11/11/2025
Clovis' kingdom was divided among his four sons: Theodoric, from his first marriage; "the roots" of "Theode" and "rich" in his name, possibly passed down through his mother from Theodemer and Richomer, both 4th-century Frankish kings; and Chlodomer, Childebert, and Chlotarius.
With Metz and Reims as their capital cities, this division gave rise to the new political entities known as the Kingdoms of Austrasia, or the Eastern Land, which served as the Franks' original seat. Childebert held the kingdom of Paris, Clotaire was in Soissons, and Clodomir resided in Orléans, Neustria (the New Land). Theodoric, the king of Austria, acquired all the Frankish lands along the Rhine, where Germanic ancestry predominated. This includes the lands of the Alemanni, Bavarians, Thuringians, Saxons, and Frisians. It was split into Lower Austrasia on the Rhine and Meuse and Upper Austrasia on the Moselle.