangier or the Balearic islands for the Byzantines though it would be harder since the emperor Constans II was focusing more on his western territories.
Elsewhere Clovis was thinking more about Asturias Ansegisel was not close enough to the type of power Grimoald had but he was just nervous especially since he had named his son Pepin after his father-in-law (who was Grimoald's father) while it might have been a popularity move it still wasn't something Clovis was on board with but with nothing to base his claims off he would have to wait like a snake in the grass and see what would happen next. Pepin had returned from Frisia with the mantel of military victory and was well liked by the people of Astrasia. Clovis decided maybe it was time to make a war a bit closer to Neustria or Burgundy. It would also test to see how his alliance with Bernard would play out for better or for worse Clovis would take his army somewhere.

 

[Andristan]

Pepin had returned from Frisia with the mantel of military victory and was well liked by the people of Asturias

Is this supposed to be Austrasia? Otherwise it would be very impressive of Pepin to show off for the Spanish with victories in Frisia, lol

 

[WhiteSpider]

Is this supposed to be Austrasia? Otherwise it would be very impressive of Pepin to show off for the Spanish with victories in Frisia, lol

Yes it was supposed to be Astrasia my bad

 

[WhiteSpider]

After a few more years of relative peace war arrived tensions between the Franks and Lombards had always been sour at best and they had tried to invade Italy previously after allying with the Byzantine Empire. The Lombard king Perctarit needed help against his brother Godepert who was an Arian in exchange he would grant Clovis the region of Turin. Clovis took action he and and army of 12,000 men arrived in Provence and swept away a few border fortresses before advancing toward Novara where he met up with Perctarit. Meanwhile Godepert was trying to rally in army in Tuscany after an inconclusive battle with his brothers supporters when he heard of his brothers alliance he rushed forward to Pavia. Soon the army of Clovis and Pertarit arrived Godepert decided to leave the city but got lost during the night and returned. Soon the two kings ordered a storm assualt which took the city. During the ensuing sack of Pavia Godepert was killed by a Frankish soldier who mistook him for rich Lombard nobleman. Afterwards the Franks laiden with loot left Italy with plunder in hand.
While all of this was happening Bernard died and was succeeded by a nobleman named Felix

 

[WhiteSpider]

In 562 Clovis II died after taking the throne at the young age of six he had grown into a competent king who had spread Frankish influence near and far. As was Merovingian tradition he split the throne between his sons Theuderic III his youngest son received Neustria, Chlothar III his eldest son received Burgundy and Childeric II his middle son received Astrasia. Chlothar convinced by his advisors tho take initiative decided to attack the lombards, as his fathers ally Perctarit had once again gotten deposed this tome by the duke of Benevento Grimoald* so with troops from Neustria sent by Theuderic III and some money from Constanstantinople, Chrodbert (the Burgundian Mayor of the Palace) marched into Italy. Unfortunately Turin which had been straffing under Frankish rule had surrendered to the Lombards. In response Chrodbert sent a cavalry contingent from Neustria (that he didn't fully trust) to attack Vercelli which was a crucial junction between Pavia (the capital) and Turin. Grimoald sent a force to retake the city and the Neustrians fled in order to avoid a drawn out siege. Their leader Amalric decided to compensate by destroying some villages between Vercelli and Turin but this just made the local populace turn against the Franks and the cavalry had to return to the Frankish camp seeing the situation as bad Chrodbert decided to retreat back into Burgundy and wait out the winter or else be encircled in what was now hostile territory.
*In OTL he overthrew Perctarit in 671 but I want it to happen a bit earlier in order to start a war.
Edit: Sorry I have been away for so long

 

[Collondi]

Glad to see this back!

 

[Nuraghe]

In 562 Clovis II died after taking the throne at the young age of six he had grown into a competent king who had spread Frankish influence near and far. As was Merovingian tradition he split the throne between his sons Theuderic III his eldest son received Neustria, Chlothar III his middle son received Burgundy and Childeric II his eldest son received Astrasia. Chlothar convinced by his advisors tho take initiative decided to attack the lombards, as his fathers ally Perctarit had once again gotten deposed this tome by the duke of Benevento Grimoald* so with troops from Neustria sent by Theuderic III, Chrodbert (the Burgundian Mayor of the Palace) marched into Italy. Unfortunately Turin which had been straffing under Frankish rule had surrendered to the Lombards. In response Chrodbert sent a cavalry contingent from Neustria (that he didn't fully trust) to attack Vercelli which was a crucial junction between Pavia (the capital) and Turin. Grimoald sent a force to retake the city and the Neustrians fled in order to avoid a drawn out siege. Their leader Amalric decided to compensate by destroying some villages between Vercelli and Turin but this just made the local populace turn against the Franks and the cavalry had to return to the Frankish camp seeing the situation as bad Chrodbert decided to retreat back into Burgundy and wait out the winter or else be encircled in what was now hostile territory.
*In OTL he overthrew Perctarit in 671 but I want it to happen a bit earlier in order to start a war.
Edit: Sorry I have been away for so long

May our Clovis II rest in peace, you were a good ruler, even if sooner or later something must be done to settle the law of succession of the Franks ( because in the long run it is harmful to the "state" ) very interesting that the situation with the Lombards has once again led to a conflict between the two kingdoms, I sincerely hope that the Franks will be able through the Papacy ( at the time there was Pope Vitaliano ) to coordinate better with Costants II against the common enemy ( considering that in Otl he was already on his way towards the peninsula in 660, and that his most important campaign in Italy was in 663 against Benevento, and to increase his chances of victory he made an alliance with the Franks ), very curious to see the future developments of this war, hoping that in the end it will be a victory for the Roman alliance ( in the papal sense of the term ) and that perhaps a marriage will result between the descendants of Clovis II and the imperial court of Constantinople ( in particular if Constans II is not killed in 668, so to be able to have a daughter to marry in the land of Frankia )


to have a greater chance of hitting the Lombards from multiple directions at the same time, it would not be the case for the Franks to decide to personally control the Alpine passes ( therefore expanding their direct government into the old Roman provinces of Raetia and Noricum, today's Swabia and Bavaria - Austria ) furthermore with the surplus population they have compared to Otl ( thanks to the government of Clovis II who avoided the common intestinal wars between the constituent kingdoms of Frankia ) there would be everything in order to " Frankize " the regions beyond the Rhine to a greater extent than what happened historically ( also from a linguistic point of view, with a massive diffusion of neo-Romance dialects at a local level, assimilating the small Germanic populations on the border, considering that the Moselle region until the 13th century had a large, predominantly urban representation of speakers of the Romance dialect in Otl, it wouldn't be so strange in this TL to see the region remain with a stronger " Latin " majority ) yes, I know that it is a concept that I have already mentioned in a previous comment, but considering that thanks to these men more than Otl, some areas of Germany which historically were conquered definitively only after the seizure of power by Charles the Hammer and of his heirs, can be subjugated well in advance ( I am thinking of Friesland, already subject to important campaigns in TL, or of Western Saxony or Bavaria which here can be gradually incorporated into the Frankish system with more ease ) and this could potentially also give rise to a proto-Ostsiedlung process several centuries in advance ( since I imagine that the Saxons, to avoid clashes/strengthen themselves, will try to expand towards the East, conquering and integrating the local Slavic populations )

 

[HyperMuscularDemon]

How would the Franks deal with Iberia? Around this time, the Islamic expansions were happening, and in 711 AD the Muslims invaded Iberia, specifically the Visigothic kingdom. If this TL specific Frankish kingdom is stronger, then there could a chance that the Franks repel the Muslim raids into the Occitan region far earlier.

 

[Nuraghe]

How would the Franks deal with Iberia? Around this time, the Islamic expansions were happening, and in 711 AD the Muslims invaded Iberia, specifically the Visigothic kingdom. If this TL specific Frankish kingdom is stronger, then there could a chance that the Franks repel the Muslim raids into the Occitan region far earlier.

well we are still very far from 711, furthermore the Arabs are still struggling with the total conquest of Persia and the fight against Rome for the control of Egypt ( with the Romans who at this moment have decided that defense alone is no longer enough ) finally an attempt to expand beyond Libya was laboriously stopped by the Exarch stationed in Carthage, so for now they cannot yet reach the Visigothic territories, it is not even a given that they will be able to take and keep Exarchate of Africa in the future

 

[WhiteSpider]

May our Clovis II rest in peace, you were a good ruler, even if sooner or later something must be done to settle the law of succession of the Franks ( because in the long run it is harmful to the "state" )

I agree that it is harmful but I didn't want to make any drastic changes too soon.

 

[Nuraghe]

I agree that it is harmful but I didn't want to make any drastic changes too soon.

I agree that trying to modify this Merovingian tradition in this period is still too early, perhaps it could gradually get the Franks used to being under a single sovereign, with a series of monarchs who have only one son, or reign long enough ( even simply 3 rulers following one another in a row, and obtaining the whole of Frankia in the process peacefully, would be enough to begin to have a draft of this concept ) that it becomes strange to see the kingdom divided and in full civil strife ( basically a process similar to France under the Capetians )

 

[WhiteSpider]

Constans II looked west, he though of Justinian the emperor who had restored Italy and Africa to Roman rule, he thought of his grandfather Heraclius who had saved the empire from the Sassanids and had been hailed as "The new Scipio" but had lost Syria and Egypt to the Arabs. He watched the sun slowly set and he new it was his turn to do something amazing. News had reached him while in Athens of the Franks fighting with the lombards now was his moment and he knew he wouldn't waste it.

 

[Nuraghe]

Constans II looked west, he though of Justinian the emperor who had restored Italy and Africa to Roman rule, he thought of his grandfather Heraclius who had saved the empire from the Sassanids and had been hailed as "The new Scipio" but had lost Syria and Egypt to the Arabs. He watched the sun slowly set and he new it was his turn to do something amazing. News had reached him while in Athens of the Franks fighting with the lombards now was his moment and he knew he wouldn't waste it.

Finally Constans II appears on the scene, let's hope that this time his campaigns against the Lombards can go better than Otl ( especially if he allies himself with the Franks ) I am curious to see if the two representatives ( the Frankish Kings and the Emperor ) could meet personally, through the intervention of the Pope ( perhaps in Rome itself ) to improve their coordination in the war and discuss possible future alliances ( hopefully also matrimonial )

P.s

However dear Caesar, I would just like to tell you one thing, when you visit Rome, avoid plundering it of everything which is precious or useful for the war ( as you did in Otl, even stealing ancient relics ) rather do some public work in the city ( this way you earn the affection and support of the local population, including the Pope ) I'm not telling you to build it from scratch, but only to do some small restoration ( for example of an aqueduct or fix one of the many spas scattered around the city, or build a hospital for the sick, a church dedicated to you, finance a school in the Vatican ( or assist Vitaliano in designing it, given that one existed, albeit a small one ), make a cleaning the banks of the Tiber ( so as to reduce the endemic spread of malaria ), a building that acts as a home for the less wealthy Romans or, finally, updating the defensive walls ), nor would just one of these things just listed be enough to earn your respect of the Romans forever ( in addition to improving their lives, also in the future )

@WhiteSpider

 

[WhiteSpider]

Ebroin* sat before the council of Neustria attended by many of the late kings companions, a few nobles they had been spending the last half hour discussing how they should handle the war. Bathild the Queen regent had left for Chalon-sur-Saône (the capital of Burgundy) to take control of things while most of the nobility were fighting the lombards. Normally a war like this wouldn't much bother the Neustrians but the possibly for Ebroin to become Mayor the the palaces of both Neustria and Burgundy (or at least install a puppet in Burgundy). But he would have to wait until something would happen that he could take advantage of without looking like an aggressor.
Meanwhile Bathild had finally arrived in Chalon-sur-Saône and with most of the members of the court having left she could finally stand between her son and those who wanted to take advantage of him. She knew that if she could keep him from becoming a puppet she would fulfill her beloved husbands last wishes. She just needed to keep her firstborn son alive long enough for him to be able to assert her control and them maybe she would be able to sleep easily again. But for now she could content herself with having defacto over Burgundy while allying with some of the minor nobility.
*The New Neustrian Mayor of the Palace and will play and important role there

 

[WhiteSpider]

Constans II advanced towards the city of Benevento his army was in high spirits Grimoald had only been able to send 2,000 reinforcements to his son in Benevento due to the conflict with the Franks his march from Taranto had been a swift one with his thematic troops he had headed straight for the capital before much could be done. The haste however meant that they had very few siege engines and it would take a while to set it up in the meantime his troops had almost finished digging a ditch around the city soon the city would surrender. Earlier they had managed to take the city of Lucera in Apulia by a quick assault but here it was a much larger city with a large garrison. Constans was thinking about that siege when a band of riders arrived "emperor of the romans" their leader said upon dismounting "I am Dagobert sending you the best wishes from our king Chlothar III we have recently heard of your invasion and it pleases us to see you fighting our common enemy especially after your contributions to our war chests" Constans turned to one of his advisors "Get this men some food and a place to rest, its getting dark".