might have the vase over and above his regular share, his intention
being to return it to the bishop. But one of the soldiers objected,
saying that the king should have no more than his fair share, and
at the same time shattered the vase with his ax. Clovis was very
angry, but at the time said nothing. Soon afterwards, however, there
was the usual examination of the arms of the soldiers to see that
they were in proper condition for active service. Clovis himself
took part in the examination, and when he came to the soldier who
had broken the vase he found fault with the condition of his weapons
and with one blow of his battle-ax struck the man dead.


IV


The next war that Clovis engaged in was with some tribes of the
Goths who occupied the country called Aquitaine lying south of the
River Loire. He defeated them and added Aquitaine to the kingdom
of the Franks.

Clovis afterwards made war upon other people of Gaul and defeated
them. At last all the provinces from the lower Rhine to the
Pyrenees Mountains were compelled to acknowledge him as king. He
then went to reside at the city of Paris, which he made the capital
of his kingdom. He died there A.D. 511.

The dynasty or family of kings to which he belonged is known in
history as the Merovingian dynasty. It was so called from Meroveus
(Me-ro-ve'-us), the father of Childeric and grandfather of Clovis.