Chlodovech (Clovis) I

Childeric was the son of MEROVECH, eponymous founder of the Merovingian dynasty, a king or chieftain of the Franks, succeeding the prior king, Chlodio, about 451, to whom he was stated to be kin, but not necessarily a son. The death date of Merovech is not known but can be deduced as 456–57 based on statements by Gregory of Tours concerning the length of the reign of Childeric, his son and successor.

Chlodovech (Clovis) I

Chlodovech (Clovis) I was the son of CHILDERIC, a Frankish tribal king and Roman foederatus (auxiliary military leader) from ca. 456–57, d.ca. 481–82, bur. Tournai, where his grave, endowed with emblems of sovereignty including a gold signet ring (whose seal impression is pictured at right), a gold-andcloisonné sword, and numerous enigmatic gold bees, was discovered in 1653; m. BASINA, perhapsformerly a wife or concubine of Basinus, a chief or king of the Thuringians.

Chlothar I

Chlothar was the son of CHLODOVECH (CLOVIS) I, b. 466 (according to Gregory of Tours), succeeded his father as king in 481–82, baptized as a Catholic probably in 498, d. Paris, 27 Nov. 511, bur. Paris, Saints-Apôtres, later rededicated as Sainte-Geneviève; m. (2) 492, CHROTECHILDIS, d. at the monastery of Saint-Martin at Tours, 3 June 544 (or 548), bur. with her husband, daughter of Chilperic, king of the Burgundians.

Chilperic I

Chilperic was the son of CHLOTHAR (CHLOTHACHAR) I, b. 501–2, became king in Neustria on the death of his father, 27 Nov. 511; following internal conflicts, by 555 was effectively the most powerful king in Western Europe;65 d. after 29 Nov 561, in the 51st year of his reign, bur. Saint-Médard, Soissons; m. (5) ca. 532 as his 5th (known) wife, ARNEGUNDIS, sister of his 4th wife, Ingundis. The tomb of a Merovingian queen Arnegundis, probably this woman, was discovered at Saint-Denis in 1957.

Chlothar II

Chlothar II was the son of CHILPERIC, b. not long before 535; became king of Soissons on the death of his father, 561; recognized as king in Neustria at the death of his brother Charibert, 567; murdered while hunting at Chelles, near Paris, between 27 Sept. and 9 Oct. 584, bur. Saint-Germain-des-Prés; m. (3) 568, FREDEGUNDIS, d. 597, bur. SaintGermain-des-Prés. Fredegundis, the mother of Chlothar, was a mistress who had apparently masterminded the strangulation of Chilperic’s second wife, the Visigothic princess Galswinth.

Dagobert I

Dagobert I was the son of CHLOTHAR II, b. Spring 584, became king that year on the death of his father, all but deposed in 600 by his cousins kings Theuderic and Theudebert, regained rule in 612, d. [18] Oct 629, bur. Saint-Vincent, later Saint-Germain-des-Prés; m. (1) HALDETRUDIS, mother of Dagobert.

Chlodovech (Clovis) II

Chlodovech (Clovis) II was the son of DAGOBERT I, b. 610–611, named as co-king by his father between 20 Jan. and 8 April 623 (when he was probably 12 years old), reigned as sole king of the Franks after the death of his brother Charibert in 632, the last Merovingian king to effectively rule all the Franks, d. 16 Jan. 638 or 639, bur. Saint-Denis; m. five known wives, of whom he m. (3) NANTECHILDIS, the mother of Chlodovech (Clovis) II.

Theuderic III

Theuderic III was the son of CHLODOVECH (CLOVIS) II, b. 633 or 634, king in Neustria from Oct. 640, d. Oct. or Nov. 657, bur. Saint-Denis; m. 648, (Saint) BATHILDIS, formerly an AngloSaxon slave, d. ca. 680 as a nun at the abbey of Chelles.

Bertrada of Prüm

Bertrada has been proposed to be a daughter of THEUDERIC (THIERRY) III, b. ca. 651,49 d. between 2 Sept. 690 and 12 April 691, after reigning as king of the Franks 17 years, latterly as a puppet of the mayor of the palace Pippin of Herstal; m. CHRODCHILDIS, possibly also known as DODA, bur. Saint-Vaast, Arras, poss. 3 June 694 (their joint tomb bore the inscription “Theodericus rex . . . Doda regina,” according to a very late witness). A document of 691 attests Chrodchildis as the name of the mother (then living) of Theuderic’s eldest son and successor Chlodovech (Clovis) IV. There have been various interpretations of these divergent evidentiary scraps: Either these were two authentic names for the same person; or the late identification of queen “Doda” is to be discounted as false; or there were two successive queens; or one was a queen and the other a lesser mate (concubine).52 Whether the name discrepancy is best resolved by positing one queen with two names, or two different queens (or concubines), Settipani has suggested that the mother both of Bertrada and of Chlothar IV was a member of the Arnulfing family and therefore the source both of Bertrada’s landed inheritance in Rommersheim (of which a part was also inherited by Charles Martel) and Chlothar IV’s stated kinship with Charles Martel.

Charibert

Charibert was the son of BERTRADA, a noblewoman who has been suggested to be a member of the Merovingian dynasty, living on 23 June 721, when she founded and endowed a monastery at Prüm. The identity of her husband, by then deceased, is not explicit in the primary sources or unambiguously established with indirect evidence. Bertrada is the focus of the hypothesis discussed in this article.

Bertrada of Laon

Bertha was the daughter of CHARIBERT, count of (or at) Laon, living 721, d. by 762; m.

Carolus (Charles/Charlemagne)

CAROLUS (CHARLES) “the Great” or CHARLEMAGNE, king of the Franks and Lombards, emperor (from 800), etc., b. 2 April 748, d. Aachen, 28 Jan. 814. Charlemagne’s career continues to be elucidated and his legacy evaluated. For his wives, concubines, and children, Settipani’s sketch in Préhistoire, 191–210, is still definitive and accessible; Stewart Baldwin’s summary online in “The Henry Project,” briefly citing the most relevant primary sources, is even more accessible and therefore of great value. Charlemagne was the son of BERTHA, d. [8 June or 12 or 13 July] 783; m. ca. 743–744, PIPPIN, b. ca. 715,42 d. 24 Sept. 768, mayor of the palace, then (from 751) king of the Franks.