Conflict in the Family of King Amalaric: Authentic Story or Early Medieval Deepfake?

Following the early medieval historians Gregory of Tours and Procopius of Caesarea, the conflict in the family of the Visigothic king Amalaric and his wife, the Frankish princess Clotilde the Younger, was traditionally interpreted as purely religious. The article establishes the political and religious contexts of their marriage, with the aim of identifying possible reasons for the subsequent conflict between the spouses. Among them there could have been the discontent of the Visigothic nobility, who saw this marriage as a symbol of subordination to the Franks; the supposed growth of Clotilde’s popularity among the Roman aristocracy and the Nicene clergy, that could have been seen by her husband as a threat to his power; and Clotilde’s inability to bear a child, which threatened the existence of the Baltic dynasty. It is proved that Clotilde’s loyalty to Nicene Christianity could not have been the main reason for the conflict, which does not exclude the use of it as a pretext. Suggestions are made that the conflict may have been “invented” by Clotilde’s brother with the aim of using it in the internal political struggle in the Frankish kingdom.