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 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.
Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old", also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I.
Chlothar III was King of the Franks, ruling in Neustria and Burgundy from 657 to his death. He also briefly ruled Austrasia.
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, 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.
Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium.
Childebert III, called the Just, was the son of Theuderic III and Chrothildis and sole king of the Franks (694–711). He was seemingly but a puppet of the mayor of the palace, Pepin of Heristal, though his placita show him making judicial decisions of his own will, even against the Arnulfing clan. His nickname has no comprehensible justification except possibly as a result of these judgements, but the Liber Historiae Francorum calls him a "famous man" and "the glorious lord of good memory, Childebert, the just king."
Liber Historiae Francorum is a chronicle written anonymously during the 8th century. The first sections served as a secondary source for early Franks in the time of Marcomer, giving a short breviarum of events until the time of the late Merovingians. The subsequent sections of the chronicle are important primary sources for the contemporaneous history. They provide an account of the Pippinid family in Austrasia before they became the most famous Carolingians.
Chlothar IV was the king of Austrasia from 717 until his death. He was a member of the Merovingian dynasty, and was installed by Charles Martel, a contender for the office of mayor of the palace, in opposition to Chilperic II, whose rule was thereby restricted to Neustria. This marked the first time since 679 that the kingdom of the Franks was divided. Following Chlothar's death, it was reunited under Chilperic.
Grimoald I (616–657), called the Elder, was the mayor of the palace of Austrasia from 643 to his death. He was the son of Pepin of Landen and Itta.
Tonantius Ferreolus, was a vir clarissimus, or Gallo-Roman senator.
Tonantius Ferreolus was the praetorian prefect of Gaul from 451.
Ferreolus, also called Ferreolus of Rodez was a Gallo-Roman senator from Narbonne, then Narbo, who later lived in Rodez where his family had also held Trevidos, a villa estate near Segodunum, since the mid-fifth century at least.
Agilulf, also called Aigulf, was a Bishop of Metz between 590 or 591 and 601, and was the predecessor of Arnual or Arnoldus or Arnoald. He was a son of Ferreolus, Senator of Narbonne, and wife Dode, Abbess of Saint Pierre de Reims.
Arnoald, also called Arnoldus or Arnual, was a Bishop of Metz between 601 and 609 or 611, the successor of his uncle Agilulf. He was the son of Ansbertus, a senator, and his wife Blithilde, whose parents were Charibert I and Ingoberga.
Rotrude (Chrodtrudis) (or Crotude, Chrotrude, or Ruadtrud; died 724) was the first wife of Charles Martel, Mayor of the Palace and de facto ruler of Francia from 718 to 741. She was the mother of Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, and therefore the grandmother of Charlemagne. Rotrude is believed to be the daughter of Lambert, Count of Hesbaye, although this designation is not without controversy, as discussed below. She is also referred to as Rotrude of Treves.
Chrodbert was a nobleman from Neustria. He was grandson to Chrodbert I, referendary to Clovis II through Chrodbert's son Lambert of Hesbaye. Chrodbert was Lord Chancellor during the reign of Chlothar III, King of the Franks in Neustria, as well as referendary. He was a contemporary of Ansbert of Rouen, who was also a Lord Chancellor to Clotaire III. Chrodbert was mentioned as Count palatine on 2 October 678.
The Battle of Lucofao was the decisive engagement of the civil war that afflicted the Frankish kingdoms during and after the reign of Dagobert II (676–79). In the battle, the Neustrian forces of Theuderic III and his majordomo Ebroin defeated the forces of Austrasia under the dukes Pippin and Martin.