1.
King of the Franks
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The Franks were originally led by dukes and reguli. The Salian Merovingians rose to dominance among the Franks and conquered most of Roman Gaul and they also conquered the Gaulish territory of the Visigothic Kingdom in 507. The sons of Clovis conquered the Burgundians and Alamanni and they acquired Provence and made the Bavarii and Thuringii their clients. The Merovingians were later replaced by a new dynasty called the Carolingians in the 8th century, by the end of the 9th century, the Carolingians themselves were replaced throughout much of their realm by other dynasties. The idea of a King of the Franks or Rex Francorum gradually disappeared over the 12th and 13th centuries. A timeline of Frankish rulers is difficult since the realm was, according to old Germanic practice, frequently divided among the sons of a leader upon his death and this list of early rulers is incomplete, as our sources leave open many gaps. He took his seat at Paris, which along with Soissons, Reims, Metz, upon his death, the kingdom was split among his four sons, Chlothar I eventually inherited all of the Frankish kingdoms after the deaths of his brothers or their successors. After his own death, the kingdom was again split among his four sons, Chlothar II defeated Brunhilda and her grandson. However, in 623, in order to appease particularistic forces and also to secure the borders and his son and successor, Dagobert I, emulated this move by appointing a sub-king for Aquitaine, with a seat at Toulouse, in 629 and Austrasia in 634. Theuderic III was recognized as king of all the Franks in 679, from then on, the kingdom of the Franks can be treated as a unity again for all but a very brief period of civil war. This is the period of the kings who were increasingly overshadowed by their mayors of the palace. The Carolingians were initially mayors of the palace under the Merovingian kings, first in Austrasia and later in Neustria, between 715 and 716, the descendants of Pippin disputed the succession. The Carolingians displaced the Merovingians as the ruling dynasty, however, following the emperors death in 840, the empire was plunged into a civil war that lasted three years. The Frankish kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Charles was confirmed in Aquitaine, where Pepin Is son Pepin II was opposing him, and granted West Francia, louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted East Francia, the lands east of Lothairs kingdom
King of the Franks
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A page from
Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum
King of the Franks
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Clovis I
King of the Franks
King of the Franks
2.
Childeric II
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Childeric II was the king of Austrasia from 662 and of Neustria and Burgundy from 673 until his death, making him sole King of the Franks for the final two years of his life. Childeric was the second eldest son of King Clovis II and grandson of King Dagobert I and his mother was Saint Balthild and his elder brother was Chlothar III, who was briefly sole king from 661, but gave Austrasia to Childeric the next year. He was still a child when he was raised on the shields of his warriors. He soon invaded his brothers kingdom and displaced him, becoming sole king, in March 675, Childeric had granted honores in Alsace to Adalrich with the title of dux. This grant was most probably the result of Adalrichs continued support for Childeric in Burgundy, the final straw for the magnates of Neustria, however, was Childerics illegal corporal punishment of the nobleman named Bodilo. He was buried in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, near Paris, where the tombs of him, Bilichild, and his young son Dagobert were discovered in 1645, besides the aforementioned Dagobert, she bore him the future king Chilperic II. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Media related to Childeric II at Wikimedia Commons
Childeric II
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Childericʻs coin
Childeric II
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Childeric I (457–481)
Childeric II
3.
King of Austrasia
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Austrasia was a territory which formed the northeastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. In AD567, it became a kingdom within the Frankish kingdom and was ruled by Sigebert I. In the 7th and 8th century it was the powerbase from which the Carolingians, originally mayors of the palace of Austrasia, Austrasia gradually lost its territorial character after the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire in the second half of the 9th century. The name Austrasia is not well attested in the Merovingian period and it is a latinisation of an Old Frankish name recorded first by Gregory of Tours in c. AD580 and then by Aimoin of Fleury in c, Austrasia was centered on the Middle Rhine, including the basins of the Moselle and Main, and the Meuse rivers. It bordered on Frisia and Saxony to the north, Thuringia to the east, Swabia and Burgundy to the south and to Neustria, metz served as the Austrasian capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Reims, Trier, and Cologne. Other important cities included Verdun, Worms and Speyer, fulda monastery was founded in eastern Austrasia in the final decade of the Merovingian period. In the High Middle Ages, its territory divided among the duchies of Lotharingia and Franconia in Germany, with some western portions including Reims. After the death of the Frankish king Clovis I in 511, his four sons partitioned his kingdom amongst themselves, with Theuderic I receiving the lands that were to become Austrasia. Descended from Theuderic, a line of kings ruled Austrasia until 555, when it was united with the other Frankish kingdoms of Chlothar I and these three kingdoms defined the political division of Francia until the rise of the Carolingians and even thereafter. From 567 to the death of Sigbert II in 613, Neustria and Austrasia fought each other almost constantly and these struggles reached their climax in the wars between Brunhilda and Fredegund, queens respectively of Austrasia and Neustria. Finally, in 613, a rebellion by the nobility against Brunhilda saw her betrayed and handed over to her nephew and foe in Neustria, Chlothar then took control of the other two kingdoms and set up a united Frankish kingdom with its capital in Paris. During this period the first majores domus or mayors of the palace appeared and these officials acted as mediators between king and people in each realm. The first Austrasian mayors came from the Pippinid family, which experienced a slow, in 623, the Austrasians asked Chlothar II for a king of their own and he appointed his son Dagobert I to rule over them with Pepin of Landen as regent. Dagoberts government in Austrasia was widely admired, in 629, he inherited Neustria and Burgundy. Austrasia was again neglected until, in 633, the demanded the kings son as their own king again. Dagobert complied and sent his elder son Sigebert III to Austrasia, historians often categorise Sigebert as the first roi fainéant or do-nothing king of the Merovingian dynasty. His court was dominated by the mayors, in 657, the mayor Grimoald the Elder succeeded in putting his son Childebert the Adopted on the throne, where he remained until 662
King of Austrasia
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A page from
Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum
King of Austrasia
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Clovis I
King of Austrasia
King of Austrasia
4.
Dagobert II
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Dagobert II was the king of Austrasia, the son of Sigebert III and Chimnechild of Burgundy. He is also accounted a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, Dagobert II was born in Metz, the son of Sigibert III, an Austrasian king of the Merovingian line, and his wife, Chimnechild of Burgundy. Then when Sigebert died in 656, Grimoald seized the throne for his own son and had Dagobert tonsured, thus marking him unfit for kingship, and exiled. She may have cooperated with Grimoald to set up Childebert the Adopted and it has been hypothesised that Chimnechild was not Dagoberts mother, thus her reason for abandoning him. It has also speculated that Childebert was really Sigeberts illegitimate son whom Grimoald adopted to exclude the widow Chimnechild as a rival in the government. Dagobert was given to the care of Desiderius, Bishop of Poitiers, where there was a cathedral school. The boy was sent on to a monastery in Ireland, sometimes identified as Slane, and later entrusted to Wilfrid of York, who saw to it that he was trained as a page at an Anglo-Saxon court. In the meantime the great nobles of Austrasia appealed to Clovis II, king of Neustria, who expelled the usurpers, executing Grimoald and Childebert, and added Austrasia to his own realm. The dating of events is greatly confused, they occurred perhaps as early as 657 or as late as 661, under Clotaire III. Ebroin returned from a retirement to lead Clovis partisans, but Wulfoald effected Dagoberts succession in 676, partly through the help of Wilfrid, Bishop of York. In the chaos, the search for a consistent, rational pattern is hard to follow in the shifting loyalties. Wilfrid must have remained in Austrasia until this time, because, according to his biographer, Wilfrid left Austrasia after the death of Dagobert, at the cloister of Stenay afterwards there grew a cult of Dagobert, venerated as early as 1068 as Saint Dagobert. The cult spread from there into Lotharingia and Alsace, and Saint Dagobert is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, like his father, another fabrication were the alleged Merovingian genealogies that appeared in the Dossiers Secrets, planted in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in 1967. This story was published as fact in a 1960s French book by Gérard de Sède, entitled Le Tresor Maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau. Henry Lincoln, along with Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh later wrote the book The Holy Blood and it was later shown that much of the research in Holy Blood Holy Grail was based on the forged parchments and fabricated Merovingian genealogies. However, the hypothesis gained further popularity when it was incorporated into the 2003 best selling novel The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Because Brown claimed the story about the Priory of Sion was factual, many debunking books and documentaries resulted, the Long-Haired Kings, and Other Studies in Frankish History, Ian Wood, The Merovingian Kingdoms 450-751
Dagobert II
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A carving of St. Dagobert's murder, from the crypt at
Stenay-sur-Meuse.
Dagobert II
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Imaginary portrait of Dagobert II; etching by
Virgil Solis
Dagobert II
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Bronze medallion of King Dagobert II, c.1720.
Dagobert II
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Childeric I (457–481)
5.
King of Neustria
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Neustria or Neustrasia was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks that was created in 511 upon the division of the Merovingian kingdom of Clovis I to his four sons following his death. Neustria was made up of the regions between Aquitaine and the English Channel, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities. It later referred to the region between the Seine and the Loire rivers known as the regnum Neustriae, a constituent subkingdom of the Carolingian Empire, Neustria was also employed as a term for northwestern Italy during the period of Lombard domination. It was contrasted with the northeast, which was called Austrasia, for this meaning of the term, see Neustria. Despite the wars, Neustria and Austrasia re-united briefly on several occasions, the struggle for power continued with Queen Fredegund of Neustria unleashing a bitter war. Clotaire had Brunhilda put to the rack and stretched for three days, then chained between four horses and eventually ripped limb from limb, Clotaire now ruled a united realm, but only for a short time as he made his son Dagobert I king of Austrasia. Dagoberts accession in Neustria resulted in another temporary unification, when in Austrasia, the Arnulfing mayor Grimoald the Elder attempted a coup against his liege, Clovis II had him removed and again reunited the kingdom from Neustria, but again temporarily. During or soon after the reign of Cloviss son Chlothar III, in 678, Neustria, under Mayor Ebroin, subdued the Austrasians for the last time. In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of the King of Austrasia, defeated the Neustrians at Tertry, the writers who lived in Austrasia proved more loyal to their mayor. Pippins descendants, the Carolingians, continued to rule the two realms as mayors, with Pope Stephen IIs blessing, after 751 the Carolingian Pippin the Short, formally deposed the Merovingians and took control of the empire, he and his descendants ruling as kings. Neustria, Austrasia, and Burgundy then became united under one authority, in 748, the brothers Pepin the Short and Carloman gave their younger brother Grifo twelve counties in Neustria centred on that of Le Mans. This polity was termed the ducatus Cenomannicus, or Duchy of Maine, the term Neustria took on the meaning of land between the Seine and Loire when it was given as a regnum by Charlemagne to his second son, Charles the Younger, in 790. At this time, the city of the kingdom appears to be Le Mans. Under the Carolingian dynasty, the duty of the Neustrian king was to defend the sovereignty of the Franks over the Bretons. Neustria, along with Aquitaine, formed the part of Charles West Frankish kingdom carved out of the Empire by the Treaty of Verdun. Charles continued the tradition of appointing an elder son to reign in Neustria with his own court at Le Mans when he made Louis the Stammerer king in 856. Louis married the daughter of the King of Brittany, Erispoe, Louis was the last Frankish monarch to be appointed to Neustria by his father and the practice of creating subkingdoms for sons waned among the later Carolings. In 861, the Carolingian king Charles the Bald created the Marches of Neustria that were ruled by officials appointed by the crown, known as wardens, prefects or margraves
King of Neustria
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Neustria (within the Kingdom of Siagrius, outlined in orange), in the context of the Franks
6.
King of Burgundy
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The following is a list of the kings of the two Kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations. The Burgundians had left Bornholm c.300 and settled near the Vistula, jordanes relates that in this area they were thoroughly defeated by the Gepids in the 4th century and then moved to the Rhineland. Gebicca Gundomar I, son of Gebicca Giselher, son of Gebicca Gunther, Burgundy was divided between the brothers Charles the Bald, who received the smaller part, west of the river Saône. This entity was officially called regnum burgundiae, but since the King of France delegated administrations to dukes, the territory became known as the Duchy of Burgundy or Bourgogne. Lothair I received the part, east of the river Saône. The Burgundian territories were divided between, Lothair II, who received the parts, and Charles of Provence, who received the southern parts including Provence, Lyon. His realm was called the regnum provinciae, for the kings of Provence before its union with the rest of Burgundy, see the list of dukes, kings, counts, and margraves of Provence. Lothar II, 855–869 Lothar subsumed his portion of Burgundy into the Kingdom of Lotharingia and at his brother Charles death, when Lothar II died in 869, his realm was divided between his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German in the Treaty of Mersen. At first, he tried to reunite the realm of Lothar II, Rudolf I Rudolf II In 933 Rudolph ceded his claims to the Kingdom of Italy to Hugh of Arles and in return gained the Kingdom of Provence, thus reuniting the two territories. Conrad I Rudolph III In 1032 the Kingdom of Burgundy was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire as a third kingdom, after the early death of Emperor Henry III, his widow Agnes of Poitou acted as Regent for his young son Henry IV. She made Rudolf von Rheinfelden duke of Swabia and also conferred on him the powers over Burgundy. However, when Rudolf was elected anti-king, Roman king Henry IV in 1079 stripped him of his powers and delegated them to the Prince-bishops of Lausanne and Sitten. Lacking a proper title, the Zähringer called themselves dukes and rectors of Burgundy, the royal chancellory however consistently avoided this term and the effective power of the rector was restricted to the possessions of the Zähringer east of the Jura. Any attempts to enforce the Zähringers claims and to royal authority into the western and southern parts of the kingdom failed. After these failures, Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, gained a hold of the western districts in 1156 by marrying Beatrice. This success permanently confined the Zähringer between Jura and Alps, where they used their powers to expand their possessions. In 1218, Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen died without issue and this appointment was only of momentary importance and after Henry had been elected King of Germany in April 1220, the title disappeared for good. Also, the decline of power inside the kingdom of Burgundy remained irreversible
King of Burgundy
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The Kingdom of Arelat in the 12/13th century
7.
Chlothar III
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Chlothar III was the eldest son of Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, and his queen Balthild. When Clovis died in 658, Chlothar succeeded him under the regency of his mother, the Historia Langobardorum reports that in the early 660s a Frankish army invaded Provence and then Italy. This force came upon the camp of the Lombard king Grimoald I of Benevento, the Franks looted the camp and celebrated. Then, after midnight, Grimuald attacked and drove back to Neustria. After the death of Saint Eligius in 661, the Life of Eligius — written soon after Chlothars death — records that a reduced the population of Frances cities. A plague in the British Isles, according to Bede, did the same there in 664, during the regency, Austrasians begged for a king of their own and in 662, the Clothars government gave Austrasia to another son of Clovis II, Childeric II. Also during his reign, the mayor of the palace Erchinoald died, as of 668, Bede tells that Ebroin was running the nations foreign policy and internal security. Given that the Liber historiae Francorum admits four years for Chlothars reign and he was buried in Saint Denis Basilica and a tomb, probably his, was discovered there recently. Then, his brother Theuderic III succeeded him and it is notable that he is often described as the first roi fainéant—do-nothing king—of the Merovingian dynasty, and at least until the last four years of his life this description is fitting. Media related to Chlothar III at Wikimedia Commons
Chlothar III
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Chlothar III from
Guillaume Rouillé 's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum
Chlothar III
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Childeric I (457–481)
Chlothar III
8.
Childebert III
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He had a son named Dagobert, who succeeded him, as Dagobert III but his wife was not Edonne, the invention of later fantasists. It is possible, though not likely, that Chlothar IV was also his son and he spent almost his entire life in a royal villa on the Oise. It was during his reign of sixteen years, in 708, upon his death on 23 April 711, southern Gaul began to grow independent, Burgundy under Bishop Savaric of Auxerre, Aquitaine under Duke Odo the Great, and Provence under Antenor. He died at St Etienne, Loire, France and he was buried in the church of St Stephen at Choisy-au-Bac, near Compiègne. From Merovingians to Carolingians, Dynastic Change in Frankia
Childebert III
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A coin of Childebert III, now in the
British Museum.
Childebert III
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Childeric I (457–481)
Childebert III
9.
Clovis III
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Clovis III was the king of Austrasia from 675 to 676. Perhaps the son of Theuderic III or Clovis II, his Austrasian magnate supporters described him as a son of Chlothar III. They placed him on the throne in opposition to the young Dagobert II, the claimant of Wulfoald, at this time, Ebroin, once mayor of the palace of Neustria, escaped from his monastic imprisonment and joined the partisans of Clovis. He probably hoped to use the claimant to oppose Theuderic III and Pepin of Heristal in Neustria, though Ebroin intended it, he never succeeded in displacing Theuderic and Pepin, though he was eventually recognised as mayor in his old post. Clovis died soon after his acclamation and he did nothing of his own will, being, there remains the possibility that Clovis III was an imposter -- not really a Merovingian at all
Clovis III
Clovis III
–
See also [edit]
Clovis III
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Clovis III
10.
Clotaire IV
–
Chlothar IV, king of Austrasia, was installed by the mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, as an ally during the civil war then raging. In 717, Charles, returning to Neustria with an army to assault King Chilperic II and his mayor, Ragenfrid, confirmed his supremacy with a victory at Vincy, near Cambrai. He chased the king and mayor to Paris before turning back to remove his other opponent, Plectrude. On succeeding there, he proclaimed Chlothar king of Austrasia in opposition to Chilperic, in 718, Chilperic was again defeated, at Soissons, by Charles. The king fled with his ally Odo the Great, duke of Aquitaine, soon Odo gave up on Chilperic and sued for peace. Charles now recognized Chilperic as king of all the Franks, and in exchange Chilperic surrendered his power to Charles. Chlothar is thought to have died in 718, when Chilperic was raised on the shield in 719, Charles may have been willing to recognize him as king as a result of Chlothars death. It is possible, however, that Chlothar survived until 719,720 or even 721 and it is also possible that Chlothar was a son of Childebert III or not a Merovingian at all, but merely a puppet or place-man who served Charles Martels political purposes at the time
Clotaire IV
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Clotaire IV
11.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
Dynasty
–
Charles I of England and his son, the future
James II
12.
Merovingian
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The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a region known as Francia in Latin, beginning in the middle of the 5th century. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior and the southern part of Germania. The Merovingian dynasty was founded by Childeric I, the son of Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, after the death of Clovis there were frequent clashes between different branches of the family, but when threatened by its neighbours the Merovingians presented a strong united front. During the final century of Merovingian rule, the kings were increasingly pushed into a ceremonial role, the Merovingian rule ended in March 752 when Pope Zachary formally deposed Childeric III. Zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, confirmed and anointed Pepin the Short in 754, the Merovingian ruling family were sometimes referred to as the long-haired kings by contemporaries, as their long hair distinguished them among the Franks, who commonly cut their hair short. The Merovingian dynasty owes its name to the semi-legendary Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, the victories of his son Childeric I against the Visigoths, Saxons, and Alemanni established the basis of Merovingian land. Childerics son Clovis I went on to unite most of Gaul north of the Loire under his control around 486, when he defeated Syagrius, the Roman ruler in those parts. He won the Battle of Tolbiac against the Alemanni in 496, at time, according to Gregory of Tours. He subsequently went on to defeat the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse in the Battle of Vouillé in 507. After Cloviss death, his kingdom was partitioned among his four sons, leadership among the early Merovingians was probably based on mythical descent and alleged divine patronage, expressed in terms of continued military success. In 1906 the British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie suggested that the Marvingi recorded by Ptolemy as living near the Rhine were the ancestors of the Merovingian dynasty, upon Cloviss death in 511, the Merovingian kingdom included all of Gaul except Burgundy and all of Germania magna except Saxony. To the outside, the kingdom, even when divided under different kings, maintained unity, after the fall of the Ostrogoths, the Franks also conquered Provence. After this their borders with Italy and Visigothic Septimania remained fairly stable, internally, the kingdom was divided among Cloviss sons and later among his grandsons and frequently saw war between the different kings, who quickly allied among themselves and against one another. The death of one king created conflict between the brothers and the deceaseds sons, with differing outcomes. Later, conflicts were intensified by the personal feud around Brunhilda, however, yearly warfare often did not constitute general devastation but took on an almost ritual character, with established rules and norms. Eventually, Clotaire II in 613 reunited the entire Frankish realm under one ruler, later divisions produced the stable units of Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitania. The frequent wars had weakened royal power, while the aristocracy had made great gains and these concessions saw the very considerable power of the king parcelled out and retained by leading comites and duces. Very little is in fact known about the course of the 7th century due to a scarcity of sources, clotaires son Dagobert I, who sent troops to Spain and pagan Slavic territories in the east, is commonly seen as the last powerful Merovingian King
Merovingian
–
Signet ring of
Childeric I.
Monnaie de Paris.
Merovingian
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Francia expanded from
Austrasia, established by the Merovingian dynasty.
Merovingian
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Frankish gold
Tremissis, imitation of
Byzantine Tremissis, mid-6th century.
Merovingian
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Coin of
Chlothar II, 584-628.
British Museum.
13.
Clovis II
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Clovis II succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639 as King of Neustria and Burgundy. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634 and he was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642. This death allowed him to fall under the influence of the secular magnates, Clovis wife, Balthild, whose Anglo-Saxon origins are now considered doubtful, was sold into slavery in Gaul. She had been owned by Clovis mayor of the palace, Erchinoald and she bore him three sons who all became kings after his death. The eldest, Chlothar, succeeded him and his second eldest, the youngest, Theuderic, succeeded Childeric in Neustria and eventually became the sole king of the Franks. Clovis was a minor for almost the whole of his reign and he is sometimes regarded as king of Austrasia during the interval 656–57 when Childebert the Adopted had usurped the throne. He is often regarded as an early roi fainéant, medieval monks deemed him insane and attribute the stupidity of his descendants to that cause. Noted Belgian historian Henri Pirenne stated that Clovis died insane, Clovis II was buried in Saint Denis Basilica, Paris. Media related to Clovis II at Wikimedia Commons
Clovis II
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Tomb of Clovis II (foreground) and Charles Martel in
Saint Denis Basilica
Clovis II
–
"Hommage to [the Child-King] Clovis II", by
Albert Maignan, 1883 (Musée des Beaux-Arts de
Rouen).
Clovis II
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Clovis II
14.
Balthild
–
Her hagiography was intended to further her successful candidature for sainthood. Ricberht was ousted by Sigeberht, who had spent time as an exile in the Frankish court, Sigeberht was established as the rightful heir to the throne with Frankish help. Balthild was sold into slavery as a girl and served in the household of Erchinoald. According to Vita S. Bathildis, Balthild was born circa 626–627 and she was beautiful, intelligent, modest and attentive to the needs of others. Erchinoald, whose wife had died, was attracted to Balthild and wanted to marry her and she hid herself away and waited until Erchinoald had remarried. Later, possibly because of Erchinoald, Clovis noticed her and asked for her hand in marriage, even as queen, Balthild remained humble and modest. She is famous for her service and generous donations. From her donations, the abbeys of Corbie and Chelles were founded, it is likely that such as Jumièges, Jouarre. She provided support for Saint Claudius of Besançon and his abbey in the Jura Mountains, Balthild bore Clovis three children, all of whom became kings, Clotaire, Childeric and Theuderic. When Clovis died, his eldest son Clotaire succeeded to the throne and his mother Balthild acted as the queen regent. As queen, she was a capable stateswoman and she abolished the practice of trading Christian slaves and strove to free children who had been sold into slavery. This claim is corroborated by Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg, who mentions that Balthild and Saint Eloi “worked together on their favorite charity, after her three sons reached adulthood and had become established in their respective territories, Balthild withdrew to her favourite Abbey of Chelles near Paris. Balthild died on January 30,680, and was buried at the Abbey of Chelles and her Vita was written soon after her death, probably by one of the community of Chelles. Her official cult began when her remains were transferred from the abbey to a new church, in 833. Balthild was canonised by Pope Nicholas I, around 200 years after her death, sainted Women of the Dark Ages states that Balthild “was not the first Merovingian queen to begin her career in servitude”. Other Merovingian queens who arose from servile status include Fredegund, the mother of Clothaire II, Bilichild, the wife of Theudebert of Austrasia, and possibly Nanthild, the mother of Clovis II. According to some historians, Balthild’s creation of and involvement with monasteries was perhaps an act to “balance or even neutralize the efforts of the aristocratic opposition”, by installing her supporters as bishops of different sees, she gained even greater power as a ruler. According to the Vita Sancti Wilfrithi by Stephen of Ripon, Bathild was a ruthless ruler, however, some of these alleged assassinations may not have even occurred
Balthild
–
A mediaeval depiction of Bathild
Balthild
–
The Balthild seal matrix
15.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
–
Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
16.
Neustria
–
Neustria or Neustrasia was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks that was created in 511 upon the division of the Merovingian kingdom of Clovis I to his four sons following his death. Neustria was made up of the regions between Aquitaine and the English Channel, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities. It later referred to the region between the Seine and the Loire rivers known as the regnum Neustriae, a constituent subkingdom of the Carolingian Empire, Neustria was also employed as a term for northwestern Italy during the period of Lombard domination. It was contrasted with the northeast, which was called Austrasia, for this meaning of the term, see Neustria. Despite the wars, Neustria and Austrasia re-united briefly on several occasions, the struggle for power continued with Queen Fredegund of Neustria unleashing a bitter war. Clotaire had Brunhilda put to the rack and stretched for three days, then chained between four horses and eventually ripped limb from limb, Clotaire now ruled a united realm, but only for a short time as he made his son Dagobert I king of Austrasia. Dagoberts accession in Neustria resulted in another temporary unification, when in Austrasia, the Arnulfing mayor Grimoald the Elder attempted a coup against his liege, Clovis II had him removed and again reunited the kingdom from Neustria, but again temporarily. During or soon after the reign of Cloviss son Chlothar III, in 678, Neustria, under Mayor Ebroin, subdued the Austrasians for the last time. In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of the King of Austrasia, defeated the Neustrians at Tertry, the writers who lived in Austrasia proved more loyal to their mayor. Pippins descendants, the Carolingians, continued to rule the two realms as mayors, with Pope Stephen IIs blessing, after 751 the Carolingian Pippin the Short, formally deposed the Merovingians and took control of the empire, he and his descendants ruling as kings. Neustria, Austrasia, and Burgundy then became united under one authority, in 748, the brothers Pepin the Short and Carloman gave their younger brother Grifo twelve counties in Neustria centred on that of Le Mans. This polity was termed the ducatus Cenomannicus, or Duchy of Maine, the term Neustria took on the meaning of land between the Seine and Loire when it was given as a regnum by Charlemagne to his second son, Charles the Younger, in 790. At this time, the city of the kingdom appears to be Le Mans. Under the Carolingian dynasty, the duty of the Neustrian king was to defend the sovereignty of the Franks over the Bretons. Neustria, along with Aquitaine, formed the part of Charles West Frankish kingdom carved out of the Empire by the Treaty of Verdun. Charles continued the tradition of appointing an elder son to reign in Neustria with his own court at Le Mans when he made Louis the Stammerer king in 856. Louis married the daughter of the King of Brittany, Erispoe, Louis was the last Frankish monarch to be appointed to Neustria by his father and the practice of creating subkingdoms for sons waned among the later Carolings. In 861, the Carolingian king Charles the Bald created the Marches of Neustria that were ruled by officials appointed by the crown, known as wardens, prefects or margraves
Neustria
–
Neustria (within the Kingdom of Siagrius, outlined in orange), in the context of the Franks
17.
Kingdom of Burgundy
–
Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various states located in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The historical Burgundy correlates with the area of France, Italy and Switzerland and includes the major modern cities of Geneva. As a political entity, Burgundy has existed in a number of forms with different boundaries, notably, two of these entities — the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century — have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy. At other times there existed Kingdom of Provence, Duchy of Burgundy, Burgundy is named after a Germanic tribe of Burgundians who originated in mainland Scandinavia, then settled on the island of Bornholm, whose name in Old Norse was Burgundarholmr. From there they migrated south through Germanic lands into Roman Gaul and settled in the part of the Alps and Rhône valley. The first documented, though not historically verified King of the Burgundians was Gjúki, in the course of the Crossing of the Rhine in 406 the Burgundians settled as foederati in the Roman province of Germania Secunda along the Middle Rhine. The remaining Burgundians from 443 onwards settled in the Sapaudia region and their efforts to enlarge their kingdom down the Rhône river brought them into conflict with the Visigothic Kingdom in the south. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, king Gundobad allied with the powerful Frank king Clovis I against the threat of Theoderic the Great and he was then able to organize the Burgundian acquisitions based on the Lex Burgundionum, an Early Germanic law code. The decline of the Kingdom began when they came under attack from their former Frank allies, in 523 the sons of Clovis I campaigned in the Burgundian lands, instigated by their mother Clotilde, whose father king Chilperic II of Burgundy had been killed by Gundobad. In 532 the Burgundians were decisively defeated by the Franks at Autun, whereafter king Godomar was killed and Burgundian lands was annexed by the Frankish Empire in 534. While there no longer was an independent Burgundian kingdom, between 561 and 584 and between 639 and 737 several rulers of the Frankish Merovingian dynasty used the title of King of Burgundy. Partitions of Charlemagnes empire by his immediate Carolingian heirs led to a kingdom of Middle Francia. It included lands from North Sea to southern Italy and was ruled by emperor Lothair I, the northwestern part of the former Burgundian lands as Duchy of Burgundy was included in the kingdom of West Francia. This partition created more conflicts, as older Carolingians who ruled West Francia, as Charles of Provence was too young to rule, the actual power was held by regent, count Girart II of Vienne whose wife was the sister-in-law of emperor Lothar I. Girart was a regent, defending the kingdom from Vikings. Charles uncle, Charles the Bald of West Francia, attempted to intervene in Provence in 861 after receiving an appeal for intervention from the Count of Arles and he invaded Provence as far as Mâcon before being restrained by Hincmar of Rheims. Already in 858 count Girart arranged that should Charles of Provence die without heirs, Upper Burgundy remained under the influence of the East Frankish king Charles the Fat. From 887 these northern territories formed the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy, proclaimed by the Welf noble Rudolph I of Burgundy at Saint-Maurice and it was one of the three kingdoms within the medieval Empire, the others being the Kingdom of Germany and the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Burgundy
–
The First Kingdom of the Burgundians, after the settlement in Savoy from 443.
18.
Austrasia
–
Austrasia was a territory which formed the northeastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. In AD567, it became a kingdom within the Frankish kingdom and was ruled by Sigebert I. In the 7th and 8th century it was the powerbase from which the Carolingians, originally mayors of the palace of Austrasia, Austrasia gradually lost its territorial character after the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire in the second half of the 9th century. The name Austrasia is not well attested in the Merovingian period and it is a latinisation of an Old Frankish name recorded first by Gregory of Tours in c. AD580 and then by Aimoin of Fleury in c, Austrasia was centered on the Middle Rhine, including the basins of the Moselle and Main, and the Meuse rivers. It bordered on Frisia and Saxony to the north, Thuringia to the east, Swabia and Burgundy to the south and to Neustria, metz served as the Austrasian capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Reims, Trier, and Cologne. Other important cities included Verdun, Worms and Speyer, fulda monastery was founded in eastern Austrasia in the final decade of the Merovingian period. In the High Middle Ages, its territory divided among the duchies of Lotharingia and Franconia in Germany, with some western portions including Reims. After the death of the Frankish king Clovis I in 511, his four sons partitioned his kingdom amongst themselves, with Theuderic I receiving the lands that were to become Austrasia. Descended from Theuderic, a line of kings ruled Austrasia until 555, when it was united with the other Frankish kingdoms of Chlothar I and these three kingdoms defined the political division of Francia until the rise of the Carolingians and even thereafter. From 567 to the death of Sigbert II in 613, Neustria and Austrasia fought each other almost constantly and these struggles reached their climax in the wars between Brunhilda and Fredegund, queens respectively of Austrasia and Neustria. Finally, in 613, a rebellion by the nobility against Brunhilda saw her betrayed and handed over to her nephew and foe in Neustria, Chlothar then took control of the other two kingdoms and set up a united Frankish kingdom with its capital in Paris. During this period the first majores domus or mayors of the palace appeared and these officials acted as mediators between king and people in each realm. The first Austrasian mayors came from the Pippinid family, which experienced a slow, in 623, the Austrasians asked Chlothar II for a king of their own and he appointed his son Dagobert I to rule over them with Pepin of Landen as regent. Dagoberts government in Austrasia was widely admired, in 629, he inherited Neustria and Burgundy. Austrasia was again neglected until, in 633, the demanded the kings son as their own king again. Dagobert complied and sent his elder son Sigebert III to Austrasia, historians often categorise Sigebert as the first roi fainéant or do-nothing king of the Merovingian dynasty. His court was dominated by the mayors, in 657, the mayor Grimoald the Elder succeeded in putting his son Childebert the Adopted on the throne, where he remained until 662
Austrasia
–
Ancient basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains from the 4th century in
Metz, capital of the kingdom of Austrasia
Austrasia
–
Austrasia, homeland of the Franks (darkest green), and subsequent conquests (other shades of green).
Austrasia
–
Map of Francia in 714 (Austrasia shown in green)
19.
Franks
–
Some Franks raided Roman territory, while other Frankish tribes joined the Roman troops of Gaul. In later times, Franks became the rulers of the northern part of Roman Gaul. The Salian Franks lived on Roman-held soil between the Rhine, Scheldt, Meuse, and Somme rivers in what is now Northern France, Belgium, the kingdom was acknowledged by the Romans after 357 CE. Following the collapse of Rome in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians, who succeeded in conquering most of Gaul in the 6th century, which greatly increased their power. The Merovingian dynasty, descendants of the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies that would absorb large parts of the Western Roman Empire, the Frankish state consolidated its hold over the majority of western Europe by the end of the 8th century, developing into the Carolingian Empire. This empire would gradually evolve into the state of France and the Holy Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages, the term Frank was used in the east as a synonym for western European, as the Franks were then rulers of most of Western Europe. The Franks in the east kept their Germanic language and became part of the Germans, Dutch, Flemings, the Franconian languages, which are called Frankisch in Dutch or Fränkisch in German, originated at least partly in the Old Frankish language of the Franks. Nowadays, the German and Dutch names for France are Frankreich and Frankrijk, respectively, the name Franci was originally socio-political. To the Romans, Celts, and Suebi, the Franks must have seemed alike, they looked the same and spoke the same language, so that Franci became the name by which the people were known. Within a few centuries it had eclipsed the names of the tribes, though the older names have survived in some place-names, such as Hesse. Following the precedents of Edward Gibbon and Jacob Grimm, the name of the Franks has been linked with the word frank in English and it has been suggested that the meaning of free was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks were free of taxation. It is traditionally assumed that Frank comes from the Germanic word for javelin, there is also another theory that suggests that Frank comes from the Latin word francisca meaning. Words in other Germanic languages meaning fierce, bold or insolent, eumenius addressed the Franks in the matter of the execution of Frankish prisoners in the circus at Trier by Constantine I in 306 and certain other measures, Ubi nunc est illa ferocia. Feroces was used often to describe the Franks, contemporary definitions of Frankish ethnicity vary both by period and point of view. According to their law and their custom, writing in 2009, Professor Christopher Wickham pointed out that the word Frankish quickly ceased to have an exclusive ethnic connotation. North of the River Loire everyone seems to have considered a Frank by the mid-7th century at the latest. Two early sources describe the origin of the Franks are a 7th-century work known as the Chronicle of Fredegar. Neither of these works are accepted by historians as trustworthy, compared with Gregory of Tourss Historia Francorum, the chronicle describes Priam as a Frankish king whose people migrated to Macedonia after the fall of Troy
Franks
–
Aristocratic Frankish grave goods from the Merovingian period
Franks
–
A 19th century depiction of different Franks (AD 400–600)
Franks
–
Detail of the
Tabula Peutingeriana, showing Francia at the top
Franks
–
A 6th-7th century necklace of glass and ceramic beads with a central amethyst bead. Similar necklaces have been found in the graves of Frankish women in the Rhineland.
20.
Clotaire III
–
Chlothar III was the eldest son of Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, and his queen Balthild. When Clovis died in 658, Chlothar succeeded him under the regency of his mother, the Historia Langobardorum reports that in the early 660s a Frankish army invaded Provence and then Italy. This force came upon the camp of the Lombard king Grimoald I of Benevento, the Franks looted the camp and celebrated. Then, after midnight, Grimuald attacked and drove back to Neustria. After the death of Saint Eligius in 661, the Life of Eligius — written soon after Chlothars death — records that a reduced the population of Frances cities. A plague in the British Isles, according to Bede, did the same there in 664, during the regency, Austrasians begged for a king of their own and in 662, the Clothars government gave Austrasia to another son of Clovis II, Childeric II. Also during his reign, the mayor of the palace Erchinoald died, as of 668, Bede tells that Ebroin was running the nations foreign policy and internal security. Given that the Liber historiae Francorum admits four years for Chlothars reign and he was buried in Saint Denis Basilica and a tomb, probably his, was discovered there recently. Then, his brother Theuderic III succeeded him and it is notable that he is often described as the first roi fainéant—do-nothing king—of the Merovingian dynasty, and at least until the last four years of his life this description is fitting. Media related to Chlothar III at Wikimedia Commons
Clotaire III
–
Chlothar III from
Guillaume Rouillé 's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum
Clotaire III
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Clotaire III
21.
Pepin of Heristal
–
Pepin II, commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Franks upon his conquest of all the Frankish realms, the son of the powerful Frankish statesman, Ansegisel, Pepin worked to establish his family, the Pippinids, as the strongest in Francia. He was able to realise his dreams by becoming Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia in 680, Pepin subsequently embarked on several wars to expand his power. He united all the Frankish realms by the conquests of Neustria, in foreign conflicts, Pepin increased the power of the Franks by his subjugation of the Alemanni, the Frisians, and the Franconians. He also began the process of evangelisation in Germany, Pepins statesmanship was notable for the further diminution of Merovingian royal authority, and for the acceptance of the undisputed right to rule for his family. Therefore, Pepin was able to name as heir his grandson Theudoald, but this was not accepted by his powerful son Charles Martel, leading to a civil war after his death in which the latter emerged victorious. Pepin, sometimes called Pepin II and Pepin the Middle, was the grandson and namesake of Pepin I the Elder through the marriage of Pepin Is daughter Begga to Ansegisel and he was also the grandfather of Pepin the Short and great-grandfather of Charlemagne. That marriage united the two houses of the Pippinids and the Arnulfings which created what would be called the Carolingian dynasty, Pepin II was probably born in Herstal, modern Belgium, whence his byname. As mayor of Austrasia, Pepin and Martin, the duke of Laon, fought the Neustrian mayor Ebroin, who had designs on all Francia. Ebroin defeated the Austrasians at Lucofao and came close to uniting all the Franks under his rule, however, he was assassinated in 681, Pepin immediately made peace with his successor, Waratton. However, Warattons successor, Berthar, and the Neustrian king Theuderic III, the king and his mayor were decisively defeated at the Battle of Tertry in the Vermandois in 687. Berthar and Theuderic withdrew themselves to Paris, where Pepin followed, Pepin was created mayor in all three Frankish kingdoms and began calling himself Duke and Prince of the Franks. In the ensuing quarrels, Berthar killed his mother-in-law Ansfled and fled and his wife Anstrude married Pepins eldest son Drogo, Duke of Champagne, and Pepins place in Neustria was secured. Over the next years, Pepin subdued the Alemanni, Frisians. He also began the evangelisation of Germania, in 695, he placed Drogo in the Burgundian mayorship and his other son, Grimoald, in the Neustrian one. Around 670, Pepin had married Plectrude, who had inherited substantial estates in the Moselle region and she was the mother of Drogo of Champagne and Grimoald II, both of whom died before their father. However, Pepin also had a mistress named Alpaida who bore him two sons, Charles Martel and Childebrand. Just before Pepins death, Plectrude convinced him to disinherit the sons he had with his second wife Alpaida in favour of his grandson, Theudoald, Pepin died suddenly at an old age on 16 December 714, at Jupille
Pepin of Heristal
–
Pepin of Heristal (right) being offered the services of
Saint Hubert (left)
Pepin of Heristal
–
Base silver coin of
Nemfidius, patriarch of
Provence, 700-710, minted at
Marseille during the reign of Pepin of Herstal.
22.
Begga
–
Saint Begga was the daughter of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and his wife Itta of Metz. On the death of her husband, she took the veil, founded seven churches and she was buried in Saint Beggas Collegiate Church in Andenne. The daughter of Pepin of Landen and his wife, Itta and she married Ansegisel, son of Arnulf, Bishop of Metz, and had three children, Pepin of Heristal, Martin of Laon, and Clotilda of Heristal, who married Theuderic III of the Franks. Ansegisel was killed sometime before 679, slain in a feud by his enemy Gundewin, Begga made a pilgrimage to Rome, and upon her return built seven churches at Andenne on the Meuse. She is commemorated as a saint on her feast days,6 September and 17 December, St Beggas feast day is 17 December according to www. catholic. org. The Lier beguinage dates from the 13th century, more than likely, however, the Beguines derived their name from that of the priest Lambert le Bègue, under whose protection the witness and ministry of the Beguines flourished. Andenne History of Andenne, Belgium Attwater, Donald & John, Catherine Rachel. New York, Penguin Books,1993, ISBN 0-14-051312-4 Saint Begga profile, catholic. org Baix, F. Begge, in Dictionnaire dhistoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, VII, ed. A. Baudrillart, cols. 441-48 Heller, J. ed. Genealogiae ducum Brabantiae, pp. 385–413, ref Genealogia ampliata,1270 Rousseau, le monastère mérovingien dAndenne, À travers lhistoire de Namur, du Namurois et de la Wallonie. Recueil darticles de Félix Rousseau, pp. 279–313 Information about Saint Begga Saint Begga at Saints. sqpn. com
Begga
–
Saint Begga
23.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
24.
List of Frankish Kings
–
The Franks were originally led by dukes and reguli. The Salian Merovingians rose to dominance among the Franks and conquered most of Roman Gaul and they also conquered the Gaulish territory of the Visigothic Kingdom in 507. The sons of Clovis conquered the Burgundians and Alamanni and they acquired Provence and made the Bavarii and Thuringii their clients. The Merovingians were later replaced by a new dynasty called the Carolingians in the 8th century, by the end of the 9th century, the Carolingians themselves were replaced throughout much of their realm by other dynasties. The idea of a King of the Franks or Rex Francorum gradually disappeared over the 12th and 13th centuries. A timeline of Frankish rulers is difficult since the realm was, according to old Germanic practice, frequently divided among the sons of a leader upon his death and this list of early rulers is incomplete, as our sources leave open many gaps. He took his seat at Paris, which along with Soissons, Reims, Metz, upon his death, the kingdom was split among his four sons, Chlothar I eventually inherited all of the Frankish kingdoms after the deaths of his brothers or their successors. After his own death, the kingdom was again split among his four sons, Chlothar II defeated Brunhilda and her grandson. However, in 623, in order to appease particularistic forces and also to secure the borders and his son and successor, Dagobert I, emulated this move by appointing a sub-king for Aquitaine, with a seat at Toulouse, in 629 and Austrasia in 634. Theuderic III was recognized as king of all the Franks in 679, from then on, the kingdom of the Franks can be treated as a unity again for all but a very brief period of civil war. This is the period of the kings who were increasingly overshadowed by their mayors of the palace. The Carolingians were initially mayors of the palace under the Merovingian kings, first in Austrasia and later in Neustria, between 715 and 716, the descendants of Pippin disputed the succession. The Carolingians displaced the Merovingians as the ruling dynasty, however, following the emperors death in 840, the empire was plunged into a civil war that lasted three years. The Frankish kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Charles was confirmed in Aquitaine, where Pepin Is son Pepin II was opposing him, and granted West Francia, louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted East Francia, the lands east of Lothairs kingdom
List of Frankish Kings
–
A page from
Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum
List of Frankish Kings
–
Clovis I
List of Frankish Kings
List of Frankish Kings
25.
Merovingian dynasty
–
The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a region known as Francia in Latin, beginning in the middle of the 5th century. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior and the southern part of Germania. The Merovingian dynasty was founded by Childeric I, the son of Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, after the death of Clovis there were frequent clashes between different branches of the family, but when threatened by its neighbours the Merovingians presented a strong united front. During the final century of Merovingian rule, the kings were increasingly pushed into a ceremonial role, the Merovingian rule ended in March 752 when Pope Zachary formally deposed Childeric III. Zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, confirmed and anointed Pepin the Short in 754, the Merovingian ruling family were sometimes referred to as the long-haired kings by contemporaries, as their long hair distinguished them among the Franks, who commonly cut their hair short. The Merovingian dynasty owes its name to the semi-legendary Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, the victories of his son Childeric I against the Visigoths, Saxons, and Alemanni established the basis of Merovingian land. Childerics son Clovis I went on to unite most of Gaul north of the Loire under his control around 486, when he defeated Syagrius, the Roman ruler in those parts. He won the Battle of Tolbiac against the Alemanni in 496, at time, according to Gregory of Tours. He subsequently went on to defeat the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse in the Battle of Vouillé in 507. After Cloviss death, his kingdom was partitioned among his four sons, leadership among the early Merovingians was probably based on mythical descent and alleged divine patronage, expressed in terms of continued military success. In 1906 the British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie suggested that the Marvingi recorded by Ptolemy as living near the Rhine were the ancestors of the Merovingian dynasty, upon Cloviss death in 511, the Merovingian kingdom included all of Gaul except Burgundy and all of Germania magna except Saxony. To the outside, the kingdom, even when divided under different kings, maintained unity, after the fall of the Ostrogoths, the Franks also conquered Provence. After this their borders with Italy and Visigothic Septimania remained fairly stable, internally, the kingdom was divided among Cloviss sons and later among his grandsons and frequently saw war between the different kings, who quickly allied among themselves and against one another. The death of one king created conflict between the brothers and the deceaseds sons, with differing outcomes. Later, conflicts were intensified by the personal feud around Brunhilda, however, yearly warfare often did not constitute general devastation but took on an almost ritual character, with established rules and norms. Eventually, Clotaire II in 613 reunited the entire Frankish realm under one ruler, later divisions produced the stable units of Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitania. The frequent wars had weakened royal power, while the aristocracy had made great gains and these concessions saw the very considerable power of the king parcelled out and retained by leading comites and duces. Very little is in fact known about the course of the 7th century due to a scarcity of sources, clotaires son Dagobert I, who sent troops to Spain and pagan Slavic territories in the east, is commonly seen as the last powerful Merovingian King
Merovingian dynasty
–
Signet ring of
Childeric I.
Monnaie de Paris.
Merovingian dynasty
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Francia expanded from
Austrasia, established by the Merovingian dynasty.
Merovingian dynasty
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Frankish gold
Tremissis, imitation of
Byzantine Tremissis, mid-6th century.
Merovingian dynasty
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Coin of
Chlothar II, 584-628.
British Museum.
26.
Childeric I
–
Childeric I was a Merovingian king of the Salian Franks and the father of Clovis I, who would unite the Franks and found the Merovingian dynasty. Childeric succeeded his father Merovech as king of the Salian Franks, traditionally in 457 or 458, by 457 at the latest he was the ruler of the Franks in the territory covering Tournai and the Lys valley. He may have had power over further territories to the south, according to Gregory of Tours, Childeric was exiled at some point, the reason being traditionally given as Frankish unhappiness with Childerics private life. Gregory further records that the Franks recalled Childeric after 8 years of exile, after the death of Aegidius, Childeric assisted Comes Paul of Angers, together with a mixed band of Gallo-Romans and Franks, in defeating the Goths and taking booty. Saxon raiders under the command of Eadwacer reached Angers and captured it, Childeric, having delivered Angers, followed a Saxon warband to the islands on the Atlantic mouth of the Loire, and massacred them there. In the period around 476 to 481, he and Odoacer were discussing the possibility of an alliance against the Alamanni who wished to invade Italy, Gregory of Tours, in Libri Historiarum, records the story of the expulsion of Childeric by the Salian Franks for seducing their wives. He was exiled for eight years in Thuringia with King Basin and his wife and he returned only when a faithful servant advised him that he could safely do so by sending him half of a gold piece that Childeric had split with him before his exile. The book also describes his arrival in Tournai with Basina, who had left her husband to be with him, Childeric married Basina of Thuringia, daughter of Basin, and they had the following children, Clovis I. Audofleda, Queen of the Ostrogoths, wife of Theodoric the Great, Childeric died in 481 or 482 and was buried in Tournai. His son Clovis succeeded him as king of the Salian Franks, Childerics tomb was discovered in 1653 not far from the 12th-century church of Saint-Brice in Tournai, now in Belgium. Numerous precious objects were found, including jewels of gold and garnet cloisonné, gold coins, a bulls head. Some 300 golden winged insects were found which had been placed on the kings cloak. Archduke Leopold William, governor of the Southern Netherlands, had the find published in Latin, napoleon was more impressed with Childerics bees and when he was looking for a heraldic symbol to trump the Bourbon fleur-de-lys, he settled on Childerics bees as symbols of the French Empire. On the night of November 5–6,1831, the treasure of Childeric was among 80 kilos of treasure stolen from the Library, a few pieces were retrieved from where they had been hidden in the Seine, including two of the bees. The record of the treasure, however, now only in the fine engravings made at the time of its discovery. The Fall of the Roman Empire, A New History of Rome, the Inheritance of Rome, Illuminating the Dark Ages 400–1000
Childeric I
–
Copy of the
signet ring of Childeric I (original stolen in 1831). Inscription CHILDIRICI REGIS ("of Childeric the king"). Found in his tomb at
Tournai, now in the
Monnaie de Paris
Childeric I
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Detail of golden bees with garnet insets
Childeric I
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Detailed drawing of the golden bees/flies discovered in the tomb of Childeric I in Tournai on 27 May 1653. Drawn by J. J. Chifflet in 1655
Childeric I
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Childeric I (457–481)
27.
Clovis I
–
He is considered to have been the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish kingdom for the next two centuries. Clovis was the son of Childeric I, a Merovingian king of the Salian Franks, and Basina, in 481, at the age of fifteen, Clovis succeeded his father. Clovis is important in the historiography of France as the first king of what would become France and his name is Germanic, composed of the elements hlod and wig, and is the origin of the later French given name Louis, borne by 18 kings of France. Dutch, the most closely related language to Frankish, reborrowed the name as Lodewijk from German in the 12th century. Clovis was baptized on Christmas Day in 508, numerous small Frankish kingdoms existed during the 5th century. After the collapse of Roman power in the last days of 406 the Salian Franks had expanded to the south of the military highway Boulogne-Cologne. The powerbase of Clovis father was the area around Tournai, in the current province of Hainault, upon the death of his father, Merovech in 457 Childeric I, Clovis father, became king of the subgroup of the Salian Franks based around Tournai. In 463 he fought in conjunction with Aegidius, the magister militum of northern Gaul, Childeric died in 481 and was buried in Tournai, Clovis succeeded him as king, aged just 15. Under Clovis, the Salian Franks came to dominate their neighbours, historians believe that Childeric and Clovis were both commanders of the Roman military in the Province of Belgica Secunda and were subordinate to the magister militum. Clovis then had the Frankish king Chararic imprisoned and executed, a few years later, he killed Ragnachar, the Frankish king of Cambrai, along with his brothers. Another victory followed in 491 over a group of Thuringians to the east. By this time Clovis had conquered all the Frankish kingdoms to the west of the River Maas and he secured an alliance with the Ostrogoths through the marriage of his sister Audofleda to their king, Theodoric the Great. With the help of the Ripuarian Franks he narrowly defeated the Alamanni in the Battle of Tolbiac in 496 and he made Paris his capital and established an abbey dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul on the south bank of the Seine. In 500 Clovis fought a battle with the Burgundian kingdom at Dijon but was unable to subdue them, the battle added most of Aquitaine to Clovis kingdom and resulted in the death of the Visigothic king Alaric II. According to Gregory of Tours, following the Battle of Vouillé, since Clovis name does not appear in the consular lists, it is likely he was granted a suffect consulship. Clovis became the first king of all Franks in 508, after he had conquered Cologne and this contrasted with Catholicism, whose followers believe that God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three persons of one being. By the time of the ascension of Clovis, Gothic Arians dominated Christian Gaul and this included his wife, Clotilde, a Burgundian princess who was a Catholic in spite of the Arianism that surrounded her at court. Clotilde evangelized Clovis to convert to Catholicism, which he initially resisted, Clotilde had wanted her son to be baptized, but Clovis refused to allow it, so Clotilde had the child baptized without Cloviss knowledge
Clovis I
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Clovis roi des Francs by
François-Louis Dejuinne (1786–1844)
Clovis I
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Clovis I leading the Franks to victory in the
Battle of Tolbiac, in
Ary Scheffer 's 19th-century painting
Clovis I
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Frankish territories at the time of Clovis' death
Clovis I
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Tomb of Clovis I at the
Basilica of St Denis in
Saint Denis
28.
Childebert I
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Childebert I was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their fathers death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clotilda, born at Reims and he reigned as King of Paris from 511 to 558 and Orléans from 524 to 558. In the partition of the realm, he received as his share the town of Paris, the country to the north as far as the river Somme, to the west as far as the English Channel, and the Armorican peninsula. His brothers ruled in different lands, Theuderic I in Metz, Chlodomer in Orléans, in 523, Childebert participated with his brothers in a war against Godomar of Burgundy. Chlodomer died in the Battle of Vézeronce, thereafter, concerned that the three sons of Chlodomer would inherit the kingdom of Orléans, Clothar conspired with Childebert to oust them. They sent a representative to their mother Clotilde, who as the mother had authority as the head of the family line. She famously replied, It is better for me to see them dead rather than shorn, after the murder of Chlodomers two elder children—the third, Clodoald, escaping to a monastic life—Childebert annexed the cities of Chartres and Orléans. He took part in various expeditions against the kingdom of Burgundy. When Witiges, the king of the Ostrogoths, ceded Provence to the Franks in 535, the annexation of that province was completed, with Clotaires help, in the winter of 536–537. In 531, he received pleas from his sister Chrotilda, wife of King Amalaric of the Visigoths, the Arian king of Hispania, Chrotilda claimed, was grossly mistreating her, a Catholic. Childebert went down with an army and defeated the Gothic king, Amalaric retreated to Barcelona, where he was assassinated. Chrotilda died on her journey to Paris of unknown causes. Childebert made other expeditions against the Visigoths, in 542, he took possession of Pamplona with the help of his brother Clotaire and besieged Zaragoza, but was forced to retreat. He died on 13 December 558, and was buried in the abbey he had founded, st-Germain-des-Prés became the royal necropolis for the Neustrian kings until 675. He left no sons, only two daughters, Chrodoberge and Chrodesinde, by his wife Ultragotha and he expanded his domains in more foreign wars than any of his brothers, fighting in Burgundy, Spain, Provence, and elsewhere in Gaul. Gregory of Tours, a contemporary Neustrian, cites Childebert as saying, Velim unquam Arvernam Lemanem quae tantae jocunditatis gratia refulgere dicitur, oculis cernere. Childbert was also one of the religious of the sons of Clovis, cooperating with his brothers, rescuing his sister
Childebert I
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Statuette of Childebert from his
abbey of St. Germain-des-Prés, 13th century (
Musée du Louvre)
Childebert I
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The division of the lands of Gaul to the sons of
Clovis I upon his death in 511.
Childebert I
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Childebert I
29.
Chlodomer
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Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, King of the Franks. On the death of his father, in 511, he divided the kingdom of the Franks with his three brothers, Theuderic I, Childebert I, and Clotaire I. Although Theuderic, the eldest, had a claim, Chlodomer divided half of the kingdom with his two other brothers. This was the kingdom of Orléans, taken from the kingdom of Syagrius. This kingdom included, most notably, the bishoprics of Tours, Poitiers, Chlodomer married Guntheuc, with whom he had three sons, Theodebald, Gunthar, and Clodoald. After capturing Sigismund, Chlodomer returned to Orléans, however, Sigismunds brother Gondomar returned triumphantly to Burgundy at the head of the troops sent by his ally, the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. There, he massacred the garrison the Franks had left behind, although victorious, Chlodomer had Sigismund and his sons Gisald and Gondebaud assassinated on 1 May 524. He then led an expedition against the Burgundians. He was killed on expedition, in the spring or summer of the same year. His three sons were entrusted to his mother until his widow married Clotaire I, Clotaire, however, had Chlodomers children killed, although Clodoald managed to escape. Better known as Saint Cloud, he became abbot of Nogent, having given up his hair. Bachrach, Bernard S. Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751, minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, ISBN 0-8166-0621-8. Before France and Germany, The Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World, Oxford, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-504458-4. The Long-Haired Kings, and Other Studies in Frankish History
Chlodomer
–
Division of Gaul on Clovis' death, showing Chlodomer's kingdom beside his brothers'
Chlodomer
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Chlodomer
30.
Theuderic I
–
Theuderic I was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called—from 511 to 533 or 534. He was the son of Clovis I and one of his wives or concubines. He inherited Metz in 511 at his fathers death, in accordance with Salian tradition, the kingdom was divided between Cloviss four surviving sons, Childebert I in Paris, Chlodomer in Orléans, and Clotaire I in Soissons. Early in his reign, he sent his son Theudebert to kill the Scandinavian King Chlochilaich who had invaded his realm, Theuderic got involved in the war between the Thuringian King Hermanfrid and his brother Baderic. Theuderic was promised half of Thuringia for his help, Baderic was defeated, the four sons of Clovis then all fought the Burgundian kings Sigismund and Godomar, Godomar fled and Sigismund was taken prisoner by Chlodomer. Godomar rallied the Burgundian army and won back his kingdom, Chlodomer, aided by Theuderic, defeated Godomar, but died in the fighting at Vézeronce. Theuderic then, with his brother Clotaire and his son, attacked Thuringia to revenge himself on Hermanfrid, Thuringia was conquered, and Clotaire received Radegund, daughter of King Berthar. After making a treaty with his brother Childebert, Theuderic died in 534, upon his death the throne of Metz, passed to Theudebert. Theuderic also left a daughter Theodechild, Theodechild founded the Abbey of St-Pierre le Vif at Sens. Bachrach, Bernard S. Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, ISBN 0-8166-0621-8, before France and Germany, The Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World. Oxford, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-504458-4, the Long-Haired Kings, and Other Studies in Frankish History
Theuderic I
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18th century depiction of Theuderic I by
Jean Dassier
Theuderic I
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Division of Gaul on Clovis's death, showing Theuderic's kingdom beside his brothers'
Theuderic I
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Theuderic I
31.
Theudebert I
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Theudebert I was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 533 to his death in 548. He was the son of Theuderic I and the father of Theudebald, most of what we know about Theudebert comes from the Histories or History of the Franks written by Gregory of Tours in the second half of the sixth century. In addition, we have diplomatic correspondence composed at the Austrasian court, the poems of Venantius Fortunatus, an account from Procopius work, during his fathers reign, the young Theudebert had shown himself to be an able warrior. In about 516 he defeated a Danish army under King Chlochilaich after it had raided northern Gaul and his reputation was further enhanced by a series of military campaigns in Septimania against the Visigoths. Upon his fathers death, Theudebert had to both his uncles Childebert and Clotaire to inherit his fathers kingdom. In the end, his military prowess persuaded Childebert to abandon the dispute, together they campaigned against Clotaire but sued for peace after their armies were hit by storm. Justinian saw Theudebert as an ally, Austrasian lands flanked the Ostrogoths in northern Italy. The emperor paid Theudebert handsomely for his assistance, but Theudebert proved an untrustworthy ally, the Frankish armies saw the Italian conflict as an opportunity for plunder and a chance to exert their own claims to northern Italy. In the event the Byzantines were forced to fight the Franks as much as the Ostrogoths, Theudebert seems to have revelled in his power growing on the European stage. His letters show him laying claim to a vast array of lands around Austrasia, hitherto former Frankish kings had respected imperial convention and circulated gold coins with the image of the emperor. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the Byzantine chronicler Agathias recorded the rumour in Constantinople that the Byzantines suspected Theudebert of planning an invasion of Thrace, in common with other Frankish rulers at the time, Theudebert took several wives as and when he wanted. As heir to his fathers kingdom, he was betrothed to Wisigard, daughter of Wacho and this sort of political match was rare for the Merovingian kings. Theudebert abandoned her for Deuteria, a Gallo-Roman he had met while on campaign in southern Gaul, however, his supporters were not best pleased by his treatment of Wisigard, perhaps because of the political dimension, and persuaded Theudebert to take her back. Wisigard, though, soon died, and Theudebert married again, as well as being renowned for his military prowess, Theudebert was lauded by contemporaries for his patronage of the Gallic Church. Gregory of Tours reserves special praise for him in this regard, Theudebert died in the 14th year of his reign and Theudebald, his son by Deuteria, succeeded him. In contrast to that experienced by many Merovingian kings, Theudebalds accession was peaceful
Theudebert I
–
Coin of Theodebert I, 534–548.
Theudebert I
32.
Theudebald
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Theudebald or Theodebald, son of Theudebert I and Deuteria, was the king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as its variously called—from 547 or 548 to 555. He was only thirteen years of age when he succeeded and of ill health, however, the loyalty of the nobility to his fathers memory preserved the peace during his minority. He married Waldrada, daughter of the Lombard king Wacho and his step-aunt and this marriage fortified the alliance between Austrasia and Lombardy. Nevertheless, Theudebald could not hold on to the conquests of his father in the north of Italia, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I sent an army under the command of Narses in 552 and, like his father before him, Theudebald avoided direct confrontation with it. After a prolonged sickness and prostration, he died in 555 and his realm passed finally outside of the family of Theuderic I and was united to the kingdoms of his granduncle Clotaire I, who would soon become king of all the Franks
Theudebald
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Theudebald
–
The Frankish Empire in 555, the year of Theudebalds death
Theudebald
33.
Chlothar I
–
Chlothar I, also called Clotaire I and the Old, King of the Franks, was one of the four sons of Clovis I of the Merovingian dynasty. Although his father, Childeric I, had united Francia for the first time, in 511 at the age of circa 14, Clothar I inherited two large territories on the Western coast of Francia, separated by the lands of his brother Charibert Is Kingdom of Paris. Chlothar spent most of his life in a campaign to expand his territories at the expense of his relatives. His brothers avoided outright war by cooperating with his attacks on neighbouring lands in concert or by invading lands when their rulers died, the spoils were shared between the participating brothers. By the end of his life, Chlothar had managed to reunite Francia by surviving his brothers, but upon his own death, the Kingdom of the Franks was once again divided between his own four surviving sons. A fifth son had rebelled and was killed, along with his family, Frankish customs of the day allowed for the practice polygamy, especially among royalty. So it was not uncommon for a king to have multiple wives and this was a major deviation from the monogamy of late Roman customs, influenced by the Church. Frankish rulers followed this practice mainly to increase their influence across larger areas of land in the wake of the Roman empires collapse, the aim was to maintain peace and ensure the preservation of the kingdom by appeasing local leaders. In the Germanic tradition succession fell, not to sons, but to younger brothers, uncles, but under Salic law, Clovis I instituted the custom of sons being the primary heirs in all respects. However, it was not a system of primogeniture, with the eldest son receiving the vast majority of an inheritance, therefore, the greater Frankish Kingdom was often splintered into smaller sub-kingdoms. Chlothar was the son of Clovis I and the fourth son of Queen Clotilde. Chlothar was born around 497 in Soissons, but he was very ambitious and sought to extend his domain. Upon the death of Clovis I in the year 511, the Frankish kingdom was divided between Chlothar and his brothers, Theuderic, Childebert, and Chlodomer, because of the rights of mothers, queens were granted a portion of their sons kingdom. Clovis I, who had two wives, divided his kingdom into two for each of his wives, then parceled out pieces to his respective sons. The eldest, Theuderic, son of the first wife, had the benefit of receiving one half of the kingdom of Francia, Chlothar shared the second half of the kingdom with his brothers Childebert and Chlodomer. Chlothar received the northern portion, Childebert the central kingdom of Paris, in 516 Gundobad, king of Burgundy, died, and the throne passed to his son Sigismund, who converted to Catholicism. Sigismund adopted an extreme anti-Arian policy, going so far as to execute his Arian son Sigeric, in 523, at the instigation of their mother, Clotilde, Chlothar, Childebert, and Chlodomer joined forces in an expedition against the Burgundians. The Burgundian army was defeated, and Sigismund was captured and executed, sigismunds brother Godomar replaced him on the throne, with the support of the aristocracy, and the Franks were forced to leave
Chlothar I
–
The division of Gaul upon Chlothar's death (561)
Chlothar I
–
A
denarius from the reign of Chlothar I
Chlothar I
–
Bust of Chlothar
Chlothar I
–
Imagined Bust of Chlothar on coin minted by Louis XVIII
34.
Charibert I
–
Charibert I was the Merovingian King of Paris, the second-eldest son of Chlothar I and Ingund. His elder brother was Gunthar, who died sometime before their fathers death, in 556, Chlothar sent Charibert and his next youngest brother Gunthram against their stepmother Chunna and their younger stepbrother Chram who was in revolt. Chramn was hiding out on Black Mountain in the Limousin, negotiations failed and the two armies prepared for battle. A thunderstorm prevented any engagement and Chramn sent forged letters to his brothers, Charibert and Guntram immediately returned to Burgundy to secure their positions. After the actual death of Chlothar in 561, the Frankish kingdom was divided between his sons in a new configuration. Each son ruled a realm, which was not necessarily geographically coherent. Charibert received Neustria, Aquitaine, and Novempopulana with Paris as his capital and his chief cities were Rouen, Tours, Poitiers, Limoges, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Cahors, and Albi. Guntram received Burgundy, then Sigebert received Austrasia with his capital at Metz, Charibert married Ingoberga, of unknown parentage. By Merofleda, a daughter, and her sister Marcovefa, he had daughters. By Theodogilda, a daughter, Charibert had a son who died in infancy. His brutal behavior resulted in his excommunication, the first ever of a Merovingian king, Charibert was scarcely more than king at Paris when he married his daughter Bertha to Æthelberht, the pagan King of Kent. She took with her Bishop Liudhard as her private confessor and her influence in the Kentish court was instrumental in the success of St. Augustine of Canterburys mission in 597. Though Charibert was eloquent and learned in the law, he was one of the most dissolute of the early Merovingians and he was excommunicated, and his early death in 567 was brought on by his excesses. He was buried in Blavia castellum, a fort in the Tractatus Armoricani. At his death his brothers divided his realm between them, agreeing at first to hold Paris in common and his surviving queen, Theudechild, proposed a marriage with Guntram, though a council held at Paris in 557 had outlawed such matches as incestuous. Guntram decided to house her more safely, though unwillingly, in a nunnery at Arles, the main source for Chariberts life is Gregory of Tours History of the Franks, and from the English perspective Bedes Ecclesiastic History of the English People. Bachrach, Bernard S. Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751, minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press,1971. Historia Francorum Books I-IX at Medieval Sourcebook
Charibert I
–
Charibert I, non-contemporary portrait by
Jean-Joseph Dassy
Charibert I
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Charibert I
35.
Guntram
–
St. Guntram, also called Gontram, Gontran, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the King of Burgundy from AD561 to AD592. He was the third eldest and second eldest surviving son of Chlothar I, on his fathers death in 561, he became king of a fourth of the Kingdom of the Franks, and made his capital at Orléans. The name Guntram denotes war raven, later he married Marcatrude, daughter of Magnar, and sent his son Gundobad to Orléans. But after she had a son Marcatrude was jealous, and proceeded to bring about Gundobads death and she sent poison, they say, and poisoned his drink. And upon his death, by Gods judgment she lost the son she had and incurred the hate of the king, was dismissed by him, after her he took Austerchild, also named Bobilla. He had by her two sons, of whom the older was called Clothar and the younger Chlodomer, Guntram had a period of intemperance. He was eventually overcome with remorse for the sins of his past life, in atonement, he fasted, prayed, wept, and offered himself to God. Throughout the balance of his prosperous reign he attempted to govern by Christian principles, according to St. Gregory of Tours, he was the protector of the oppressed, caregiver to the sick, and the tender parent to his subjects. He was generous with his wealth, especially in times of plague and he strictly and justly enforced the law without respect to person, yet was ever ready to forgive offences against himself, including two attempted assassinations. Guntram munificently built and endowed many churches and monasteries, St. Gregory related that the king performed many miracles both before and after his death, some of which St. Gregory claimed to have witnessed himself. In 567, his elder brother Charibert I died and his lands of the Kingdom of Paris were divided between the brothers, Guntram, Sigebert I, and Chilperic I. They shared his realm, agreeing at first to hold Paris in common, chariberts widow, Theudechild, proposed a marriage with Guntram, the eldest remaining brother, though a council convened at Paris as late as 557 had forbidden such tradition as incestuous. Guntram decided to house her more safely, though unwillingly, in a monastery in Arles, in 573, Guntram was caught in a civil war with his brother Sigebert I of Austrasia, and in 575 summoned the aid of their brother Chilperic I of Soissons. He reversed his allegiance later, due to the character of Chilperic, if we may give him the benefit of the doubt in light of St. Gregorys commendation and he thereafter remained an ally of Sigebert, his wife, and his sons until his death. Mummolus defeated Chilperics general Desiderius and the Neustrians forces retreated from Austrasia. In 577, Chlothar and Clodomir, his two surviving children, died of dysentery and he adopted as his son and heir Childebert II, his nephew, Sigeberts son, however, Childebert did not always prove faithful to his uncle. In 581, Chilperic took many of Guntrams cities and in 583, he allied with Childebert and this time Guntram made peace with Chilperic and Childebert retreated. Supposed to take place on 4 July, the feast of St. Martin of Tours, in Orléans, it did not, Guntram marched against him, calling him nothing more than a millers son named Ballomer
Guntram
–
Guntram
Guntram
–
Guntram and Childebert II, from the
Grandes Chroniques de France.
Guntram
–
Tremissis bearing the name and elblem of Guntram
Guntram
–
Childeric I (457–481)
36.
Sigebert I
–
Sigebert I was the Germanic king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the surviving son out of four of Clotaire I. His reign found him mostly occupied with a civil war against his half-brother. Incursions by the Avars, a nomadic tribe related to the Huns. He repelled their attacks twice, in 562 and c, about 567, he married Brunhilda, daughter of the Visigothic king Athanagild. She was a maiden beautiful in her person, lovely to look at, virtuous and well-behaved, with good sense and her father did not refuse, but sent her to the king I have named with great treasures. And the king collected his men, made ready a feast. And she still remains catholic in Christs name, upon seeing this, his brother Chilperic sent to Athanagild for his other daughters hand. This daughter, Galswintha, was given him and he abandoned his other wives, however, he soon tired of her and had her murdered in order to marry his mistress Fredegund. Probably spurred by his wife Brunhildas anger at her sisters murder, the two brothers had already been at war, but their hostility now elevated into a long and bitter war that was continued by the descendants of both. In 573, Sigebert took possession of Poitiers and Touraine, but at Sigeberts moment of triumph, when he had just been declared king by Chilperics subjects at Vitry-en-Artois, he was struck down by two assassins working for Fredegund. He was succeeded by his son Childebert under the regency of Brunhilda, Brunhilda and Childebert quickly put themselves under the protection of Guntram, who eventually adopted Childebert as his own son and heir. With Brunhilda he had two daughters, Ingund and Chlodosind, history of the Franks, Books I-X at Medieval Sourcebook
Sigebert I
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Marriage of Sigebert and Brunhilda,
Grandes Chroniques de France, from a MS of the fifteenth century (Bibliothèque nationale de France).
Sigebert I
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The assassination of Sigebert by
Jean Fouquet, from the fifteenth century
Grandes Chroniques de France.
Sigebert I
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Childeric I (457–481)
Sigebert I
37.
Childebert II
–
When his father was assassinated in 575, Childebert was taken from Paris by Gundobald, one of his faithful lords, to Metz, where he was recognized as sovereign. He was then five years old, and during his long minority the power was disputed between his mother Brunhilda and the nobles. Chilperic I, king at Paris, and the Burgundian king Guntram, sought an alliance with Childebert, because Guntram was lord of half of Marseille, the district of Provence became a centre of a brief dispute between the two. While Jovinus and Theodore, Bishop of Marseille, were travelling to the court of Childebert, Dynamius, meanwhile, blocked Gundulf, a duke of an important senatorial family and Childeberts former domesticus, from entering Marseille on behalf of Childebert. Eventually he was forced to yield, though he later arrested Theodore again and had him sent to Guntram, Childebert replaced him in Provence by Nicetius. Despite his revolt, Childebert formally restored Dynamius to favour on 28 November 587, by the Treaty of Andelot of 587, Childebert was recognised as Guntrams heir, and with his uncles help he quelled the revolts of the nobles and succeeded in seizing the castle of Woëwre. Many attempts were made on his life by Fredegund, wife of Chilperic, on the death of Guntram in 592, Childebert annexed the kingdom of Burgundy, and even contemplated seizing Clotaires estates and becoming sole king of the Franks. Childebert II had relations with the Byzantine Empire, and fought on occasions in the name of the Emperor Maurice, against the Lombards in Italy. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain
Childebert II
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Childeric I (457–481)
Childebert II
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Childebert II
Childebert II
38.
Theudebert II
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Theudebert II, King of Austrasia, was the son and heir of Childebert II. He received the kingdom of Austrasia plus the cities of Poitiers, Tours, Le Puy-en-Velay, Bordeaux, and Châteaudun, as well as the Champagne, the Auvergne, in 599, Theudebert and his brother Theuderic II were at war. Theuderic defeated him at Sens, but then allied against their cousin Chlothar II and defeated him at Dormelles, thereby laying their hands on a great portion of Neustria. At this point, however, the two took up arms against each other, Theuderic defeated him at Étampes and he refused to aid his brother when Theuderics kingdom was invaded by Clotaire in 605. In 610, he extorted Alsace from his brother and Theuderic took up arms against him, Theudebert was defeated handily at Toul and at Zülpich in 612. Bishop Ludegast of Mainz is said to have beseeched his brother in a fable to spare his life and he was locked up in a monastery at the order of his grandmother, and assassinated with his son Merovech. His daughter Emma is sometimes thought to have married Eadbald of Kent and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
Theudebert II
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The Frankish realm as it was after the
Treaty of Andelot in 587. The Austrasian kingdom of Childebert (green) was inherited by Theudebert II.
39.
Theuderic II
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Theuderic II, king of Burgundy and Austrasia, was the second son of Childebert II. He also received the lordship of the cities of Toulouse, Agen, Nantes, Angers, Saintes, Angoulême, Périgueux, Blois, Chartres, and Le Mans. During his minority, and later, he reigned under the guidance of his grandmother Brunhilda, in 596, Clotaire II, king of Neustria, and Fredegund, Clotaires mother, took Paris, which was supposed to be held in common. Fredegund, then her sons regent, sent a force to Laffaux, in 599, Brunhilda was forced out of Austrasia by Theudebert and she was found wandering near Arcis in Champagne by a peasant, who brought her to Theuderic. The peasant was rewarded with the bishopric of Auxerre. Theuderic welcomed her and readily fell under her influence, which was inclined to war with Theudebert at the time. Soon, Theuderic and his brother were at war and he defeated Theudebert at Sens, but their cousin Clotaires restless warmaking prompted them to ally against him. They resumed the fight against Neustria and, in 600, defeated Clotaire at Dormelles on the Orvanne, the land between the Seine and the Oise was divided between Theuderic and Theudebert, with Theuderic receiving the territory between the Seine and the Loire including the Breton frontier. They also campaigned together in Gascony, where they subjugated the local population, at this point, however, the two brothers took up arms against each other resulting in Theuderics defeat of Theudebert at Étampes. Theuderics kingdom was invaded by Clotaire and his mayor of the palace, Berthoald in 604, Theuderic met them at Étampes on the Louet, but Theudebert refused him aid. Theuderic won the day, but Berthoald was killed, the next mayor, Protadius, a partisan of Brunhilda, encouraged war with Austrasia, but the nobles assassinated him and battle was never met, a pact being enforced by Theuderics men. In 610, he lost Alsace, the Saintois, the Thurgau, however, he routed Theudebert at Toul and later at Tolbiac in 612. He captured the fleeing Theudebert in the battle and gave him over—after taking his royal paraphernalia—to his grandmother Brunhilda. Bishop Ludegast is said to have beseeched him in a fable to spare Theudeberts life, Brunhilda probably had Theudebert murdered to allow Theuderic to succeed to both thrones unhindered. Thus depriving himself of the opportunity of having legitimate offspring, he was succeeded by his bastard son Sigbert II under the regency of Brunhilda. Theuderic had four sons by unnamed mistresses, Sigebert II, who succeeded him in both his realms Childebert Corbus Merovech, godson of Clotaire II Wallace-Hadrill, J. M. translator, the Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations Connecticut, Greenwood Press,1960
Theuderic II
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The Frankish realm as it was after the
Treaty of Andelot in 587. The Burgundian kingdom of Guntram (pink) was inherited first by Childebert II and then by Theuderic II.
Theuderic II
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Childeric I (457–481)
Theuderic II
40.
Chilperic I
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Chilperic I was the king of Neustria from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I, immediately after the death of his father in 561, he endeavoured to take possession of the whole kingdom, seized the treasure amassed in the royal town of Berny and entered Paris. His brothers, however, compelled him to divide the kingdom with them, and Soissons, together with Amiens, Arras, Cambrai, Thérouanne, Tournai, and Boulogne fell to Chilperics share. His eldest brother Charibert received Paris, the second eldest brother Guntram received Burgundy with its capital at Orléans, on the death of Charibert in 567, his estates were augmented when the brothers divided Chariberts kingdom among themselves and agreed to share Paris. Not long after his accession, however, he was at war with Sigebert, Sigebert defeated him and marched to Soissons, where he defeated and imprisoned Chilperics eldest son, Theudebert. The war flared in 567, at the death of Charibert, Chilperic immediately invaded Sigeberts new lands, but Sigebert defeated him. Chilperic later allied with Guntram against Sigebert, but Guntram changed sides, when Sigebert married Brunhilda, daughter of the Visigothic sovereign in Spain, Chilperic also wished to make a brilliant marriage. He had already repudiated his first wife, Audovera, and had taken as his concubine a serving-woman called Fredegund and he accordingly dismissed Fredegund, and married Brunhildas sister, Galswintha. But he soon tired of his new partner, and one morning Galswintha was found strangled in her bed, a few days afterwards Chilperic married Fredegund. This murder was the cause of more long and bloody wars, interspersed with truces, in 575, Sigebert was assassinated by Fredegund at the very moment when he had Chilperic at his mercy. Chilperic then made war with the protector of Sigeberts wife and son, Chilperic retrieved his position, took from Austrasia Tours and Poitiers and some places in Aquitaine, and fostered discord in the kingdom of the east during the minority of Childebert II. In 578, Chilperic sent an army to fight the Breton ruler Waroch II of the Bro-Wened along the Vilaine, the Frankish army consisted of units from the Poitou, Touraine, Anjou, Maine, and Bayeux. The Baiocassenses were Saxons and they in particular were routed by the Bretons, the armies fought for three days before Waroch submitted, did homage for Vannes, sent his son as a hostage, and agreed to pay an annual tribute. He subsequently broke his oath but Chilperics dominion over the Bretons was relatively secure, most of what is known of Chilperic comes from The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours. Gregory also objected to Chilperics attempts to teach a new doctrine of the Trinity, Chilperics reign in Neustria saw the introduction of the Byzantine punishment of eye-gouging. In September 584, while returning from an expedition to his royal villa of Chelles. Chilperic Is first marriage was to Audovera, merovech, married the widow Brunhilda and became his fathers enemy Clovis. Basina, nun, led a revolt in the abbey of Poitiers Childesinda His short second marriage to Galswintha produced no children and his concubinage and subsequent marriage to Fredegund in about 568 produced six more legitimate offspring, Rigunth, betrothed to Reccared but never married
Chilperic I
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Portrait of Chilperic I on a bronze medal 1720.
Chilperic I
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Chilperic I and
Fredegund
Chilperic I
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Chilperic I
41.
Chlothar II
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Chlothar II, called the Great or the Young, was King of Neustria and King of the Franks, and the son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fredegund. He started his reign as an infant under the regency of his mother, Clothar assumed full power over Neustria upon her death in 597, though rich this was one of the smallest portions of Francia. Like his father, he built up his territories by moving in after the deaths of other kings and his reign was long by contemporary standards, but saw the continuing erosion of royal power to the nobility and the church against a backdrop of feuding among the Merovingians. The Edict of Paris in 614, concerned with aspects of appointments to offices. Chlothar was forced to rule over Austrasia to his young son Dagobert I in 623. Unusually for a Merovingian monarch, he practised monogamy, though meant that he had three queens. The domain of Clothar II was located in the territorial and political framework derived from the Frankish kingdom present at 561 at the death of Clothar, son of Clovis and grandfather of Clothar II. On the death of Clovis in 511, four kingdoms were established with capitals at Reims, Soissons, Paris, in the year 550, Clothar I, the last survivor of four brothers reunited the Frankish kingdom, and added Burgundian territory by conquest. Very quickly, Sigebert moved his capital from Reims to Metz, on the death of Charibert in 567, the land was again split between the three survivors, of greatest importance Sigebert received Paris and Chilperic received Rouen. The names Austrasia and Neustria seem to have appeared as the names of these kingdoms for the first time at this point, in 560, Sigebert and Chilperic married two sisters, daughters of the Visigoth king of Spain Athanagild, princesses Brunhilda, and Galswintha respectively. However Chilperic was still very attached to his lover and consort, Fredegund. In 570 she was murdered and suspicion fell on Chilperic, although eventually these suspicions faded, within days, and after a brief period of grieving, Chilperic officially married Fredegund and elevated her to a queen of a Frankish kingdom. With her fathers death not soon after, Brunhilda became solely responsible for reprisals against Chilperic and he agreed at first to pay a sum of money to end the feud, but not soon after decided to embark on a series of military operations against Sigebert. This was the beginning of what is called the feud which did not end until Brunhilda died in 613. Moreover, Fredegund strove to ensure her position, since she was from lower origins, by eliminating the sons that Chilperic had with his previous wife Audovera, Merovech and her own children, however, died at a very young age and appeared to be by foul play. When Fredegund had a son in the spring of 584, he would be the successor of Chilperic I. The main sources from the time are the chronicles of Gregory of Tours and it is possible, however, that the authors contain a degree of bias in their works, for instance Gregory was a key figure in some of the conflicts of the time. The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours in the sixth century only recounts up to 572
Chlothar II
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Coin of Clothar II
Chlothar II
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The kingdom of Chlothar at the start of his reign (yellow). By 613 he had inherited or conquered all of the coloured portions of the map.
Chlothar II
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A treaty of King Chlothar II and the Lombards.
Chlothar II
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Fredegund is cursed by Pretextatus
42.
Dagobert I
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Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia, king of all the Franks, and king of Neustria and Burgundy. He was the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield any real royal power, Dagobert was the first of the Frankish kings to be buried in the royal tombs at Saint Denis Basilica. Dagobert was the eldest son of Chlothar II and Haldetrude, Chlothar had reigned alone over all the Franks since 613. In 623, Chlothar was forced to make Dagobert king of Austrasia by the nobility of that region, the rule of a Frank from the Austrasian heartland tied Alsace more closely to the Austrasian court. Dagobert created a new duchy in southwest Austrasia to guard the region from Burgundian or Alemannic encroachments, the duchy comprised the Vosges, the Burgundian Gate, and the Transjura. Dagobert made his courtier Gundoin the first duke of this new polity that was to last until the end of the Merovingian dynasty, upon the death of his father in 629, Dagobert inherited the Neustrian and Burgundian kingdoms. His half-brother Charibert, son of Sichilde, claimed Neustria but Dagobert opposed him, brodulf, brother of Sichilde, petitioned Dagobert on behalf of his young nephew, but Dagobert assassinated him and gave the Aquitaine to his own younger sibling. Charibert and his son Chilperic were assassinated in 632, Dagobert had Burgundy and Aquitaine firmly under his rule, becoming the most powerful Merovingian king in many years and the most respected ruler in the West. In 631, Dagobert led three armies against Samo, the ruler of the Slavs, but his Austrasian forces were defeated at Wogastisburg, also in 632, the nobles of Austrasia revolted under the mayor of the palace, Pepin of Landen. As king, Dagobert made Paris his capital, during his reign, he built the Altes Schloss in Meersburg, which today is the oldest inhabited castle in that country. Devoutly religious, Dagobert was also responsible for the construction of the Saint Denis Basilica and he also appointed St. Arbogast bishop of Strasbourg. Dagobert died in the abbey of Saint-Denis and was the first Frankish king to be buried in the Saint Denis Basilica, the author of the Chronicle of Fredegar criticises the king for his loose morals in having three queens almost simultaneously, as well as several concubines. The chronicle names the queens, Nanthild and the otherwise obscure Wulfegundis and Berchildis, in 625/6 Dagobert married Gormatrude, a sister of his fathers wife Sichilde, but the marriage was childless. After divorcing Gormatrude in 629/30 he made Nanthild, a Saxon servant from his personal entourage and she gave birth to, Clovis II later king of Neustria and Burgundy. Shortly after his marriage to Nanthild, he took a girl called Ragnetrude to his bed and it has been speculated that Regintrud, abbess of Nonnberg Abbey, was also a child of Dagobert, although this theory does not fit Regintruds supposed date of birth between 660 and 665. She married into the Bavarian Agilolfing family
Dagobert I
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Contemporary effigy of Dagobert from a gold
triens minted at
Uzès (1.24
g,
Monnaie de Paris, labeled "DAGOBERTVS REX".
Dagobert I
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Signature
Dagobert I
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"Throne of Dagobert",
bronze. The base, formed by a
curule chair, is traditionally attributed to Dagobert, while the arms and the back of the chair were added under
Charles the Bald. This throne was last used by
Napoleon I in 1804 when he created the
Legion d'Honneur.
Cabinet des Medailles.
Dagobert I
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Detail of Dagobert's tomb, thirteenth century
43.
Charibert II
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Charibert II, a son of Clotaire II and his junior wife Sichilde, was briefly King of Aquitaine from 629 to his death, with his capital at Toulouse. We have no direct statement about when Charibert was born exactly, only that he was a few younger than his half-brother Dagobert. His father Clotaire evidently had a marriage and he was the offspring of the junior wife. In the ensuing negotiations, Charibert, a minor, was represented by his uncle Brodulf, Dagobert had Brodulf killed, but did not intercede when his half-brother took over the near-independent realm of Aquitaine. Apparently this caused no disagreement, as in 631 Charibert stood godfather to Dagoberts son Sigebert, Chariberts realm included Toulouse, Cahors, Agen, Périgueux, and Saintes, to which he added his possessions in Gascony. Charibert was married to Gisela, the daughter of Amand, Ruler of the Gascons and his fighting force subdued the resistance of the Basques, until the whole Novempopulania was under his control. In 632, Charibert died at Blaye, Gironde—possibly assassinated on Dagoberts orders—and soon after that Chariberts infant son Chilperic was also killed, both Charibert and his son are buried in the early Romanesque Basilica of Saint-Romain at Blaye. The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations
Charibert II
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Tremissis or Charibert II, minted at
Banassac, bearing his effigy and name
Charibert II
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The Frankish kingdoms, showing Charibert's kingdom in green.
Charibert II
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Childeric I (457–481)
Charibert II
44.
Sigebert III
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Sigebert III was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian roi fainéant —do-nothing king—, however he lived a pious Christian life and was later sanctified, being remembered as Saint Sigebert of Austrasia in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Sigebert was born in 630 as the eldest son of Dagobert I, King of the Franks, the king recalled and made peace with Saint Amand, who was previously banished for criticizing the kings vices, and asked him to baptize his new-born son. The ceremony was performed at Orléans and Charibert II, Dagoberts half-brother who was King of Aquitaine at the time, was the god-father. Dagobert assigned the education of Sigebert to Pepin of Landen, who was the mayor of the palace in Austrasia under his father Chlotar II, Pepin took the young Sigebert and moved with him to his domains in Aquitane, where they stayed the next 3 years. In 633, a revolt of the nobles forced Dagobert to make the three-year old Sigebert king of Austrasia, however, he refused to give the power to Pepin of Landen by making him Mayor of the palace for the child-king. Instead he has put Sigebert under the tutelage of Adalgisel as Mayor of the palace and the Bishop of Cologne Saint Cunibert as regent, while keepin Pepin in Neustria as hostage. In 634 Dagoberts second son, Clovis II, was born, on the death of Dagobert in 639, the two Frankish kingdoms became independent once again under Sigebert III and Clovis II. Both kingdoms were under child-kings — Sigebert was around eleven years old, Pepin replaced Adalgisel as Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia in 639 but died the following year, in 640, and was replaced by his son Grimoald. In 640 the Duchy of Thuringia rebelled against Austrasia, in the war of Sigeberts reign. Grimoald allowed the king to stand at the head of the army trying to quell the rebellion. The Chronicle of Fredegar records that the rout left Sigebert weeping in his saddle, though ineffective as a king, Sigebert has grown a pious adult under the tutelage of Pepin and later Saint Cunibert and lived a life of Christian virtue. He used his wealth to numerous monasteries, hospitals, and churches. Sigebert III died of natural causes on 1 February 656 at age 25 and he was burried in the Abbey of Saint Martin near Metz which he had founded. In 1063 his body, found incorrupt, was out of the tomb. The abbey was demolished in 1552 and the relics were moved to the Nancy Cathedral, Sigebert III is revered as a saint by the Catholic Church with his feast day on 1 February. He is the saint of Nancy. The Mayor of the Palace Grimoald managed to convince the young Sigebert, however, the king married Chimnechild of Burgundy and had a son of his own, the future king Dagobert II
Sigebert III
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Sculpture of Sigebert in France
Sigebert III
–
Baptism of Sigebert. His mother is near him.
Sigebert III
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Sigebert depicted on stained glass window
Sigebert III
–
Childeric I (457–481)
45.
Childebert the Adopted
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Childebert III the Adopted was a Frankish king. Childebert was a son of the Mayor of the Palace Grimoald the Elder and he was thus a grandson of Pepin of Landen. He was adopted by King Sigebert III and Queen Chimnechild, when Sigebert III died in 656, Grimoald had Sigebert’s biological son Dagobert II shorn of hair and sent him to an Irish monastery and then proclaimed Childebert king of Austrasia. Grimoald, Childebert and Ansegisel were finally seized and turned over to the king of Neustria, Clovis II, there are two differing accounts of his death, however. Either Clovis and his mayor of the palace, Erchinoald, captured and executed him in 657 or Chlothar III annexed Austrasia in 661, deposing the young usurper, the family reappeared in politics with the rise of Ansegisel’s son, Pepin of Herstal
Childebert the Adopted
–
Coin of Childebert
46.
Dagobert III
–
Dagobert III was Merovingian king of the Franks. He was a son of Childebert III and he succeeded his father as the head of the three Frankish kingdoms—Neustria and Austrasia, unified since Pippins victory at Tertry in 687, and the Kingdom of Burgundy—in 711, at the age of twelve. Real power, however, still remained with the Mayor of the Palace, Pippin of Herstal, Pippins death occasioned open conflict between his heirs and the Neustrian nobles who elected the mayors of the palace. As for Dagobert himself, the Liber Historiae Francorum reports he died of illness, but otherwise says nothing about his character or actions
Dagobert III
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Dagobert III
47.
Chilperic II
–
Chilperic II, born Daniel, the youngest son of Childeric II and his cousin Bilichild, was king of Neustria from 715 and sole king of the Franks from 718 until his death. As an infant, he was spirited to a monastery to protect his life from the feuding of his family. He took the name of Chilperic, though due to his monastic upbringing. First, it appears he was supposed to be but a tool in the hands of Ragenfrid, Chilperic, however, was his own man, both a fighter and a leader, always at the forefront in battle at the head of his troops. In 716, he and Ragenfrid together led an army into Austrasia, then being warred over by Plectrude, on behalf of her grandson Theudoald, and Charles Martel, the son of Pepin of Heristal. The Neustrians allied with another invading force under Radbod, King of the Frisians and met Charles in battle near Cologne, Chilperic was victorious and Charles fled to the mountains of the Eifel. The king and his mayor then turned to besiege their other rival in the city, Plectrude acknowledged Chilperic as king, gave over the Austrasian treasury, and abandoned her grandsons claim to the mayoralty. At this juncture, events took a turn against Chilperic, as he and Ragenfrid were leading their triumphant soldiers back to Neustria, Charles fell on them near Malmedy and in the Battle of Amblève, Charles routed them and they fled. Thereafter, Charles Martel remained virtually undefeated and Chilperics strong will was subdued in a series of campaigns waged in Neustrian territory, in 717, Charles returned to Neustria with an army and confirmed his supremacy with a victory at Vincy, near Cambrai. He chased the king and mayor to Paris before turning back to deal with Plectrude. On succeeding there, he proclaimed Chlothar IV king of Austrasia in opposition to Chilperic. In 718, Chilperic, in response, allied with Odo the Great, the duke of Aquitaine who had made himself independent during the contests in 715, the king fled with his ducal ally to the land south of the Loire and Ragenfrid fled to Angers. In 719, he was raised on the shield as king of all the Franks. He died in Attigny and was buried in Noyon, from Merovingians to Carolingians, Dynastic Change in Frankia
Chilperic II
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Imaginative modern carving from a medallion depicting Chilperic II
Chilperic II
–
Childeric I (457–481)
Chilperic II
.svg)
