n, king of Burgundy. It was not until
after the death of his cousin Childebert II. in 595 that Clotaire took
any active part in affairs. He then endeavoured to enlarge his estates
at the expense of Childebert's sons, Theodebert, king of Austrasia, and
Theuderich II., king of Burgundy; but after gaining a victory at Laffaux
(597), he was defeated at Dormelles (600), and lost part of his kingdom.
After the war between Theodebert and Theuderich and their subsequent
death, the nobles of Austrasia and Burgundy appealed to Clotaire, who,
after putting Brunhilda to death, became master of the whole of the
Frankish kingdom (613). He was obliged, however, to make great
concessions to the aristocracy, to whom he owed his victory. By the
constitution of the 18th of October 614 he gave legal force to canons
which had been voted some days previously by a council convened at
Paris, but not without attempting to modify them by numerous
restrictions. He extended the competence of the ecclesiastical
tribunals, suppressed unjust taxes and undertook to select the counts
from the districts they had to administer. In 623 he made his son
Dagobert king of the Austrasians, and gradually subdued all the
provinces that had formerly belonged to Childebert II. He also
guaranteed a certain measure of independence to the nobles of Burgundy,
giving them the option of having a special mayor of the palace, or of
dispensing with that officer. These concessions procured him a reign of
comparative tranquillity. He died on the 18th of October 629, and was
buried at Paris in the church of St Vincent, afterwards known as St
Germain des Pres.

CLOTAIRE III. (652-673) was a son of King Clovis II. In 657 he became
the nominal ruler of the three Frankish kingdoms, but was deprived of
Austrasia in 663, retaining Neustria and Burgundy until his death.

CLOTAIRE IV. (d. 719) was king of Austrasia from 717 to 719.
(C. PF.)

CLOTH, properly a covering, especially for the body, clothing, then the
material of which such a covering is made; hence any material woven of
wool or hair, cotton, flax or vegetable fibre. In commercial usage, the
word is particularly applied to a fabric made of wool. The word is
Teutonic, though it does not appear in all the branches of the language.
It appears in German as _Kleid_, dress (_Kleidung_, clothing), and in
Dutch as _kleed_. The ultimate origin is unknown; it may be connected
with the root _kli-_ meaning to stick, clin