The city lies km 80 mi northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by the Gauls , Reims became a major city in the Roman Empire. The royal anointing was performed at the Cathedral of Reims , which housed the Holy Ampulla of chrism allegedly brought by a white dove at the baptism of Frankish king Clovis I in Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul , Reims had served as the Remi tribe's capital, founded c.
In the course of Julius Caesar 's conquest of Gaul 58β51 BC , the Remi allied themselves with the Romans , and by their fidelity throughout the various Gallic insurrections secured the special favour of the imperial power. Christianity had become established in the city by , at which period Saint Sixtus of Reims founded the Diocese of Reims which would be elevated to an archdiocese around The consul Jovinus , an influential supporter of the new faith, repelled the Alamanni who invaded Champagne in , but the Vandals captured the city in and slew Bishop Nicasius ; [ 7 ] in Attila the Hun put Reims to fire and sword.
In βten years after Clovis , King of the Salian Franks, won his victory at Soissons β Remigius , the bishop of Reims, baptized him using the oil of the sacred phialβpurportedly brought from heaven by a dove for the baptism of Clovis and subsequently preserved in the Abbey of Saint-Remi. King Louis VII reigned β gave the title of duke and peer to William of Champagne , archbishop from to , and the archbishops of Reims took precedence over the other ecclesiastical peers of the realm.
By the 10th century, Reims had become a centre of intellectual culture. Archbishop Adalberon in office to , seconded by the monk Gerbert afterwards from to Pope Silvester II , founded schools which taught the classical " liberal arts ".
Adalberon also played a leading role in the dynastic revolution which elevated the Capetian dynasty in the place of the Carolingians.
