Franks The Establishment of a Frankish Kingdom in Gaul



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2.2 Franks
2.2.1 The Establishment of a Frankish Kingdom in Gaul
Let us now turn to the Merovingian Franks to provide another example of a culture that grew more powerful in western Europe as the Roman empire based in Rome itself grew weaker. There is no shortage of documentary evidence, but a key source is undoubtedly The History of the Franks, written in ten books by Gregory of Tours shortly before his death in AD 594, at which time he had been bishop of the city for more than twenty years. Gregory’s History makes use of some of the other material. The first book, as was common at the time, started with the Creation and continued to the death of St. Martin, bishop of Tours, in the second year of the reigns of Honorius (in the west) and Arcadius (in the east). Gregory dated that as AM (E) 5596 (corresponding to AD 396). Generally consistent with that, Hydatius and Prosper both noted the spreading fame of bishop Martin in entries in their chronicles whose dates corresponded to a time around 15 years earlier.
Taking material from a history written by Renatus Frigeridus in the fifth century, Gregory went on to give an account of Valentinian III becoming emperor in the west, at a time when Theodosius II was emperor in the east, and then told of the subsequent murder of Valentinian, who was succeeded (briefly) by Avitus. As mentioned above, events in western Europe during this period are also recorded in the chronicle of Prosper of Aquitaine (which terminated in AD 455), the Gallic Chronicle of 452 (which terminated in AD 451), the Gallic Chronicle of 511 (which continued up to that AD date), the chronicle of Hydatius (which covered the period from the reign of Theodosius I, the father of Honorius and Arcadius, to AD 468) and the chronicle of Marius of Avenches (which extended the chronicle of Prosper to AD 581). These give generally consistent accounts, with Valentinian III coming to the throne in the west during the reign of Theodosius II in the east, and then being killed during the reign of Marcian, the successor of Theodosius.
Around this time, on the heels of Visigoths, Vandals and other Barbarian tribes, Franks began to move into western Europe, settling in the first instance in northern Gaul, in the region north of the Somme. According to Gregory, in The History of the Franks, the Frankish people had previously migrated from Pannonia into various districts east of the Rhine, each becoming an independent state, ruled by a king with long hair (a characteristic mark of office, which the Franks maintained for several more centuries). Clodio, whose capital was Duisburg in Thuringia was the first Frankish king to cross the Rhine and invade Gaul. The Franks were pagans and were entering territory that was predominantly Catholic for, at that time, the Romans still held control of western Gaul north of the Loire. The region south of the Loire was largely under the control of the Arian Visigoth kingdom, and to the east of this, in the region bordering the Rhône, lived the Burgundians, whose kings were related to the Visigoths and also Arian. Clodio and his Franks seized the town of Cambrai from the Romans and, from there, expanded their territory as far as the Somme. Clodio was an ancestor (possibly even the father) of a later king, Merovech (after whom the Merovingian dynasty was named, the Merovingian kings maintaining the tradition of having long hair).
Gregory gives only a brief mention of these two kings. His history of the Franks really begins with the accession to the throne of Childeric, son of Merovech, when Eustochius was bishop of Tours (Eustochius, according to Gregory, became bishop 47 years after the death of St. Martin, and died in the 17th year of his episcopate). Gregory says that, shortly before Childeric became king, Attila the Hun invaded Gaul, captured Metz, and began to devastate the region in which the Franks were living. He then headed southwest, but was confronted near Orleans by Romans led by Aëtius and by Visigoths under king Theodoric I. In the ensuing battle, during which Theodoric was killed, the Visigoths and Romans, aided by the Franks, defeated Attila, and forced him to retreat from Gaul. (Prosper of Aquitaine and Cassiodorus both date this battle to the year when Marcian and Adelphius were consuls, corresponding to AD 451; Hydatius dates the battle to Spanish Era 490, the 1st year of the 308th Olympiad, and (indirectly) to AM (E) 5653, which is generally consistent with that.)
When Childeric succeeded his father as one of several Frankish kings in northern Gaul (which was the situation by this time), Gregory reports that his eagerness to seduce young women soon led to threats against his life, so he fled for safety to Thuringia. The Roman general Aegidius then became involved. Following the seizure of the imperial throne from Avitus by Majorian (in Spanish Era 495, i.e. AD 457, according to Hydatius), Aegidius had been sent to Gaul by the new emperor as magister militum (and remained in Gaul after Majorian’s death, operating in a largely independent fashion). As related by Gregory, Aegidius was invited by Chilperic’s subjects to assume direct authority over them in the absence of their king, an arrangement which lasted until it was deemed safe for Childeric to return. Childeric then fought a major battle at Orleans and, not long afterwards, Aegidius died. Gregory gives no further details but, taking into account information from various other sources, it seems that Childeric partnered Aegidius in confronting a Visigoth army led by Frederic, brother of king Theodoric II. The Visigoths were defeated, and Frederic was killed. Marius of Avenches writes that this battle took place in the year when Basilius and Vivianus were consuls (corresponding to AD 463). Consistent with the above, Hydatius says that both the battle and the death of Aegidius occurred during the reign of Libius Severus as western emperor, the former event in Spanish Era 501, i.e. AD 463, and the latter a year later. Hydatius adds that the departure of Aegidius from the scene made Gaul vulnerable to subsequent attacks by the Visigoths. Indeed, Gregory continues his account by describing how the next Visigoth king, Euric, soon began to cause havoc in Gaul (as we have already noted from the history by Isidore of Seville). After the death of Aegidius, Gaul was also subjected to attacks by Saxon marauders, led by Odoacer. However, Gregory says that Childeric eventually formed an alliance with Odoacer and together they drove back the Alamanni, who had invaded the northern part of Italy.
Few of the specific details about Childeric given by Gregory or the writers of other early sources are verifiable, but there seems no reason to doubt his existence. A tomb was found during rebuilding work in 1653 at the church of Saint-Brice in the Belgian city of Tournai, which is believed to have been Childeric’s capital, and amongst the valuable objects found associated with the tomb was a ring inscribed “Childerici Regis”, i.e. “of king Childeric”.
According to Gregory, Childeric was succeeded by his son Clovis, who was 15 years-old on his accession and went on to rule for 30 years, dying 112 years after St. Martin (which would place the death of Clovis in the year corresponding to AD 508, and hence his accession to AD 478). Gregory tells how Clovis, in the 5th year of his reign, formed an alliance with his relative, Ragnachar, king of another group of Franks (based around Cambrai), and attacked Soissons, where Syagrius, son of Aegidius, was trying to maintain the last vestiges of a Roman presence in Gaul. The army of Syagrius was annihilated, and Syagrius himself fled to seek refuge with the Visigoth king, Alaric II, in Toulouse. Clovis then advanced to the south and forced Alaric to hand over Syagrius, whom he subsequently killed. Thus the region between the Somme and the Loire fell under the control of the Franks. Clovis, like most of the Franks of his day, was a pagan, and his troops plundered the Christian churches around Soissons. Further military victories followed and, in the 10th year of his reign, Clovis invaded Thuringia and brought more people under his rule.
By this time, Clovis had fathered a son, Theuderic, by a concubine, but was still without a wife. So, when an envoy returned from Burgundy, and mentioned seeing there an elegant and intelligent princess called Clotild, Clovis decided to ask for her hand in marriage. Clotild was the daughter of Chilperic who together, with his brothers Gundobad, Gundomar and Godigisel, had split the Burgundian kingdom between them on the death of their father, Gundioc, a relative of Athanaric the Visigoth. Gundobad had recently murdered Chilperic, leaving the fate of the victim’s daughter in his hands, but, fearful of Clovis, he allowed him to take Clotild as his wife. Chilperic had raised Clotild as a Catholic, having renounced the Arianism of his father and brothers, and she attempted to convert Clovis to Catholicism, but he resisted her efforts. However, he agreed to her requests that their children could be baptised into the Catholic faith. They subsequently had four sons, Ingomer (who died in infancy), Chlodomer, Childebert and Chlothar, and a daughter, Clotild, who subsequently married Amalaric the king of the Visigoths. Gregory also records that Audofleda, the sister of Clovis, married the Ostrogoth, Theodoric the Great, king of Italy.
In the 15th year of his reign, Clovis won an unexpected victory over the Alamanni after calling upon the name of Christ at a crucial point in the battle. In consequence, and with further encouragement from his wife, Clotild, he was baptised as a Catholic by Remigius, bishop of Rheims. Correspondence between Clovis and Romigius has been preserved, as has a letter to Clovis from Avitus, bishop of Vienne, which refers to his conversion.
Godigisel, who then shared the Burgundian kingdom with his brother Gundobad (Godigisel ruling from Vienne and Gundobad from Lyons) made overtures to Clovis about a possible alliance, saying he would pay a tribute to the Frankish king if he would help him defeat Gundobad and unify the kingdom under his own rule. Clovis and Godigisel subsequently defeated Gundobad in battle near Dijon, and Clovis pursued him to Avignon, where he took refuge. Gundobad sent out an envoy, Aridius, who pointed out to Clovis that Avignon was too well-fortified to fall to the Franks without a lengthy siege, so proposed an arrangement by which the Franks would go home, in return for the payment of a substantial tribute by Gundobad. Clovis agreed, and took his army out of Burgundy. Gundobad soon recovered his strength, and marched his army against Godigiel, besieging him in the city of Vienne. Eventually he broke in and killed his brother, together with one of his bishops, in an Arian church. Gundobad, now king of the whole of Burgundy, then made peace with the Franks. (Marius of Avenches says that these events took place in the year when Patricius and Hypatius were consuls, which corresponds to AD 500.) According to Gregory, Gundobad became a convert to Catholicism, but kept that a secret from his subjects.
Following his own conversion, Clovis became angry that Arian Visigoths occupied part of Gaul. Theodoric the Great (in letters preserved in the variae epistolae of Cassiodorus) tried to persuade Clovis to avoid conflict with the Visigoth king, Alaric II, and vice versa, but to no effect. Gregory reports that Clovis confronted his army near Poitiers. Alaric was killed during the ensuing battle, and the Visigoths were driven back into their Spanish territories, leaving the Franks in control of cities such as Toulouse and Angoulême. (Isidore dates these events to Spanish Era 544, corresponding to AD 506.) Shortly afterwards, Clovis received a letter from the emperor in the east, Anastasius, conferring on him a consulate (presumably of an honorary nature). Clad in a purple tunic and the military mantle, Clovis crowned himself with a diadem in the church of St. Martin in Tours. He then travelled to Paris, where he established the seat of his government.
Gregory goes on to tell how Clovis put a great deal of effort into defeating the other Frankish kings who held parts of northern Gaul and areas in the vicinity of the Rhine. He persuaded Chloderic, son of king Sigibert, who ruled in Cologne, to murder his father, and when that had been accomplished, Clovis arranged for Chloderic to be killed. Thus Clovis assimilated Sigibert’s kingdom into his own. He then marched west and overcame king Chararic and his son, symbolically removing their royal status by cutting their hair short, and ordering them to become priests. When he subsequently heard that they were growing their hair long again, he had their heads cut off. After that, he took possession of Chararic’s kingdom. Clovis then advanced on Cambrai, to confront his relative, Ragnachar. When Ragnachar saw the strength of Clovis’s forces, he and his brother Ricchar attempted to slip away, but were captured by their own men and brought before Clovis, who killed them both with an axe. Clovis then ordered the death of another brother, Rignomer, in Le Mans, and he also killed other Frankish kings whom he saw as potential rivals. In each case, Clovis took over their kingdoms, and their treasure. Thus he became king of all the Franks, and his kingdom stretched throughout Gaul.
Details given by Gregory about events in the time of Clovis are generally consistent with entries in the Gallic Chronicle of 511, the chronicle of Marius of Avenches and the histories of Isidore of Seville and of Jordanes.

 

2.2.2 Chlothar I and his Brothers


When Clovis died (in Paris, in the 11th year of Licinius as bishop of Tours), his kingdom was divided between his four sons, Chlothar I, Chlodomer, Childebert I and Theuderic I. The region was rarely at peace. Gregory tells us that Theuderic, whose kingdom included territory to the northeast of those of his half-brothers, was soon enticed by Hermanfrid, who ruled half of Thuringia, to help him depose his brother Baderic, who ruled the other half, on the promise that, if this plot was successful, Baderic’s kingdom would be divided equally between Hermanfrid and Theuderic. Baderic was indeed killed during the joint invasion of his territory, but Hermanfrid failed to keep his promise to Theuderic. Meanwhile, Queen Clotild called her sons together and urged them to invade Burgundy, to avenge the murder of her father, Chilperic, by Gundobad, whose son, Sigismund, was now king. (Marius of Avenches says Sigismund became king when Peter was consul, which corresponds to AD 516.) Sigismund, who had married a daughter of Theodoric the Great the Ostrogoth, was taken prisoner by Chlodomer and eventually killed, but his brother Godomer escaped. In a subseqent battle, the Burgundian army took flight, pursued by the headstrong Chlodomer, who became isolated from his own troops and was lured into a trap by the retreating enemy. Chlodomer’s head was severed from his shoulders. (Marius of Avenches said this occurred in the year when Justin and Opilio were consuls, the 2nd indiction, corresponding to AD 524.)
Following Chlodomer’s death, his three young sons were put in the care of Queen Clotild in Paris. Childebert became concerned that she was lavishing too much attention on them, possibly indicating a preparation for kingship. He sent a message to his brother Chlothar, suggesting that he came with him to Paris to resolve the situation. When they arrived, they sent a messenger to Clotild, asking her if she would be willing to send the princes into a monastery, as an alternative to them being killed. Her response was that she would sooner see them dead, rather than with short hair. So, the two kings entered the rooms where the boys were staying, and Chlothar stabbed the eldest, Theudovald, to death. The second boy, Gunthar, held on to Childebert and pleaded for mercy. Childebert was moved by his pleas, but Chlothar pointed out that the plot had been Childebert’s idea, and threatened to kill his brother unless he let go of the boy. So, Childebert pushed Gunthar away, allowing Chlothar to murder him. The third boy, Chlodovald, escaped, protected by his guards. He had no wish for kingship, and cut his hair short with his own hands, before becoming a priest. Childebert and Chlothar then divided Chlodomer’s lands between them.
Soon afterwards, Childebert received a message from his sister Clotild, the wife of the Visigoth king, Amalric, saying she was being appallingly treated because of her insistence on retaining her Catholic faith. Childebert set out to help her, the strength of his army causing Amalric to flee. The Visigoth king made plans to escape by boat, but first went to Barcelona to pick up treasure he had stored there. His own soldiers blocked his path and, as he tried to take refuge in a church, one of them killed him. Childebert set off back to Paris, his capital, with his sister and much plunder, but Clotild died on the journey, and was buried in Paris alongside her father, Clovis.
Childebert and Chlothar then invaded Burgundy. They besieged Autun and forced king Godomer to flee, never to return. Childebert and Chlothar divided his territory between them. According to Marius of Avenches, this occurred in the consulship of Justinian (for the 4th time) and Paulinus, the 12th indiction, which corresponds to AD 534.
Since the death of Clovis, the Visigoths had regained much of the territory he had taken from them south of the Clermont region, so Theuderic now sent his son Theudebert to try to win it back. Theudebert went as far as Béziers, capturing and plundering the fortresses of Dio and Cabrières. Meanwhile, in Clermont itself, Theuderic killed Sigivald, who with his friends had been carrying out a long series of thefts, assaults and murders. Theuderic sent a message to Theudebert, asking him to do away with Sigivald’s son, who was serving with him, but Theudebert allowed him to escape. Another message then arrived, saying that Theuderic was seriously ill. Theudebert headed home but, before he arrived, Theuderic died, in the 23rd year of his reign. Childebert and Chlothar joined forces against Theudebert, to try to claim Theuderic’s kingdom for themselves. However, Theudebert paid them to leave him alone and, with the help of his loyal nobles, was able to establish himself on his father’s throne (as Theudebert I). Childebert then sent an embassy to Theudebert to say that, as he had no sons of his own, he would like to adopt him.
Childebert and Chlothar then attacked Spain, and besieged Zaragoza, where the inhabitants carried the tunic of Saint Vincent the Martyr as a banner. The Franks were forced to withdraw, but took with them much booty (including the tunic of Saint Vincent). At around the same time, Theudebert invaded Italy, and also captured much booty. However, his army was stricken by a series of epidemics, and he was forced to return home. According to Marius of Avenches, this invasion took place when Apion was consul, the 2nd indiction, i.e. in AD 539.
Gregory goes on to report that, in the 14th year of his reign, Theudebert became seriously ill and died, 37 years after the death of Clovis. He was succeeded by his son, Theudebald. Marius of Avenches says this happened in the 7th year after the consulship of Basilius, the 11th indiction, which corresponds to AD 548. During the reign of Theudebert, Gregory says that emperor Justinian marched into Spain, against the unpopular Visigoth king, Agila, and captured several cities. Agila was succeeded by Athanagild, who was able to regain some, but not all, of the cities taken by the imperial army. Also during the reign of Theudebald, Justinian was in conflict with Frankish troops, under the command of Buccelin, in Italy. We know from other sources that Theudebald had been asked for help by Teia, the last Ostrogoth king of Italy, and Theudebald had responded by sending a joint Alamanni/Frankish force, led by the Alamanni noble, Buccelin. Gregory goes on to say that Buccelin was killed when his troops were routed by Narses, leaving Justinian in control of Italy. Shortly afterwards, Theudebald suffered a stroke and died, in the 7th year of his reign, after which Chlothar took over his kingdom. According to Marius of Avenches, the deaths of Buccelin and Theudebald both occurred in the 14th year after the consulship of Basilius, the 3rd indiction, i.e. AD 555.
Continuing with Gregory’s account, Childebert was taken ill in Paris not long afterwards and soon died, being buried in the church of Saint-Vincent (now Saint-Germain-des-Prés), which he had built to house the tunic of the martyr. Chlothar quickly took over his kingdom and his treasury, so was now ruler of all the Franks. According to Marius of Avenches, Childebert died in the 17th year after the consulship of Basilius, the 6th indiction, corresponding to AD 558.
In the 51st year of his reign, Chlothar went on a pilgrimage to Tours, visiting the tomb of St. Martin. Soon afterwards he was taken ill while hunting in the forest of Cuise, and died of a fever. His four surviving sons took his body back to Soissons, and buried it in the church of St. Medard, which Chlothar himself and built. According to the timescale provided by Gregory from the death of St. Martin, the 51st and last year of the reign of Chlothar would have corresponded to AD 559. Marius of Avenches writes that Chlothar died in the 20th year after the consulship of Basilius, the 9th indiction, i.e. AD 561.
2.2.3 Chilperic I, Guntram and their Brothers
Gregory continues his History by noting that Chilperic acted quickly to try to gain the advantage over the other sons of Chlothar following their father’s death. He seized Chlothar’s treasure from his villa at Berny, and bribed influential Frankish nobles to give him their support. However, the other three joined forces against Chilperic, who was their half-brother, and forced him to agree to a reasonably fair division of wealth and power. Charibert I became ruler of the western kingdom of Neustria, with Paris as his capital city; his heartland was the northwestern region originally controlled by Charibert I (but added to this was the western half of the area to the south, originally controlled by Chlodomer, and also Aquitaine). Guntram became ruler of the re-defined kingdom of Burgundy, with Orléans as his capital; his heartland was the region around this city, formerly ruled by Chlodomer (the rest of the kingdom being the main part of the territory once ruled by Gundobad and his sons). Sigibert I assumed control of the northeastern kingdom of Austrasia, with Rheims as his capital (although he subsequently moved to Metz); this was essentially the territory ruled by Theuderic I (together with the northeastern corner of the former Burgundian kingdom). Like Theuderic, Sigibert was, in addition, given control of the geographically-separate region of the Auvergne, around Clermont-Ferrand, and he also received former Ostrogoth territory in Provence, south of Burgundy. Chilperic became king of the northern region between Neustria and Austrasia, originally controlled by Chlothar I, with Soissons as his capital city.
Gregory tells us that, soon afterwards, the Huns (or to be more precise the Avars, who were relatives of the Huns) attacked Gaul. Sigibert marched his army against them and put them to flight. While this was happening, Chilperic attacked Rheims and captured a number of cities in the territory allocated to Sigibert. That resulted in civil war between the two of them. When Sigibert returned from fighting the Avars, he immediately occupied the city of Soissons. He captured Theudebert, the son of Chilperic, and sent him into exile. He then fought against Chilperic and recovered the cities stolen from him. A year later, he let Theudebert return from exile, after he swore on oath that he would never fight against Sigibert again.
Guntram and Charibert were intemperate in their relationships with women, both having a succession of wives and mistresses, of which very few were of noble birth or bearing. Gregory notes that Charibert’s first wife was called Ingoberg, and they had a daughter who subsequently married the son of the king of Kent and went to live there. Bede, in the EHEP, tells us more about this daughter, Adelberg, who was known as Bertha in England. She was the wife of Ethelbert who, according to Bede, became king of Kent in AD 560 (although some have suggested that was when Ethelbert was born) and died in AD 616, 21 years after being converted to Christianity by Augustine. Bede remarks that Ethelbert had been receptive to conversion because Bertha had been brought up as a Christian in the Frankish court, and had remained a Christian after her marriage, bringing bishop Liudhard with her from Gaul as her personal advisor.
According to Gregory, Ingoberg’s marriage to Charibert was a short one: he dismissed her because of her jealousy over his love for two sisters, Marcovefa and Merofled, who were servants of Ingoberg, and the daughters of a wool-worker. After that, Ingoberg settled into a religious lifestyle. In her place, Charibert married Merofled, but then took another woman, Theudechild, the daughter of a shepherd. Soon afterwards, he married Marcovefa, even though he was already married to her sister. For that, he was excommunicated by Germanus, bishop of Paris. Charibert’s dissolute behaviour soon took its toll, for he died, after which his kingdom was split between his three brothers, with Chilperic effectively becoming king of a re-formed Neustria, to complement Guntram as king of Burgundy and Sigibert as king of Austrasia. It was agreed that the city of Paris would be common territory, and none of them would enter it without the permission of the others. At around the time of Charibert’s death, according to Gregory, emperor Justinian died in Constantinople and was succeeded by Justin II. Also, Alboin the Lombard, who had married Clothsind, the sister of Charibert, Guntram and Sigibert, led his nation over the Alps into Italy.
Sigibert was distressed at seeing his brothers take unsuitable wives, so he was determined to be different. Hearing of the elegance, beauty and wisdom of Brunhild, daughter of the Visigoth king, Athanagild, he sent messengers loaded with gifts to Spain, to ask for her hand in marriage. Athanagild agreed to this, and sent Brunhild to Austrasia with a large dowry. To add to a situation that seemed full of promise, Brunhild, although an Arian by upbringing, readily agreed to convert to Catholicism.
Gregory continues his account by saying that these events then stimulated Chilperic to ask for the hand of Galswinth, the elder sister of Brunhild, even though he already had several wives. He promised to dismiss all the others, if he was allowed to marry Galswinth. Athanagild accepted his assurances and, as with Brunhild, sent his daughter off with a large dowry. Galswinth became a Catholic, married Chilperic, and all seemed well. However, Chilperic remained under the influence of Fredegund, one of his previous wives, and soon tired of the constant complaints of Galswinth about the insulting and demeaning treatment she was receiving in his court. In the end, he arranged for her to be garrotted by a servant, and so found her dead in bed. Although he wept genuine tears for Galswinth, he was soon sleeping with Fredegund once again.
Outbreaks of conflict between Austrasia and Neustria over the next few decades were frequent, with the disputes often being fuelled by personal animosity between Brunhild and Fredegund (whom Brunhild blamed for the death of her sister, Galswinth). By this time, Guntram had repented of the intemperate lifestyle he had once enjoyed, and spent much of his time in prayer, fasting and charitable works. Nevertheless, that did not prevent Burgundy becoming fully involved in the civil wars that brought chaos to the country, with alignments often changing.
In Spain, Gregory notes that, when Athanagild died, Leovigild inherited part of his territory. Then Liuva died, and the kingdom of Leovigild was extended. When Leovigild’s wife died, he married Goiswinth, widow of Athanagild and mother of Brunhild. He had two sons by his first wife (Theodosia), whose names were Hermenegild and Reccared.
To the northeast, the Avars once again invaded Frankish territory, and this time defeated Sigibert in battle. However, he was able to bribe their leader, the Khan, into accepting a peace treaty, and this proved to be a lasting one. After neutralising the Avar menace, Sigibert set his mind on seizing Arles from Guntram, and his troops, led by Firminus and Audovarius, succeeding in doing so. In response, Guntram sent out troops under the command of the patrician Celsus to invade Sigibert’s territory, and they captured the city of Avignon. In the end, after further fighting, Arles was restored to Guntram, and Avignon to Sigibert.
In Italy, Gregory records that the Lombards had robbed many churches and brought many people under their dominion since entering the country. By this time, king Alboin’s wife, Chlothsind, had died, and he married again, on this occasion to the daughter of a king he had recently killed. His new wife could not forgive Alboin for murdering her father, and conspired with a servant to poison him. After bringing about Alboin’s death in this way, the two conspirators tried to escape, but were captured and killed. Not long afterwards, the Lombards invaded Gaul, and were met by an army led by the patrician Amatus, who had succeeded Celsus. Amatus was forced to flee, and was killed, together with many other Burgundians. Laden with booty, the Lombards then returned to Italy. A later Lombard attack on Gaul reached as far as Plan de Fazi, near the town of Embrun in Provence. This time Eunius, surnamed Mummolus, who succeeded his father Peonius as count of Auxerre and Amatus as patrician of Burgundy, inflicted a heavy defeat on the Lombardians and drove the survivors back to Italy.
Soon afterwards, various groups of Lombards made incursions into Gaul. Amo led his men through Embrun and camped near Avignon, whereas Zaban pitched his tents near Valence, and Rodin set up his headquarters near Grenoble. All captured towns and plundered the countryside on their way. Mummolus raised an army and went to attack Rodin, who was besieging Grenoble. Rodin was wounded by a spear and, with the remnants of his troops, headed towards Valence to join forces with Zaban. Together they pillaged the neighbourhood and then withdrew to Embrun, where Mummolus marshalled his army against them. The Lombards were cut to pieces, and Zaban and Rodin fled back to Italy, where they received a harsh reception from the local inhabitants as they they passed through various regions. Hearing of the victory of Mummolus over Zaban and Rodin, Amo ordered his army to retreat, but their flight was made difficult by deep snow in the mountain passes. They were forced to leave their booty behind, and Amo finally arrived back in Italy with only a small escort.
In Francia, not long after the death of Charibert, Chilperic invaded Tours and Poitiers, which had been given to Sigibert as part of the re-distribution of land. Sigibert and Guntram agreed to ask Mummolus to restore these cities to their rightful owners. Mummolus approached Tours, drove out Clovis, the son of Chilperic, and made the people swear an oath of allegiance to Sigibert. Then he entered Poitiers, and forced the inhabitants to swear a similar oath of fealty.
A dispute then arose between Sigibert and Guntram. The latter convened a council of bishops in Paris to adjudicate between them but, according to Gregory, neither of the kings would take the advice offered by the bishops, so the civil war became increasingly bitter. The next development was that Chilperic sent his son Theudebert to attack Tours, Poitiers and other cities south of the Loire, despite the fact that Theudebert had sworn an oath that he would never again take arms against Sigibert. At Poitiers, Theudebert defeated forces led by Sigibert’s military commander, Duke Gundovald, and went on to slaughter many of the local inhabitants. He then burnt much of the district around Tours and invaded the Limousin region, which he ravaged and sacked, plundering churches and killing the clergy.
Sigibert began making plans to mobilise tribes from across the Rhine to fight Chilperic. When Chilperic heard about this, he approached Guntram and they agreed a treaty that neither of them would allow the other to come to harm. When Sigibert marched towards Chilperic, he could find no ford to allow his forces to cross the Seine, so he sent a messenger to ask Guntram to allow his army to pass through his territory so that it could cross the river. If Guntram would not agree, Sigibert threatened to direct his army to attack him. Guntram was too frightened to refuse Sigibert’s request, even though that meant breaking the treaty he had recently made with Chilperic. Realising he was getting no help from Guntram, Chilperic retreated and set up camp at the village of Havelu, near Chartres. Sigibert soon approached and challenged Chilperic to let the two armies meet in battle, but the Neustrian king chose to sue for peace, offering to hand back the cities which Theudebert had seized. Sigibert was willing to settle for peace but, while these negotiations were taking place, elements of his army were still burning and plundering the region between Paris and Chartres. He tried to stop this happening, but found it particularly difficult to control the savagery of the people he had brought from across the Rhine. Sigibert had to kill some of them before discipline was restored, a peace treaty signed, and he was able to return home.
Just a year later, according to Gregory, Chilperic engineered another treaty with Guntram, in which they agreed to make peace together, in order to be able to attack Sigibert. Chilperic then raised an army and marched as far as Rheims, ravaging the countryside on the way. Sigibert felt obliged to summon the tribes from across the Rhine to fight for him once again. He advanced to Paris, and ordered the inhabitants of Châteadun and Tours to march against Theudebert. They were reluctant to do so, until Sigibert sent dukes Godisel and Guntram Boso to take command. When they attacked Theudebert’s army, most of his troops deserted him. Theudebert fought on with those remaining, but was soon killed and buried in Châteadun. Chilperic realised that, once again, king Guntram was doing nothing to help him, so he retreated with his wife, Fredegund, and his remaining sons to Tournai. Meanwhile, Sigibert’s wife, Brunhild, and their sons joined him in Paris. There, envoys came to him from Franks who had once been subjects of Childebert I and were now under the rule of Chilperic, saying they wished to appoint Sigibert as their king. Encouraged by this, Sigibert sent troops to besiege Chilperic in Tournai, planning to follow them as soon as he could. Before he left, bishop Germanus advised him that it would be in his best interests to try to make peace with Chilperic, but he refused to listen, since it seemed that he was on the verge of victory. As he approached the royal villa of Vitry, Neustrian troops raised him on a shield and elected him as their king. Then, as told by Gregory, two men who had been suborned by Queen Fredegund approached Sigibert and, without warning, stabbed him with knives smeared with poison. Shortly afterwards, Chilperic, waiting in trepidation within the walls of Tournai for a major assault by the Austrasian troops, was told by a messenger that Sigibert was dead and the crisis was over. Chilperic came out of the city with his wife and sons, and buried his brother’s body in the village of Lambres. Later, Sigibert was re-buried by the side of Chlothar I in the church of Saint Medard in Soissons.
Gregory records that Sigibert died when he was 40 years of age, in the 14th year of his reign. This was in AM (E) 5774 (AD 574), 29 years after the death of Theudebert I and 66 years after the death of Clovis. Marius of Avenches dates the death of Sigibert to the 10th year of the consulship of emperor Justin II, the 9th indiction (AD 576), which involves only a small discrepancy.
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