Clovis - The First King: Conversion (S1: E5)

The artwork for T+M depicts Clovis at the Battle of Tolbiac, and it’s the starting scene for today’s show as we focus on his conversion to Catholicism and the many different, sometimes competing, influences that brought him to the Faith. Did he convert because of an immediate battlefield need, the insistence of his wife, or was his close lifelong affiliation with Catholics throughout Frankish society the driving factor that led him to the baptismal font? Also, to what extent did Clovis emulate the example set by Emperor Constantine? Did he try to be like the great Christian leader, or was his likeness to Constantine a dramatic embellishment added years later? We’ll cover all of this and more in this installment of Thugs and Miracles.