Ermenberga | |
---|---|
Queen consort of Burgundy | |
Tenure | 606 - 607 |
Spouse | Theuderic II |
Father | Witteric |
Ermenberga (fl. 6th/7th centuries CE) was a Visigoth princess, a daughter of the king of Spain, Witteric [1] [2]
In 606 she married Theuderic II, the Frankish king of Burgundy. [3]
Soon after the marriage, she was repudiated by Theuderic, supposedly at the insistence of Brunhild, Theuderic's grandmother, who may have seen Ermenberga as a challenge to her power. [1] [4] [5] Brunhild, who wielded significant control over the kingdom and grandson, was even accused by some chroniclers - such as Aimoin - of using magic to sway Theuderic away from Ermenberga. [6]
Some chronicles claim that Theuderic kept Ermenberga's dowry when he sent her back to Spain. [7] [8] Her eventual fate is uncertain. Her father Witteric, furious at this repudiation, attempted to form a military alliance against his former son-in-law, but failed. [9]
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.
Year 721 (DCCXXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 721 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Kingdom of the Franks from the 6th to 8th centuries, ruled by the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle Ages. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine, and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the Franks, including both the so-called Salian Franks and Ripuarian Franks, which Clovis I, King of the Franks (481–511) conquered after first taking control of the bordering part of Roman Gaul, which is sometimes described in this period as Neustria.
Chlothar II, sometimes called "the Young", was king of the Franks, ruling Neustria (584–629), Burgundy (613–629) and Austrasia (613–623).
Childeric III was King of the Franks from 743 until he was deposed in 751 by Pepin the Short. He was the last Frankish king from the Merovingian dynasty. Once Childeric was deposed, Pepin became king, initiating the Carolingian dynasty.
Balthild, also spelled Bathilda, Bauthieult or Baudour, was queen consort of Neustria and Burgundy by marriage to Clovis II, the King of Neustria and Burgundy (639–658), and regent during the minority of her son, Chlothar III. Her hagiography was intended to further her successful candidature for sainthood.
Septimania is a historical region in modern-day southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theodoric II. During the Early Middle Ages, the region was variously known as Gallia Narbonensis, Gallia, or Narbonensis. The territory of Septimania roughly corresponds with the modern French former administrative region of Languedoc-Roussillon that merged into the new administrative region of Occitanie. In the Visigothic Kingdom, which became centred on Toledo by the end of the reign of Leovigild, Septimania was both an administrative province of the central royal government and an ecclesiastical province whose metropolitan was the Archbishop of Narbonne. Originally, the Goths may have maintained their hold on the Albigeois, but if so it was conquered by the time of Chilperic I. There is archaeological evidence that some enclaves of Visigothic population remained in Frankish Gaul, near the Septimanian border, after 507.
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.
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.
Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, King of the Franks.
Brunhilda was queen consort of Austrasia, part of Francia, by marriage to the Merovingian king Sigebert I of Austrasia, and regent for her son, grandson and great-grandson.
Theuderic II (587–613), king of Burgundy (595–613) and Austrasia (612–613), was the second son of Childebert II. At his father's death in 595, he received Guntram's kingdom of Burgundy, with its capital at Orléans, while his elder brother, Theudebert II, received their father's kingdom of Austrasia, with its capital at Metz. He also received the lordship of the cities (civitates) 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, evicted from Austrasia by his brother Theudebert II.
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 and 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.
Witteric was the Visigoth King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia. He ruled from 603 to 610.
Audovera was the first wife or mistress of Chilperic I, king of Neustria.
The Annals of Metz are a set of Latin Carolingian annals covering the period of Frankish history from the victory of Pepin II in the Battle of Tertry (687) to the time of writing. Although the annals do cover events following 806, these sections are not original writings but are additions borrowed from other texts and appended to the original annals in the 9th and 12th centuries.
The Liudhard medalet is a gold Anglo-Saxon coin or small medal found some time before 1844 near St Martin's Church in Canterbury, England. It was part of the Canterbury-St Martin's hoard of six items. The coin, along with other items found with it, now resides in the World Museum Liverpool. Although some scholarly debate exists on whether or not all the items in the hoard were from the same grave, most historians who have studied the object conclude that they were buried together as a necklace in a 6th-century woman's grave. The coin is set in a mount so that it could be worn as jewellery, and has an inscription on the obverse or front surrounding a robed figure. The inscription refers to Liudhard, a bishop who accompanied Bertha to England when she married Æthelberht the king of Kent. The reverse side of the coin has a double-barred cross, or patriarchal cross, with more lettering.
Chimnechild of Burgundy was a Frankish queen consort by marriage to king Sigebert III the King of Asturias.
Austregilde, also called Austerchild,Austregildis,Bobilla,Bobile, and Austrechild in most contemporary works and scholarship, was a Frankish queen consort of the Burgundy region in the 6th century. As a woman of the Merovingian elite, Austregilde held a fairly large amount of power, yet this power was limited by Salic law and societal values. As a result, Austregilde and other women needed to exercise their power indirectly through others or through intrigue tactics to become active political players. Understanding Austregilde, the power of elite women and the nature of Merovingian rule requires an analysis of the limited sources available from the contemporary period, like that of the Histories of Gregory of Tours, as well as an understanding of the context surrounding Merovingian rule.