Vouille (Campus Vogladensis) 507 AD

[aligern]

Battle of Vouille 507 AD
Frankish army of Clovis incorporating the warbands of Ragnachar and Syagrius.
Theoderic son of Clovis, Chloderic son of Sigibert
Perhaps 12-15, 000 men

Visigothic army of Alaric II and Gallo Roman allies under Apollinaris.
Perhaps 18-12,000

Gregory of Tours 'Historia Francorum' Bk II, ch. 37 ff
Translated by Earnest Brehaut 1916
Extract From the Fordham University Website.


Now Clovis the king said to his people: "I take it very hard that these Arians hold part of the Gauls. Let us go with God's help and conquer them and bring the land under our control. Since these words pleased all, he set his army in motion and made for Poitiers where Alaric was at that time. But since part of the host was passing through Touraine, he issued an edict out of respect to the blessed Martin that no one should take anything from that country except grass for fodder, and water. But one from the army found a poor man's hay and said: "Did not the king order grass only to be taken, nothing else ? And this," said he, " is grass. We shall not be transgressing his command if we take it." And when he had done violence to the poor man and taken his hay by force, the deed came to the king. And quicker than speech the offender was slain by the sword, and the king said: "And where shall our hope of victory be if we offend the blessed Martin ? . It would be better for the army to take nothing else from this country." The king himself sent envoys to the blessed church saying: "Go, and perhaps you will receive some omen of victory :.­ from the holy temple." Then giving them gifts to set up in the holy place, he said: "If thou, O Lord, art my helper, and hast determined to surrender this unbelieving nation, always striving against thee, into my hands, consent to reveal it propitiously at the entrance to the church of St. Martin, so that I may know that thou wilt deign to be favorable to thy servant." Clovis' servants went on their way according to the king's command, and drew near to the place, and when they were about to enter the holy church, the first singer, without any pre-arrangement, sang this response: "Thou hast girded me, O Lord, with strength unto the battle; thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me, and hast made mine enemies turn their backs unto me, and thou hast utterly destroyed them that hated me." On hearing this singing they thanked the Lord, and paying their vow to the blessed confessor they joyfully made their report to the king. Moreover, when he came to the river Vienne with his army, he did not know where he ought to cross. For the river had swollen from the rains. When he had prayed to the Lord in the night to show him a ford where he could cross, in the morning by God's will a hind of wonderful size entered the river before them, and when it passed over the people saw where they could cross. When the king came to the neighborhood of Poitiers and was encamped some distance off, he saw a ball of fire come out of the church of Saint Hilarius and pass, as it were, over him, to show that, aided by the light of the blessed confessor Hilarius, he should more boldly conquer the heretic armies, against which the same bishop had often fought for the faith. And he made it known to all the army that neither there nor on the way should they spoil any one or take any one's property.

There was in these days a man of praiseworthy holiness, the abbot Maxentius, who had become a recluse in his own monastery in Poitou because of his fear of God. We have not put the name of the monastery in this account because the place is called to the present day Cellula sancti Maxentii. And when his monks saw a division of the host approaching the monastery, they prayed to the abbot to come forth from his cell to consult with them. And as he stayed, they were panic-stricken and opened the door and dragged him from his cell. And he hastened boldly to meet the enemy to ask for peace. And one of them drew out his sword to launch a stroke at his head, and when he had raised his hand to his ear it became rigid and the sword fell. And he threw himself at the feet of the blessed man, asking pardon. And the rest of them seeing this returned in great fear to the army, afraid that they should all perish together. The man's arm the holy confessor rubbed with consecrated oil, and made over it the sign of the cross and restored it to soundness. And owing to his protection the monastery remained uninjured. He worked many other miracles also, and if any one diligently seeks for them he will find them all in reading the book of his Life. In the twenty-fifth year of Clovis.

Meantime king Clovis met with Alaric, king of the Goths, in the plain of Vouillé at the tenth milestone from Poitiers, and while the one army was for fighting at a distance the other tried to come to close combat. And when the Goths had fled as was their custom, king Clovis won the victory by God's aid. He had to help him the son of Sigibert the lame, named Chloderic. This Sigibert was lame from a wound in the leg, received in a battle with the Alemanni near the town of Zulpich. Now when the king had put the Goths to flight and slain king Alaric, two of the enemy suddenly appeared and struck at him with their lances, one on each side. But he was saved from death by the help of his coat of mail as well as by his fast horse. At that time there perished a great number of the people of Auvergne, who had come with Apollinaris and the leading senators. From this battle Amalaric, son of Alaric, fled to Spain and wisely seized his father's kingdom Clovis sent his son Theodoric to Clermont by way of Albi and Rodez. He went, and brought under his father's dominion the cities from the boundaries of the Goths to the limit of the Burgundians. Alaric reigned twenty­two years. When Clovis had spent the winter in Bordeaux and taken all the treasures of Alaric at Toulouse, he went to Angoulême. And the Lord gave him such grace that the walls fell down of their own accord when he gazed at them. Then he drove the Goths out and brought the city under his own dominion. Thereupon after completing his victory he returned to Tours, bringing many gifts to the holy church of the blessed Martin.

38.

Clovis received an appointment to the consulship from the emperor Anastasius, and in the church of the blessed Martin he clad himself in the purple tunic and chlamys, and placed a diadem on his head.

Commentary
Clovis had begun a series of campaigns  against the other 'kings' in Roman Gaul. He defeated or overawed the other Frankish rulers and crushed the Allamanni in 498 at Tolbiacum, then the forces of Syagrius, the last Roman descended ruler of part of Gaul and the Burgundians.
This progress would have given him control of the warbands of these leaders. Simultaneosly the Visigoths who held Aquitaine, were weakened by the movement of mNy Goths to new lands in Spain awa from the dominance of the Balth dynasty. Whereas Clovis had access to the manpower of trans Rhenane Germans Alaric's force was weakened. When Syagrius  fled to Alaric after defeat  Alaric surrendered him to Clovis. Frankish military power was driven by the desire for loot rather than land so the newly Catholic Clovis sought the pretext of religious difference to attack the Arian Goths . Gregory makes the religious element of the campaign dominant, but clearly Gallo Roman (and thus Catholic) nobles were prepared to fight for the Goths .
Clovis struck South rapidly to catch Alaric unsupporte at Poitiers..  Given that he had access to the professional soldiers of the lords he had conquered I believe it highly likely that Clovis' army was  all mounted, at least for movement.
There has been debate as to the actual site of the battle which is summarised on this website (in French) http://clovis1er.free.fr/507leswisigoths.htm

Ihave visited both sites an found that at Vouille (the traditional site) more convincing, especially in terms of the ability of the Franks to see a signal from th city. The plain South of Vouille rises high from the ford in the village. Crossing there would be dangerous if the army as caught, but once on the plain the position of Poitiers would be turned. This would have forced Alaric to fight whilst his army had not ,perhaps, assembled fully.
Much has been made of Gregory's phrase: whilst one army was fighting at a distance the other tried to come to close combat. However, we don't really know which army was being allocated which attribute. Gregory refers to the Goths flleing as was their habit and  that might indicate that they were using using mounted tactics of alternate attacks and retreats. are the distance eapons Gothic bows or frankish angons?.
We can believe that Clovis  attacked Alaric directly and killed him. The personal risk to Clovis is emphasised in the action against two of Alaric's guards.  Alaric's young son was hurried away from the diaster.
Theoderic the Great had written to the combatants suggesting that they should make peace. In the letter to Alaric he warned of inexperience and this likely refers to the immense  advantage that Clovis gained from having a battle hardened, veteran force.
Alaric most likely had inferior numbers as elements of his forces from the Gallo Romans of the Auvergne appear not to have reached the battle and it is  extremely unlikely that Goths from Septimania or Spain could have been there.
Clovis went on to loot the Visigothic royal treasure in Toulouse, but, having driven the Goths out seems to have placd at most a light garrison in Aquitaine.

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