Sigobert the Lame (also ''Sigibert'' or ''Sigebert'') (died c. 508 or 509) was a king of the

Ripuarian Franks The Rhineland or Ripuarian Franks, also often referred to using the Latin plurals ''Ribuarii'', or ''Ripuarii'', were the Franks who established themselves in and around the formerly Roman city of Cologne, on the Rhine river in what is now Germa ...

in the area of Zülpich () and

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

History

His father's name was "Childebert". He was presumably wounded in the knee at the

Battle of Tolbiac The Battle of Tolbiac was fought between the Franks, who were fighting under Clovis I, and the Alamanni, whose leader is not known. The date of the battle has traditionally been given as 496, though other accounts suggest it may either have been ...

against the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE, the Alemanni c ...

.Howorth, H.H., "The Ethnology of Germany", ''The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'', Volume 13, Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1884, p. 235
/ref> He supported

Clovis I Clovis (; reconstructed Old Frankish, Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first List of Frankish kings, king of the Franks to unite all of the Franks under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a ...

again, against the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

at the

Battle of Vouillé The Battle of Vouillé (from Latin ''Campus Vogladensis'') was fought in the northern marches of Visigothic territory, at Vouillé, near Poitiers (Gaul), around Spring 507 between the Franks, commanded by Clovis, and the Visigoths, commanded ...

in the spring of 507.Perry, Walter Copland. ''The Franks, from Their First Appearance in History to the Death of King Pepin'', Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, and Roberts, 1857, p. 85ff.
/ref> Despite his having lent assistance to Clovis on two previous occasions, according to

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

, Sigobert was murdered by his son Chlodoric upon the instigation of

,"Sigobert", The History Files
/ref> when his son sent assassins upon him as he took a sojourn from his kingdom in a forest near Fulda. Chlodorich then told Clovis of the murder and offered him the finest treasures of his newly inherited kingdom as a symbol of their new alliance. Clovis sent messengers to assess the treasure, who then asked Chlodoric to plunge his hand as deeply into his gold coins as possible. With his arm submerged, the envoys of Clovis then killed the new king in betrayal. Clovis then stood before the people of Chlodoric and professing horror at the murder of Sigebert, told them that the son had sent assassins to murder his father, but that Chlodoric had subsequently met his own end as well. Clovis then offered his protection to the former subjects of Sigobert and Chlodoric, and thus became their king. Gregory suggests that Chlodoric was murdered in the same campaign that killed the Frankish King Chararic. Before, Clovis had killed

Ragnachar Ragnachar or Ragnarius (died 509) was a Frankish petty king (''regulus'') who ruled from Cambrai. According to Gregory of Tours, Ragnachar "was so unrestrained in his wantonness that he scarcely had mercy for his own near relatives".Gregory, II, 4 ...

and his brothers. After all these murders, Gregory tells us that Clovis lamented that he had no family left, implying that among his own casualties were close relatives. He said this not out of grief or remorse, but so that any other relatives might identify themselves, and so be marked for death.

References

Sources

. ''The History of the Franks''. 2 vol. trans. O. M. Dalton. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967. 500s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Frankish warriors German royalty and nobility with disabilities 6th-century Frankish kings {{Germany-royal-stub