The Austrasian Letters (Latin: Epistulae Austrasicae) is a collection of 48 Latin letters sent from or to Austrasia between the 470s and 590s. The collection is transmitted in a single 9th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Lorsch.[1]
The collection was probably assembled in Metz in the late 6th century.[2] It has been attributed to Bishop Magneric of Trier, who was a counsellor of King Childebert II in the 580s.[1] It is generally thought that the compilation was made for the use of the Austrasian chancery. Recently, however, it has been argued that the compilation was only brought together in the early 9th century at Lorsch.[3]
The letters give insight into the workings of Frankish diplomacy and life at the Austrasian court. The letters give insights into the literacy of the kings' inner circle, along with snippets of information not supplied by other sources of the period. They provide more contemporary evidence for the reign of Clovis I than any other source. The letters are particularly useful in illuminating the complex diplomatic relations between Austrasia and the Byzantine Empire.[4] A majority of the letters concern this relationship.[1]
These letters pertain to the embassy sent to the Byzantine Empire in 585–586 with the possible exception of no. 46, which more likely pertains to that of 589.[7]
↑ Dates are mainly those of Malaspina 2001 drawn from the table in Barrett & Woudhuysen 2016, pp.53–57; alternative dates in footnotes. Question marks indicate uncertainty.
Goubert, Paul (1951). "Chronologie des lettres austrasiennes". Mélanges d'histoire du Moyen Âge dédiés à la mémoire de Louis Halphen. Paris. pp.291–296.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
The Merovingian dynasty was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gallo-Romans under their rule. They conquered most of Gaul, defeating the Visigoths (507) and the Burgundians (534), and also extended their rule into Raetia (537). In Germania, the Alemanni, Bavarii and Saxons accepted their lordship. The Merovingian realm was the largest and most powerful of the states of western Europe following the breaking up of the empire of Theodoric the Great.
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.
Chlothar II, sometime called "the Young", was king of the Franks, ruling Neustria (584–629), Burgundy (613–629) and Austrasia (613–623).
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The dynasty consolidated its power in the 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary, and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the Merovingian dynasty which had ruled the Germanic Franks was overthrown with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy, and Pepin the Short, son of Martel, was crowned King of the Franks. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of the Romans in the West in over three centuries. His death in 814 began an extended period of fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.
Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted son of his uncle Guntram.
The Kingdom of the Franks, also known as the Frankish Kingdom, the Frankish Empire or Francia, was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle Ages. Francia was among the last surviving Germanic kingdoms from the Migration Period era.
Dagobert II was a Merovingian king of the Franks, ruling in Austrasia from 675 or 676 until his death. He is one of the more obscure Merovingians. He has been considered a martyr since at least the ninth century.
Fredegund or Fredegunda was the queen consort of Chilperic I, the Merovingian Frankish king of Soissons. Fredegund served as regent during the minority of her son Chlothar II from 584 until 597.
Gallia Belgica was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany.
The Franks were a western European people during the Roman Empire and Early Middle Ages. They began as a Germanic people who lived near the Lower Rhine, on the northern continental frontier of the empire. They subsequently expanded their power and influence during the Middle Ages, until much of the population of western Europe, particularly in or near France, were commonly described as Franks, for example in the context of their joint efforts during the crusades starting in the 11th century. This expansion came about because the romanized Frankish dynasties based within the collapsing Western Roman Empire first became the rulers of the whole region between the rivers Loire and Rhine, and then subsequently imposed power over many other post-Roman kingdoms both inside and outside the old empire.
Saint Nicetius was a bishop of Trier, born in the latter part of the fifth century, exact date unknown; died in 563 or more probably 566.
Tonantius Ferreolus, was a vir clarissimus, or Gallo-Roman senator.
Gogo was the mayor of the palace of Austrasia and nutricius for the young Childebert II from 576 until his death.
Chlothsind was a Frankish princess and the queen consort of the Lombard king Alboin. Her name may also be spelled Chlothsinda, Chlodosinda, Chlodosind, Chlodoswintha or Chlodosuinth.
Guy Halsall is an English historian and academic, specialising in Early Medieval Europe. He is currently based at the University of York, and has published a number of books, essays, and articles on the subject of early medieval history and archaeology. Halsall's current research focuses on western Europe in the important period of change around AD 600 and on the application of continental philosophy to history. He taught at the University of Newcastle and Birkbeck, University of London, before moving to the University of York.
The Council of Toul was a Frankish synod convoked by Theudebald, King of Austrasia, that convened in Toul on 1 June 550. It is not known how many bishops attended. It extended to the ecclesiastical provinces of Reims and Trier and perhaps beyond. The diocese of Toul was a suffragan of Trier. The metropolitan bishop, Nicetius of Trier, was certainly in attendance.
Mapinius was the bishop of Reims from 535 until 550. His name is of Gaulish (Celtic) origin.
Domitian was the nephew of the Roman emperor Maurice and the archbishop of Melitene in Roman Armenia from around 580 until his death. He was renowned as a diplomat and is regarded as a saint by the Chalcedonian churches for enforcing orthodoxy in the northeast of the empire. He unsuccessfully tried to convert the Persian king Khosrow II to Christianity when he helped restore him to his throne in 590–591. In the monophysite tradition, however, he is remembered for his brutal persecutions.
Caesaria the Younger or Caesaria II was the abbess of Saint-Jean d'Arles from around 525 until her death.
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