He
divided one-third of the land of the country among his own followers.
So the Ostrogoths settled in Italy, and Ostrogoths, Romans, and
Visigoths were governed by Theodoric as one people.
Theodoric died at the age of seventy-one after ruling Italy for
thirty-three years.
Clovis
King from 481-511 A.D.
I
While the power of the Roman Empire was declining there dwelt on
the banks of the River Rhine a number of savage Teuton tribes called
Franks. The word Frank means FREE, and those tribes took pride in
being known as Franks or freemen.
The Franks occupied the east bank of the Rhine for about two hundred
years. Then many of the tribes crossed the river in search of new
homes. The region west of the river was at that time called Gaul.
Here the Franks established themselves and became a powerful people.
From their name the country was afterwards called FRANCE.
Each tribe of the Franks had its own king. The greatest of all
these kings was Chlodwig, or Clovis, as we call him, who became
ruler of his tribe in the year 481, just six years after Theodoric
became king of the Ostrogoths.
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