Chapter 8: Come the War, Come Hell.
“They killed my boy!” – Theodemir the Great, after the sack of Paris
September, 545 Vienna, Burgundy
The man approached the Gothic camp waving the white flag. It was only the single man, with a small guard of five guards. Word quickly spread through the Gothic camp that Clothair was offering peace, but such was not the case. The guards quickly sent words back to the King, who was intrigued enough by the mysterious peace offering, so allow a meeting.
After being heralded in to Theodemir’s man tent, the messenger laid himself prostrate. “My Lord,” he began, “I grieve for the bad blood between us, and the tragedies you have been forced to endure.”
“Have you come from Clothair, to bed forgiveness for your sins before God,” the King said. Theodemir was a small man, with a reedy voice, but when enraged he could make himself seem three times the size of a regular man. Since the assassination of his son, he had allowed rage to dominate his senses.
“No, my Lord, I come from Theudoric, King of the Franks. I have been sent to express my condolences, and to state that Theudoric, King, had no part on the foul betrayal of your kin. We are saddened by all that has transpired, and wish you the best.”
Theodemir snorted, “One Frank is as good as another. You have all betrayed my family, betrayed God himself. My son came as an envoy of peace, and you subjugated him to the most unnatural of tortures. I have nothing in my heart, but hate for your kin. Any son of Clovis should be purged from the face of the Earth, for their presence is an affront to God and all that is good a holy.”
“My Lord,” the envoy began, “we wish no further conflict with you or the Gothic people. Pray, tell this humble servant what it would take to win, if not your friendship, at least sate your rage?”
Theodemir leaned forward, and his eyes glowed with hate, “Tell your master,” he said with a deep snarl, “that the freemen of the Goths march upon his brothers to right wrongs and restore balance in this world. We want no part of his pleas for mercy or neutrality. He is of tainted blood, and shall share the same fate as his kin. Should we wish to prove otherwise, than he should joined our efforts, and help us put Paris to the torch. Should he do so, than we shall grant him clemency, and acknowledge that he had not part in the great sins perpetrated against out house!”
The envoy recoiled, “But, my Lord, to strike at one’s own brothers is a sin.”
“Yes, and don’t pretend, for even a second, that you Franks have not partaken in that practice in your past. Now go! You have my terms. Deliver them if you will. Should I hear nothing more from your lord, than I will be forced to feel Theudoric an enemy, and he shall face the full fury of my arms, after I have dealt with his brothers.”
The Life of Theodemir the Great
Wulfila Strabo
Trans. Athelrad Edwardson
London: National University of England Publishing, 1964
…
Theodemir’s words were bitter to the envoy of Theudoric, but they were just. The children of Clovis had dealt so much hurt to the Amalgians, and Theodemir was given to rage at them all. I am certain that he would have marched upon Theudoric and destroyed him and his people if he had been given the chance. However, such was not the will of God. After the envoy departed from our camp, Theodemir continued to plan for his invasion of Frankland.
After our victory over the Burgundians, Theodemir moved North into Gaul. The Franks retreated before him. Theodemir met the forces of Childebert outside of the city of Tours, and in that battle, the Goths were victorious, although Childebert himself retreated from the field of battle and fled to meet his brother in the city of Paris.
But the King of the Goths was a man possessed. After these two great victories he did not do what most other men would do, and wait to secure his strength. Rather, he decided to march directly on Paris and to capture the main of the Franks in that city and destroy them once and for all.
…
Arriving at the city, Theodemir caught Cothair and Childebert behind the city walls of Paris. He moved quickly, and began scouring the land for resources, putting to the sword all those who resisted. The fields of Northern Gaul burned, and the sons of Gaul were slaughtered as if they were so many sheep. Thousands perished in Theodemir’s quest for vengeance for the death of his son, until the Seine ran red with the blood of the slaughtered, and the stench of death choked the entire land.
…
The Glory of Emaneric’s Heirs: the Lectures of Dr. Valamir Fralet
Trans. Edwin Smith
Bern [OTL: Verona, Italy]: Skipmann and Sons Publishing, 1997
Various estimates have been calculated to describe the destruction which the Goths rained down upon Northern Gaul; scholars have calculated that between 20 and 50 percent of the male population of the province was killed by the order of Theodemir. Although it is difficult to determine the exact magnitude of the death, it is safe to say that Northern Gaul was rendered a desolation by the Goths. Theodemir appears to have practiced scorched earth upon his enemies; he burned fields, slaughtered livestock, and slew peasants, creating refugees which fled towards Paris and taxed that city’s supplies of food and other resources. Sources from the time, especially Wulfila Strabo, describe that Theodemir left Northern Gaul a ruin, and massively depopulated the once prosperous region.
In any case, Theodemir surrounded the city of Paris and laid siege to the Franks. Although his armies had been bloodied by the war, Theodemir was able to send for further reinforcements from his lands in Italy and Hispania to help maintain the siege. These soldiers not only lay siege to the city itself, but scoured the countryside for further resources, stripping the land bare, and further adding to the despair which had plagued the region.
Paris, during this era, was a city which straddled the river Seine, walled on both the North and the south banks of the river. Theodemir appears to have cut around the city to threaten it from the North, storming that section of the city after only three months of siege. However, while trying to storm the river, the Franks were able to put his fleet to the torch, and hold out on the Southern bank of the river, their backs to the burnt ash of the land.
…
The siege of Paris would last for almost a year. Although the Goths had captured the northern half of the city, they were unable to take the Southern half after the loss of their river fleet. Chilebert and Clothair might have been able to hold out had Theodemir not entered into negotiations with Theuderic, the third son of Clovis. Fearing for the safety of his own kingdom, and the existence of the Franks themselves, Teudoric openly allied himself with the Goths and sent an army to help reinforce the Gothic siege of Paris.
…
In February of 532, the Goths, and their Frankish allies, stormed the city of Paris and overwhelmed their starved and freezing defenders. The sack would leave the city desolate, with nearly 90 percent of the population exterminated during a week-long orgy of violence and looting. Although Clothair died while helping defend the walls, Childeric was not so lucky and felt the full brunt of Theodemir’s rage, being drawn and quartered in front of the Gothic forces, and pieces of his body being sent to the four corners of the Gothic realm. The scene was captured in early Germanic poetry:
“The rivers ran red with the blood
Of those fearless Franks who fell in defense
Of their King and kin, Clovis’ heirs.
The glory of the Goths was gruesome to behold
And Proud Paris perished at their whim.
While Theodemir and his thanes Thanked God for their victory.”
…
When the sack of Paris was complete, a peace was crafted between those remaining parties. The Goths were to annex Burgundy, with Theodemir being crowned King of the Burgundians, and the kingdoms of Childebert and Clothair being incorporated into the realm of the Goths. Theuderic was allowed to keep his kingdom, the modern realm of Frankland, intact; however, his betrayal of his brothers would cost him heavily as he was assassinated by his own son Theuderic II, and he gained the nickname “the Unfaithful.”
Theodemir returned to Ravenna a conquering hero. He had united all of the European lands of the Western Roman Empire within his lifetime, and had become the dominant power besides Constantinople.
…
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Okay, it seems likw its not every day that a TL gets ressurected after such a long hiatus. However, while working on my other TL "The Prodigal Sons" on the After 1900 board, I couldn't help but continue to return to this TL in my thoughts, and thought I should continue it as best as I could.
And so, here you are, a new chapter. I can't say its as well written as I could have liked, but it is what it is. We now have a Gothic King which has brought Italy, Hispania and Gaul into the same fold and, more or less, recreated the Western Roman Empire.
Now that my thesis has been completeed, I should have more time to continue this TL. I suspect I will have one more post explaining the integration of Burgundy and Gaul into the Gothic lands, and then we will look at the Eastern Roman Empire for a post or two.
As I always say, any comments or questions are always welcome!
