Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/729

CLOVIS CLOWES 717 small, and the Salian warriors were few in number ; nevertheless within 30 years Olovis had secured for himself a powerful empire. On his accession Rome had been for five years in the hands of Odoacer, who had overturned the imperial throne ; but the central part of Gaul was still governed by a Roman officer, named Syagrius, who was conquered by Clovis in the vicinity of Soissons (486), and fled to the Visigothic court at Toulouse; but upon the menaces of Clovis he was given up, and afterward put to death. The whole Belgic country, the cities of Soissons, Rheims, Troyes, Beauvais, and Amiens, submitted to the victor, who rapidly extended his dominion from the Scheldt to the Loire. He thus became one of the most powerful princes in Gaul, and was courted by the Catholic bishops of that country, who 'saw in him the future supporter of their faith, and succeeded in giving him as a wife Clotilda, the only Catholic princess in Gaul. At first she found him reluctant to renounce the worship of his national god, and it is narrated that a miracle was required to overcome his resistance to Christianity. The Alemanni had crossed the Rhine, and, following in the foot- steps of the Franks, intended to settle in the rich plains of Gaul. Clovis hastened to repel them, and in a battle near Tolbiac (496) they were al- ready raising the shout of victory, when Clovis in despair thought of the God of his wife, and throwing himself on his knees, exclaimed: "God of Clotilda, give me assistance in this hour of necessity, and I confess thy name." The course of victory was immediately turned ; the Alemanni fled, while the flower of their forces and their king were killed. Within the same year Clovis, true to his vow, was baptized at Rheims by Bishop Remy, and with him 3,000 of his companions. In a short tune this ex- ample was followed by the greater part of the nation. Henceforth Clovis became popular among the Catholics in Gaul, all. the bishops of that communion, impelled by their oppo- sition to the Arians, representing him as the deliverer of the faithful. Yielding to the en- treaties of his wife (see CLOTILDA), Clovis in- vaded Burgundy, conquered Gundebald near Langres, and took several important cities, but finally contented himself with laying a tribute on the Burgundian kingdom. In 507, having summoned his warriors to the banks of the Loire, he thus addressed them: "I am dis- pleased with those Arians possessing that beau- tiful country of Aquitania ; let us go there and take it at once, for the land is very good." He then crossed the Loire and fell upon the Gothic army near Poitiers. The Visigoths were routed, their king Alaric was slain, and the greater part of Aquitania submitted to Clo- vis. Theodoric, the king of the Ostrogoths, however, succeeded in retaining Septimania. Clovis was then the sovereign of the whole country from the lower Rhine to the Pyrenees, bounded E. by the Vosges and the Clvennes, with the exception of several small districts in the north still belonging to Frankish princes of his own family, some of whom had as- sisted him in his wars. But by the most treacherous and cruel means he got rid of these petty rivals, and became the only monarch of his race. He died soon afterward, and was buried in the basilica of the Holy Apostles, which had been built by him and Clotilda. He left four sons, among whom he had divided his dominions. Theodoric, the eldest, born to him by a first wife or mistress, probably of German descent, obtained the eastern country bounded by the Rhine and the Meuse, with the western part of Germany and some provinces in Aqui- tania ; Childebert, Clodomir, and Olotaire, sons of Clotilda, were kings at Paris, Orleans, and Soissons, the last finally uniting under his power the dominions of his brothers. Two other Merovingian princes of the same name, CLOVIS II. and CLOVIS III., lived in the 7th century ; but they were mere tools in the hands of powerful mayors of the palace, and belong to that succession of Frankish kings known as the rois faineants. CLOWES, John, an English clergyman, born at Manchester, Oct. 31, 1743, died at Leaming- ton, May 29, 1831. He was a fellow of Trinity college, Cambridge, and in 1769 was made rec- tor of St. John's church, Manchester. Having become in 1773 one of the first English dis- ciples of Swedenborg, he was thenceforward earnest in promoting his doctrines, although he retained his rectorship for nearly 60 years. He translated Swedenborg's Arcana Coslestia and other works, and published " Restoration of Pure Religion," two volumes of sermons, &c. CLOWES, William, an English printer, born at Chichester, Jan. 1, 1779, died Jan. 26, 1847. His father was a schoolmaster, who died leav- ing his family in straitened circumstances. The son, after receiving a fair education, was apprenticed to a printer in his native town. In 1802 he went to London, worked for a year as a compositor, and then commenced business on his own account in a small way. Having married the cousin of a stationer who had much government business, he soon obtained considerable official work, and in a few years found himself at the head of a large printing establishment. In 1823 he commenced the use of steam presses, and the process, being a new one, excited much attention. In a few years his establishment grew into the largest printing office then existing, comprising 24 steam presses and 28 hand presses, and em- ploying 600 persons. Upon the establishment of the "Penny Magazine," and subsequently of the " Penny Cyclopaedia," he undertook the printing and publication of them, which he executed for 14 years with unvarying prompt- ness, meanwhile extending his operations as a printer in other directions. He was among the first printers to have fonts of type so large that an entire work could be set up without distributing the type, so that in case of need he could execute 1,000 pages a week, or keep