For better or worse, men are greatly affected by the beauty of a young lady. They can stop a man in his tracks, make him forget what he was thinking about, and suddenly supplant all of his priorities. And simply hearing of the beauty of a woman can lead a man to take arduous steps to find out more about her and to see her, regardless of language or locality, especially if the man is a king.

The beauty of princess Clotilde of Burgundy was well known. She was born in Lyon France within a region of Romanized Celts. A spiritual heiress, as it were, of the Church of Smyrna from the Revelation, she was also devout follower of Christ. One can only imagine the angst she must have felt when a pagan king of a powerful, ferocious and barbaric tribe of Germans demanded her hand in marriage.

But the feelings and fears of a young lady, even a princess, have historically been subordinate to political expedience and ambition. Her uncle Gundobad handed her over to the Frankish king Clovis, and it was up to Clotilde to sink or swim from that point on. However, the full potency of a man’s physical strength, volition, ruthlessness, and command structure cannot compare to the insidious power of love. Clovis was out of his league.

The old man kept his composure as he regarded the stunning defeat of his troops. The invading cavalry had pierced his lines, scattered his men, and then chased down and annihilated many of them. At almost 80, Duke Odo summoned his reserve of energy, strength, and imagination and led his remaining force north to warn an old enemy Charles about their now common threat – an invasion by the Umayyad governor, Abdul Rahman.

The Umayyad invasion of Europe from North Africa had begun 20 years earlier. They conquered most of Spain in just 7 years, and bolstered their cavalry with the powerful and intelligent Andalusian horse. Time after time, the Umayyad cavalry would wedge into European infantry and convert terrified men into decomposing flesh. The Umayyads would then loot the nearby towns, churches and abbeys, wait for the local harvest to be gathered and stored up, and move on to exploit the productivity of the next victims.

Duke Odo and his surviving troops made their way north to warn the Frankish mayor Charles, while Abdul Raman consolidated resources near Bordeaux. Word on the Umayyad street was that the city of Tours was wealthy and would make a fine acquisition to share with his marauding companions. When the harvest was collected the Umayyad army would move north and attack.

While the beauty and form of a woman can have a stupefying initial effect on a man, it doesn’t really have the power to capture his volition over the long term. If a man is already powerful like the king of the Franks, the comeliness of his wife is only going to go so far. The love of a woman – that’s different. It grips the soul, and severance of such bonding can leave a mortal wound.

Clovis was a pagan, but according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “Clotilda, as wife of Clovis, soon acquired a great ascendancy over him, of which she availed herself to exhort him to embrace the Catholic Faith.” You don’t get to be chief by being feeble-minded, so one may conjecture that Clotilda drew his respect intellectually as well as in terms of character. She succeeded in convincing Clovis to permit the baptism of their first son, Ingomir.

Unfortunately, Ingomir died in infancy and Clovis used the mishap as justification to question the power of and the need to follow Clotilda’s God. Stewardship and expedience are cornerstones of military leadership. When one is constantly averting or overcoming danger, there is no room for chasing fantasy and euphoria even at the longing behest of one’s beautiful and adored wife.

Time and time again, the fierce Umayyad cavalry smashed European defenses and ravaged villages, churches and abbeys as they plowed through Aquitaine and headed north to ransack Poitiers and then Tours. As the immutable force ravaged the land, Duke Odo warned Charles Martel of the threat and agreed to form an alliance under Charles’ command. Knowing that the Umayyad force wanted to sack Tours, Charles hid the combined army in an elevated forest along the Umayyad path.

Charles army consisted mostly of infantry. It also included some light cavalry, but which was no match for Rahman’s cavalry. As Rahman proceeded toward Tours, he became aware of Charles’ army but did not know the size, as the Franks chose to remain mostly hidden in the forest. The Umayyads and Franks exchanged skirmishes for seven days as Rahman consolidated his fighting force.

On October 10, 732, not wanting to wait any longer because of the impending European winter, Rahman began a sustained assault on Charles’ army. The expectation was that the Frankish infantry would quickly dissolve and scatter under the punishing drive of the Umayyad cavalry.

At some point, a neighboring Frankish tribe under King Sigebert came under attack by a confederation of Germanic tribes called the Alemanni, and Clovis responded to Sigebert’s request for help. During an ensuing battle Clovis witnessed his warriors being killed. He prayed to his wife’s God in tears:

"O Jesus Christ, you who as Clotilde tells me are the son of the Living God, you who give succor to those who are in danger, and victory to those accorded who hope in Thee, I seek the glory of devotion with your assistance: If you give me victory over these enemies, and if I experience the miracles that the people committed to your name say they have had, I believe in you, and I will be baptized in your name. Indeed, I invoked my gods, and, as I am experiencing, they failed to help me, which makes me believe that they are endowed with no powers, that they do not come to the aid of those who serve. It's to you I cry now, I want to believe in you if only I may be saved from my opponents."

The Alemanni were defeated and Clovis kept his vow, accepting baptism and embracing Christianity, which spread throughout his kingdom. His reign greatly strengthened the Merovingian dynasty and the Merovingian Franks eventually used extensive church assets and support to equip their army. Two hundred and thirty six years after Clovis’ conversion, the descendant army and the church were thrown into a desperate stand against a seemingly unstoppable Umayyad invasion.

As the Umayyad Cavalry smashed into the front line, the Franks unexpectedly remained in place, hacking away at horse and rider with a seasoned, deadly ferocity. One source wrote “The men of the north seemed like a sea that cannot be moved”. The Umayyad launched assault after assault, gaining ground against the outer Frankish line, but then meeting resistance from the inner lines. At one point, Duke Odo sent a raiding party to the Umayyad camp, where the spoils of war were kept. 

When word of the camp raid reached the Umayyad army, many of the fighters began to break away, against Rahman’s orders, in order to rescue their ill-gained riches. Rahman was eventually left exposed and was killed in battle. The attacking Umayyad force quickly disintegrated and retreated to Spain, never to return to France. Charles Martel (or “Charles the Hammer”) then overthrew the Merovingian king, establishing the Carolingian Dynasty. Christendom spread to the entirety of Europe.

It is a remarkable and satisfying thought that the faith, influence, and resolve of a beautiful young woman could so thoroughly affect the destiny of Western Europe and eventually the Americas.  Whether her original motive was to ensure that her husband would be with her in eternity, the effect on the future of many people was profound. While these events stand out, the fact of the woman as a power broker is an undeniable, integral part of Creation.

https://thewarthemerrier.com/frank-moorish-war-the-battle-of-river-garonne-732/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_the_Great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP16DwOQcBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb8pGJy2aXs

https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/gregory-clovisconv.asp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tolbiac