| Nanthild | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Queen of Neustria and Burgundy | |
| Tenure | c. 629 – 19 January 639 |
| Born | c. 610 |
| Died | 642 Landry, Burgundy |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Dagobert I |
| Issue | Clovis II |
Nanthild (c. 610 – 642), also known as Nantéchilde, Nanthechilde, Nanthildis, Nanthilde, or Nantechildis, was a Frankish queen consort and regent, the third of many consorts of Dagobert I, king of the Franks (629–639). She was regent during the minority of her son from 639 until 642.
She was of Saxon lineage, born about 608 or 610. The Lexikon des Mittelalters calls her ein Mädchen aus dem Dienstpersonal ("a maiden of the royal [ Austrasian ] household"). Her elevation to consort may have given importance to her relatives: her brother Lanthegisel was an important landowner in the Limousin and a relation of Aldegisel. Dagobert set aside his wife Gomentrude to marry her, ca. 629; to her was born Clovis II, second eldest of Dagobert's surviving sons and the one who succeeded him in Neustria and Burgundy.
After Dagobert's death in January 639, she was initially regent for her son, accompanied by Aega, mayor of the Neustrian palace and an opponent of the powerful contingent of nobles headed by Burgundofaro whose seat was at Meaux. In the interest of reducing noble Burgundian independence of the Merovingian palace, she married her niece Ragnoberta to the Frank Flaochad and had the magnates and bishops of the realm of Burgundy acclaim him mayor of the palace at Orléans in 642.
Soon she died at Landry in what was then Burgundy, where she had long resided; her body was translated to the Saint Denis Basilica. It is likely that she was poisoned or secretly murdered, as her untimely death allowed her son to fall under the influence of the nobility, who abhorred a strong royal hand. [1]
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 breakup of the empire of Theodoric the Great.
Pepin Iof Landen, also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian King Dagobert I from 623 to 629. He was also the Mayor for Sigebert III from 639 until his death.
Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had been the northernmost part of Roman Gaul, and cities such as Cologne, Trier and Metz. It also stretched beyond the old Roman borders on the Rhine into Frankish areas which had never been formally under Roman rule. It came into being as a part of the Frankish Empire founded by Clovis I (481–511). At the same time, the initial powerbase of Clovis himself was the more Romanized part of northern Gaul, lying southwest of Austrasia, which came to be known as Neustria.
Dagobert I was King of the Franks. He ruled Austrasia (623–634) and Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield real royal power, after which the Mayor of the palace rose as the political and war leader. Dagobert was the first Frankish king to be buried in the royal tombs at the Basilica of Saint-Denis.
Chlothar II, sometimes 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 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. Nearly every monarch of France from Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious until the penultimate monarch of France Louis Philippe have been his descendants. 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.
Childeric II was King of the Franks in the 7th century. He ruled Austrasia from 662 and Neustria and Burgundy from 673 until his death, making him sole king for the final two years of his life.
Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo. (Latin: maior palatii or maior domus) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He was appointed by the king from among the magnates, the most powerful families. Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy had their own mayor of the palace. After Chlothar II, who ruled over the entire Frankish Kingdom, had ordered the execution of Warnachar, the mayor of Burgundy, the magnates of Burgundy declared in 626 not to want their own mayor anymore; see Fredegar IV.54. This declaration marks the effective end of the Burgundian court and the beginning of the Neustrian-Burgundian political alliance against Austrasian influence. The Austrasian magnates revolted and the Battle of Tertry of 687 became the Austrasian victory with Pepin of Herstal as their leader and the new mayor of the palace.
Clovis II was King of the Franks in Neustria and Burgundy, having succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642. Nanthild's death allowed Clovis to fall under the influence of the secular magnates, who reduced the royal power in their own favour; first Aega and then Erchinoald. The Burgundian mayor of the palace Flaochad used him to lure his rival, Willebad, to a battle in Autun, in which Willebad was killed.
Arnulf of Metz was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia. He later retired to the Abbey of Remiremont. In French he is also known as Arnoul or Arnoulf. In English he is known as Arnold.
The Kingdom of the Franks, also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just 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 Neustria. Fredegund served as regent during the minority of her son Chlothar II from 584 until 597.
Theuderic III was King of the Franks in the 7th century. He ruled Neustria and Burgundy on two occasions, as well as Austrasia from 679 until his death in 691.
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—, in effect the mayor of the palace ruling the kingdom throughout his reign. 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.
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.
Dagobert III was Merovingian king of the Franks (711–715).
Bilichild was the wife of the Frankish king of Neustria and Burgundy Childeric II. The two were married in 668 despite the opposition of the Bishop Leodegar.
Chimnechild of Burgundy was a Frankish queen consort by marriage to king Sigebert III the King of Austrasia.
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