Franken - (Franks) King = Koenig 4** , Faramund (K of Franks) Death: 427 4**., Chlodion (K of Franks) Death: 447 447 , Merovech, King of the Franks 460 , Childeric I of the Franks, King of the Franks 482 , Chlodovech (Clovis) (Clodwig / Ludwig / Louis) I of the Franks, King of the Franks 511 , Chlodomer of the Franks, King of the Franks 511 , Theuderic I of the Franks, King of the Franks 511 , Childebert I of the Franks, King of the Franks 511 , Chlothar I of the Franks, King of the Franks 533 , Theudebert I of the Franks, King of the Franks 547 , Theudebald of the Franks, King of the Franks 561 , Chilperic I of the Franks, King of the Franks 561 , Guntramm of the Franks, King of the Franks 561 , Charibert I of the Franks, King of the Franks 575 , Childebert II of the Franks, King of the Franks 584 , Chlothar II of the Franks, King of the Franks 596 , Theuderic II of the Franks, King of the Franks 613 , Sigebert II of the Franks, King of the Franks 629 , Dagobert I of the Franks, King of the Franks 630 , Charibert II of the Franks, King of the Franks 639 , Chlodovech (Clovis) II of the Franks, King of the Franks 639 , Sigebert (St.) III of the Franks (Austrasien) King of the Franks * um 626 + 656 in Metz Sigbert wurde schon mit drei Jahren von seinem Vater auf den Thron von Austrasien erhoben. Er erwies sich der Kirche gegenüber wohltätig, indem er 12 Abteien, darunter Stablo und Malmédy in Belgien und St. Martin in Lothringen, sowie viele Kirchen und Spitäler stiftete und den Klerus schützte 657 , Chlothar III of the Franks, King of the Franks 660 , Childebert of the Franks, King of the Franks 662 , Childeric II of the Franks, King of the Franks 676 , Dagobert (St.) II of the Franks, King of the Franks 676 , Theuderic III of the Franks, King of the Franks 690 , Chlodovech (Clovis) III of the Franks, King of the Franks 694 , Childebert III of the Franks, King of the Franks 711 , Dagobert III of the Franks, King of the Franks 715 , Chilperic II of the Franks, King of the Franks 717 , Chlothar IV of the Franks, King of the Franks 721 , Theuderic IV of the Franks, King of the Franks 743 , Childeric III of the Franks, King of the Franks 751 , Pepin III "The Short" of the Franks, King of Franks 768 , Charlemagne Emperor of the West, King of Franks 768 , Carloman of the Franks, King of Franks 843 , Charles II the Bald, King West Franks 855 , Louis II the German, King East Franks 876 , Louis the Young, King East Franks 881 , Charles III the Fat, King West Franks http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedidex/n=royal?Franks _http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/meroving.gif FAMILIE DER MEROWINGER (click) _____________________________________________________________________________ 1. Faramund (K of Franks) Death: 427 2. Chlodion (K of Franks) Death: 447 3. Merovech (K of Franks) Birth: ABT 436 Death: 456/457 4.Childeric_I (K of Franks) Birth: ABT 435 Death: 481/482 Basina 5. Clovis I (Clodewig / Ludwig / Lois) (King of Franks) Birth: 466 Death: 25 NOV 511 Clotilda of Burgundy Death: 544 [Father: Chilperic II (K of Burgundy)] Death: 474/493 6. Clotilda Birth: ABT 502/505 Death: 531 Amalaric (K of Visigoths) Birth: ABT 502 Death: 531 Marriage: AFT 526 6. Clothar I (King of Franks) Birth: 500 Death: 561 Ingunde (Family I) 7. Charibert I (K of Paris) Birth: ABT 520 Death: 567 Ingoberga 8. Berta (of Paris) Death: AFT 590 Ethelbert I (K of Kent) Death: 616 9. Eadbald (K of Kent) Death: 640 Emma* of_the_Franks 7.Sigebert I (K of Austrasia) Birth: ABT 535 Death: 575 Brunechild Marriage: 566 8. Childebert II 8. Chlodosind 8. Ingunda 6. Arnegunde ( Family 2) 7. Chilperic I (K of Soissons) Birth: 537 Death: 584 Galswintha Family 1: Marriage: 564 Fredegunde Family 2: Marriage: 568 8. Clothar II (K of Franks) Birth: 584 Death: 629 Adaltrude Family 1 9. Emma of the Franks Death: 642 Eadbald Death: 640 10. Earconbert (K of Kent) Death: 664 Sexburga 11. Egbert I (K of Kent) Death: 673 Wihtred Death: 725 Beretrude (of Artois) Death: 620 Family 2: Marriage: BEF 613 9. Dagobert I (K of Franks) Birth: 611 Death: 16 JAN 638 Ragentrude 10. Clovis II (K of N & B) Birth: 634 Death: 657 Balthilde Death: 680 11.Theuderic III (K of the Franks) Death: 691 10. Sigebert III (K of Austrasia) Birth: 630/631 Death: 1 FEB 656 9. Charibert_II (K of Toulouse &) Birth: 608 Death: 631 Gisele of Gascony Notes According to Edward James in his book, "The Franks", "When CLOVIS died in 511 the kingdom was divided among his four sons. Traditionally historians have said that this was merely following Frankish inheritance customs. But, as Ian Woods has argued, it may rather have been an expedient forced by QUEEN CLOTILDA, to prevent CLOVIS' eldest son, Theuderic (her step-son) from cutting her own three young sons, Childebert, Chlodomer, and this Clothar, out of the inheritance completely." These joint kings further consolidated the power they had inherited. They defined the frontier with the Visigoths. They conquered Burgundy and killed King Gundobad's sons, thus avenging their mother. They began applying pressure on the Germans to their east and the Italians to their south. In brief, they made Francia the predominant power in western Europe. When Chlodomer died, his three little sons were sent to Paris to be put under the care of their grandmother, CLOTILDA. She was so fond of them that their uncles, CLOTHAR and Childebert, were afraid that she would require that their father's inheritance should be given to them. So they asked her to send the boys to them on a visit, and as soon as they arrived, a messenger was sent to the queen with a sword and a pair of scissors, desiring her to choose. This meant that she should choose whether the poor boys should be killed, or have their heads shaven and become monks. CLOTILDA answered thta she would rather see them dead than monks. In 533 CLOTHAR killed the eldest, who was only ten, with his sword. The second clung to Childebert and begged for his life, but CLOTHAR forced his brother to release him, and killed him too. The third boy, whose name was Chlodoald, was helped by Childebert to escape, and when he grew older he went into a monestery. He was so good a churchman that he became known as Saint Cloud. The last surviving son of his father, CLOVIS, Clothar was the sole ruler of the Franks from 558 until his death in 561. Clothar had seven sons by three wives: Gunther, Childeric, Charibert, Guntram, and SIGEBERT by Ingonde; CHILPERIC by INGONDE's sister, HAREGONDE; and Chramn by Chunsina. Gunther and Childeric died before their father, and Chramn, who rebeled against him was burnt alive, together with his wife and children, on Clothar's orders. Clothar himself died on the anniversary of Chramn's death. (Gregory of Tours implied that this was the hand of God's justice.) At this point history repeats itself in that Clothar, who was one of four sons to inherit a partitioned kingship left four sons to succeed him - Charibert (who died first), CHILPERIC I (who got Neustria), Guntram (who got Burgundy), and SIGEBERT I (who got Austrasia). This is the starting point in a tale of interfamily intrigue in which truth is indeed stranger than fiction. As it involves two separate lines and several individuals, I will tell it here, all in one place, rather than try to split it up as separate biographies of thse involved : ATHANAGILD, king of the Visigoths (RIN 2464) had two daughters, BRUNHILDA and Galswintha. They were married to two of the sons of CLOTHAR, SIGEBERT I and CHILPERIC I respectively. CHILPERIC had a wife of low birth named FREDEGONDE whom he put aside to marry Galswintha. One day Galswintha was found strangled under conditions very incriminating to CHILPERIC and FREDEGONDE. This pair was immediately remarried. BRUNHILDA's driving passion became to avenge her sister. FREDEGONDE was as ruthless and strong willed as BRUNHILDA and the two queens became archenemies. Throughout the 560's, 70's, & 80's, There was constant warfare, intrigue, and a shifting of alliances between the three royal brothers and the two queens, the intricate details of which would be too involved to relate here. BRUNHILDA's husband, SIGEBERT I, was the first of the brothers to die in 575. It was universaly accepted that he had been the victim of an assasination plot by FREDEGONDE. As Sigebert's son, CHILDEBERT II, was only five years old, Austrasia came to be ruled by a group advisors. CHILDEBERT's uncle, Guntram, king of Burgundy, who, over the years, shifted his alliance back and forth between Austrasia and Neustria, was allied with SIGEBERT at the time of his assasination. Guntrum, whose own children had all died of illnesses, even made CHILDEBERT his heir in Burgundy and took on the role as his protector against CHILPERIC. CHILDEBERT's advisors, however, sabotaged the Burgundian alliance and sought to form an alliance with CHILPERIC. Queen BRUNHILDA, who was now just in her mid twenties, was, of course, at odds with this policy. Shortly after her husband's death, BRUNHLDA fell into the hands of her enemies and was forced to marry CHILPERIC's son, Merovech. Since he was her nephew by marriage, the church annulled the marriage as incestuous. This did not deter Merovech's brother from also tring to marry her. This so incensed his step-mother, FREDEGONDE, that she had him assasinated. In 584, CHILPERIC also died (another of FREDEGONDE's assasinations - she arranged to have her husband stabbed to death while returning from a hunting trip). FREDEGONDE tried, on sevaral occasions, to assisinate CHILDEBERT, BRUNHILDA, and Guntram. FREDEGONDE also had all of her step children killed. All of her own children had died as infants, but she was carrying another of CHILPERIC's children when he was killed. This child was CLOTHAR II. FREDEGONDE ruled Neustria as his regent. As CHILDEBERT grew older, he and his queen mother BRUNHILDA eliminated the Austrasian aristocrats who opposed them one by one. Upon King Guntram's death in 592 BRUNHILDA became regent for CHILDEBERT in both Austrasia and Burgundy. In 596 CHILDEBERT died and BRUNHILDA was regent for CHILDEBERT's two sons, THEUDEBERT II (who became king of Austrasia) and Theuderic II (who became king of Burgundy). In 597 FREDEGONDE died. Her son, CLOTHAR II, only 13 years old at the time, eventually firmly established his position as king in Neustria. Meanwhile, BRUNHILDA's two grandsons were quarreling. Theuderic was taken prisoner by THEUDEBERT and forced to become a monk. He was put to death soon after. THEUDEBERT died a short time later. THEUDEBERT's daughter married the Duke of Bavaria which became one of our lines of descent through CHARLES MARTEL (RIN 2451) and the emporer LOUIS THE PIOUS (RIN 1212). At this point we find BRUNHILDA firmly in control of all of Francia except for CLOTHAR II's small kingdom of Neustria. Theuderic II's son, Sigebert II, succeeded to the kingship of Austrasia upon his father's death in 613. This made BRUNHILDA perhaps the only ruling queen great grandmother in all of recorded history. Our story finally comes to an end when CLOTHAR II attacks and defeats BRUNHILDA's forces. BRUNHILDA's great grandchildren are killed. In 613 BRUNHILDA is slain. CLOTHAR II becomes the first man to rule a united Francia since the time of his grandfather, Clothar I (whose biography, lest we forget, this is). Christopher Cope, in his book, "The Lost Kingdom of Burgundy", gives a good succinct obituary for BRUNHILDA : ". . . her own end was brutally dramatic. In 613, when she was about sixty-three, she was overwhelmed and captured by the Franks in a battle on the shores of Lake Neuchatel in north-west Switzerland. She was tortured for three days and set on a camel as a mark of derision; there cannot have been many in Christian Europe in those days. Then she was tied by her flowing white hair by an arm and a foot to the tail of a vicious stallion which her captors lashed to fury until her limbs were torn from her body. With the passing of this queen of Burgundy, heroic, legendary and larger-than-life, we take one more step into the gloom that accompanied the disintegration of the classical world." Ancient countries / Historische Staaten English Austrasia Neustria Septimania French Austrasie Neustrie Septimanie German Austrasien Neustrien Septimanien Dutch Austrasië Neustrië Septimanië |
