Christianity Vs Paganism

Religion has been a topic of question and discussion for as long as we know, even dating back to the time of the Romans and the Franks. The topic of religion has been known to destroy families, friends, and in earlier times, kingdoms fell to others beliefs. The two primary religions practiced in early Europe were Roman Christianity and Paganism which was often practiced by the Franks, a group of united barbaric tribes. During this period, Roman civilization was coming to a decline, paving the way for a new ruler to take charge. At the fall of the Roman Empire, one king of the Franks, Clovis, sought to unite all of the barbaric tribes and create a new empire. History of the Franks, Book II by Gregory of Tours shows how the power of Christianity …show more content…
During the battle against Alamanni, Clovis cried out to Jesus, son of God, to help take down his enemies and in return, Clovis would convert to Christianity. Clovis ended up winning the battle and proclaimed himself a Roman Christian, losing his faith in the Pagan gods that he had once worshiped. Secondly his wife Clotilde, was already a member of the Christian Church and urged Clovis to convert after their son had died. Clotilde could not come to reason with the Pagan gods due to the fact that Clovis worshipped idols, as Clotilde stated, “The gods you worship are nothing, and they will be unable to help themselves or anyone else. For they are graven out of stone or wood or some metal.” Lastly, Clovis converted to Christianity as a political power play. By converting to Christianity, he had gained the trust, loyalty, and the power of the Roman Church and with it came all of its followers. Clovis practically doubled his army by converting to Christianity along with it received praise from his wife which did not believe in his original Pagan …show more content…
With so many Roman Christians in the area, Clovis saw it as a strategic plan to convert and gain more supporters. Declining numbers of Pagan warlords in the area made it clear to Clovis that the smart move was to convert to Christianity and gain all of the Christian supporters throughout Europe . With the dramatic increase in his army, Clovis began his conquest into the parts of Europe that were still worshipping the Pagan gods. In addition to the people of the Christian faith, Clovis gained several new allies of the church, such as Godegisel, “King of the country about the Rhone and Saone.” Godegisel sought out Clovis’ help in defeating his brother Gundobad. Historians cannot tell what would have become of the Franks if Clovis hadn’t converted to Christianity Converting to Christianity was a tactical move that was rewarded with the full backing of an entire religion. Clovis surely would not have become as popular as he did without the support from the Christian Church and Christianity led the way for a new empire to rise from Rome’s ashes. In this instance, it was the Franks that came to power. The support of Christianity drove Clovis to be as powerful as he