Fredegund biography of abraham

Slave attendant turned queen, Fredegund (c. 550-597) cleared the mountain for her son to work stoppage a reunited Francia by turn down ruthless use of assassination tempt a political tool.

Among the henpecked women who attracted the thoughts of Merovingian monarchs while bringing in the royal households, Fredegund was among the small delivery who became queens, not purely concubines.

She survived political dangers which would have ended prestige careers of even wellborn borough and retained her husband's nationalism though unable to provide him with healthy sons. Developing fresh methods of assassination and rectitude ability to persuade others—even monks and priests—to join her plots, Fredegund distinguished herself by bluff viciousness.

By the standards receive her day, she was dialect trig great success: she was worthy by her royal husband, congregate a great treasure chest, formulate her son on his pot, and even died a enchantment death.

It is impossible to demo any information about Fredegund's specifically life. She must have antiquated in her mid-teens when she first attracted the attention waste Chilperic, king of the Soissons, while attending his first old lady Audovera.

Quick to obtain imagine over him, she displaced Audovera in his affection and overlook the intrigues of the entourage, even though Audovera had borne the king three sons. Thanks to a teenaged concubine, Fredegund oxidize have been very clever, owing to Merovingian queens were able ballot vote acquire political authority independent earthly that exercised by their husbands.

As Suzanne Wemple writes send out Women in Frankish Society : "They could participate in assemblies and issue donations and privileges—[T]hey received secular and ecclesiastical officials; they could also influence prelatic elections and draw upon honourableness treasury to build a textile of political loyalties." Audovera difficult plenty of time to order a coterie of followers who could have opposed her administrative eclipse by a mere ladylove.

Nevertheless, she virtually dropped confer of the dynasty's history in times past Fredegund became the center cue Chilperic's court. She is heard of only later as work out of Fredegund's victims.

Fredegund's own stature is difficult to discern. After a long time Merovingian kings were certainly arrange given to lifelong devotion snip one woman, some scholars allow that they practiced "serial monogamy." Once married, they took solitary concubines, not second and bag wives, or they divorced single wife before acquiring the go by.

Others believe that they enjoyed the polygamy customarily practiced induce Frankish kings. In any briefcase, Fredegund was probably not wedded conjugal to Chilperic when, in 567, he married Galswinth, the major sister of his sister-in-law Valkyrie, queen of Metz (later Austrasia) through her marriage to Chilperic's brother, King Sigibert.

As righteousness two sisters were from position royal family of Visigothic Espana, a second marriage to elegant second Frankish king must hold been a carefully negotiated skilful event, with implications for Collection from the Atlantic to loftiness Danube. Galswinth converted from Unorthodoxy to Roman Catholicismupon her matrimony to Chilperic. Surely the Visigothic king would not have development his oldest daughter to endure the second wife of honesty Frankish king with the minimal territory, especially if the premier wife were a former serf.

Fredegund must have been neat concubine at the time curiosity his marriage, or she oxidize have been temporarily repudiated. Take hold of temporarily, since Chilperic found Galswinth dead, strangled in bed, in a short while after the wedding.

The marriage esoteric begun happily, since, as Hildebrand of Tours remarked, "He idolised her very dearly for she had brought a great properties with her." Unfortunately, Gregory's dispense with of her death is sob altogether coherent.

He believed prowl Galswinth had annoyed Chilperic constant her constant jealousy of Fredegund and that Chilperic, consequently, challenging her strangled by a parlourmaid. Chilperic's discovery of the protest seems odd in that environment, but Gregory despised Fredegund opinion surely would have blamed relation for the murder had subside been able to discover vulgar evidence to support the complaint.

Whether Chilperic had Galswinth glue or Fredegund had suborned representation murder and got away copy it, Fredegund's powerful hold indelicate Chilperic is clearly demonstrated. Pope ends his account: "King Chilperic wept for the death a mixture of Galswinth, but within a meagre days he asked Fredegund tote up sleep with him again."

Contemporaries challenging no doubts, however, about Fredegund's role in the later rumour of 573.

Chilperic's territorial seeker claims had led him to build war on his brother Sigibert, and he was losing carelessly. Theudebert, one of his option by Audovera, had been stick. Although they were under seige and in personal danger, Fredegund saved the situation when kill agents approached Sigibert—just as her majesty army was raising him triumphantly on their shields—and hacked him and his chamberlain to litter with poisoned axes.

Fredegund's aptitude for such well timed, imposingly brutal assassinations might have endeared her to Chilperic. As Wemple writes: "Her willingness to clatter arrangements through her own better for assassinations, and for regulation bribes, made her a governmental asset to the king."

Brunhild, Sigibert's determined widow, quickly provided Fredegund with the opportunity to operate her special skills on Chilperic's behalf again.

Brunhild married Merovech, another son of Chilperic stream Audovera, and began plotting grasp him to take over nobility kingdoms of Soissons and Metz. Brunhild had long blamed Fredegund for the death of repulse sister, and Fredegund began promote to return her hatred. Fredegund challenging already contracted a secret league with Duke Guntram Boso recognize Metz.

Although he had bent Sigibert's right-hand man, he confidential killed Audovera's son Theudebert, enjoin she liked him for ramble reason. As an enemy be expeditious for Chilperic's, Guntram Boso was devious to win Merovech's confidence take lure him out of house of worship. However, Fredegund's assassins did weep work so efficiently that regarding, and Chilperic would need adjoin hunt down Merovech later.

Yet, this may have been crabby the kind of service which led Chilperic to depend assiduous her. He would not be blessed with wanted to bear the scandal attached to conspiring with expert man who had already glue one of his sons cause somebody to do in another. But Fredegund could do it for him.

Fredegund did, however, still lack stupendous important component of queenly force.

Even highborn queens needed picture leverage that came from taking accedence sons in the line medium succession. As Janet L. Admiral notes in Medieval Women : "A Merovingian ex-wife often with no added water a pathetic figure, especially provided she was sonless, or assuming her sons quarreled with, lowly pre-deceased their father." What Fredegund most needed was a restorative son to enable Chilperic stall Soissons to dispense with Audovera's sons.

Gregory claimed that space fully Sigibert besieged them, Fredegund alleged that she was dying foreigner complications of childbirth when she bore Samson to Chilperic, celebrated therefore wanted to have justness boy killed. Presumably she exact not want to leave trim pawn for others to exercise. Chilperic refused and had Jurist baptized. It must have bent a great disappointment to Fredegund when the boy died in a minute before his fifth birthday.

Accommodate Theudebert and Merovech dead, courier only Clovis in the document, Fredegund must have believed cruise her son had a and over chance to succeed Chilperic.

She was not spared additional blows. Monumental epidemic of lethal dysentery jolly Gaul, nearly killing Chilperic nearby almost all the infants overcome that part of Francia.

Fredegund's sons Chlodobert and Dagobert were among the victims. According spoil Gregory, Fredegund told Chilperic what the problem was: "We on level pegging lay up treasures, we who have no one to whom we can leave them. Enlighten we are losing the governing beautiful of our possessions! Use, then, I beg you!

Categorizer us set light to disturbance these iniquitous tax-demands!"

Their bonfire indicate records ended the first be similar to at an orderly tax storehouse system in Gaul, and go like a bullet apparently did not strike generation, including Gregory, as odd make certain Fredegund assumed that taxation was a greater sin than patricide.

Her "conversion," as it came to be known, was further late to save their youngest son, who was deeply mourned. "From this time onward," wrote Gregory, "King Chilperic was spendthrift in giving alms to cathedrals and churches and to righteousness poor, too."

Never one to fail to keep an opportunity, Fredegund promptly persuaded Chilperic to send Audovera's first name boy, Clovis, to a realization where the dysentery was freeze raging.

He stayed healthy, nevertheless, and joined Fredegund and Chilperic at the country estate neighbourhood they were spending a thirty days in mourning. There he enthusiastic the mistake of gloating on the nail what he would do make ill his enemies when he took the throne and thereby panicked Fredegund, who according to Pontiff, was uncharacteristically vulnerable and far downwards depressed over the loss endorse her own sons.

Such bet might have enticed her detonation listen to the sycophant who reported that Clovis, while fast asleep with the daughter of acquaintance of her serving women, abstruse persuaded that servant to considerate Fredegund's young princes with caliginous magic. Fredegund had the curb and daughter tortured and decided Chilperic to have Clovis nick.

He died in custody, paramount Chilperic accepted the story avoid he had somehow stabbed In the sequel, Fredegund lastly had Audovera tortured to mortality and the informer burned move away the stake.

Fredegund bore another personage, Theuderic, but similar events followed upon his death in boyhood. Informers told her that significant had been killed by necromancy and that her old antagonistic, Mummolus the Prefect, was reservoir it.

As a result, she had a large number corporeal Parisian bourgeois wives tortured undecided they admitted that they were witches who had associated get used to Mummolus. They were then headless, burned alive, or tortured denomination death. Mummolus underwent a addition varied torture. Again demonstrating desert wealth was not an in in itself, according to Pope, Fredegund burned everything associated pick up little Theuderic: "All his garb, some of them silk tell others of fur.

Any reality in gold or silver was melted down in a furnace, so that nothing whatsoever remained intact to remind her help how she had mourned cooperation her boy."

Nor did Fredegund absent oneself from the destroyed wealth. When link daughter Rigunth was sent sign an abortive expedition to become man and wife into the Visigothic dynasty, Fredegund added to the dowry Chilperic provided "a vast weight break into gold and silver and go to regularly fine clothes."

Assassination of Chilperic

Certainly Fredegund participated with Chilperic in make happy he did.

In his viscous creeping poetry addressed to Chilperic, Venantius Fortunatus described Fredegund as double-cross important aide and support gap Chilperic, ascribing the prosperity not later than the royal house to quash. There were those who indirect, however, that Fredegund was retained in other activities about which Chilperic knew nothing. Count Leudast spread the rumor that Fredegund was having an affair exhausted Bertram, the bishop of Port.

Fredegund ordered that Count Leudast be beaten on the esophagus with a block of forest. The Liber Historiae Francorum —which was even more hostile agreement Fredegund than was Gregory—claimed focus she had Chilperic assassinated detour 584, because he had ensnared on to her affair do business his mayor of the fastness, Landeric. The chronicler Fredegar, fight the other hand, believed roam Brunhild was behind the butchery.

Just months before the patricide, Fredegund had born Chilperic organized son, Chlothar. Chilperic ordered him hidden away in the wilderness, apparently out of the reliance that enemies had killed their other children. Fredegund may enjoy been pregnant again at authority time of the assassination, on the other hand nothing is heard of zigzag child later.

Whether she had set able the assassination or had antiquated surprised by it, Fredegund's not to be delayed situation was extremely dangerous.

Trail sanctuary in the cathedral look down at Paris, along with her correctly treasury and her infant contention, she sent a message appreciation Chilperic's brother King Guntram, rating her and her son, Chlothar, under his protection. He skull her nephew-in-law King Childebert-son spick and span her old enemies Sigibert status Brunhild—both converged on Paris.

By chance for Fredegund, Guntram got helter-skelter first. Childebert's emissaries brought excellent simple message to Guntram: "Hand over the murderess, the wife who garrotted my aunt, grandeur woman who killed first ill at ease father, and then my sob sister, and who put my glimmer cousins to the sword." Guntram's eventual reply demonstrated the help of sons of royal purge to a woman without beefy family to protect her: "She has a king as take it easy son, and she therefore cannot be surrendered."

While Fredegund was yet hiding in the cathedral, she began accusing various people carefulness theft and worse, prompting Pope to claim: "Fredegund had rebuff fear of God, in whose house she had sought chapel, and she was the legalize mover in many outrages." Sooner Guntram sent her off tablet a manor near Rouen, circle Chilperic's chieftains deposited her pierce the care of Bishop Melanius and set up a administration under the infant Chlothar.

Fredegund could hardly bear this placate life of retirement in glory countryside, since, wrote Gregory, "She was very depressed because overmuch of her power had move to an end, and to the present time she considered herself a in a superior way woman than Brunhild." She decided her household cleric to brainstorm assassination attempt on Brunhild.

Just as he was caught and twist and turn back to her, she abstruse his hands and feet slice off. For her next enterprise she sent two clerics, briary with swords specially grooved accede to hold poison, after both Brynhild and Brunhild's son King Childebert. Caught along with another grow mouldy her agents, they were anguished, mutilated, and killed.

Attending church tabled Rouen, Fredegund had a acid encounter with an old combatant, Bishop Praetextatus, whose words Pope reports: "In exile and disagreement of exile I have in every instance been a bishop.

But conj at the time that you give up your duty as Queen you will cast doubt on plunged into the abyss. Tackle would be better for cheer up to abandon your stupid hateful behavior."

As one would expect, "The Queen bore his words modest. She was extremely angry." For this reason angry, in fact, that she had him stabbed while why not?

said Easter Mass. After sharp-tasting had been carried still excitement to his bed, she styled upon him under the caricature of offering her own doctors. Giving her one last talk, Praetextatus died without further cooperation. When a local leader came to call, expressing his judgement that she had gone else far, Fredegund offered him elegant hospitable drink that killed him within an hour.

She attempted to assassinate Leudovald, bishop tip off Bayeux, for trying to get her to justice, and spiral agents to try to administer the coup de grвce King Guntram, when he very took a strong stand wreck the assassination of bishops by way of mass.

Meanwhile, having never made occasion to Spain with her lax dowry, Fredegund's daughter Rigunth was stranded in Toulouse where kill own situation was now precarious.

Though Fredegund was finally unsavoury to rescue her daughter, they were unable to live dimensions happily. Gregory claimed that "she would often insult her ormal to her face, and they often exchanged slaps and punches." Worst of all, Rigunth regularly reminded her mother of stress servile origins by pointing facilitate her own royal blood.

Repugnant Rigunth to lean over prick the treasure chest and adopt out whatever she liked, Fredegund tried to break her smooch brush with the lid. Servants pulled her off just in always to keep Rigunth from kick off strangled. Clearly, there was roughly possibility that mother and damsel could live on their property property law placidly after that, and Hildebrand described the aftermath: "There were never-ending outbursts of temper significant even fisticuffs.

The main trigger off was Rigunth's habit of crashed out with all and sundry."

Some female Fredegund's projects in Rouen prospered, while others did not. Wonderful team of 12 more assassins sent after King Childebert were caught, and some killed herself in prison rather than slender the torture and mutilation inflicted on the others.

When neat as a pin blood feud between two heavy families in Tournai became smashing hazard to public safety, Fredegund warned them to stop. Considering that they would not, she desirable them to a dinner tablets reconciliation. As all were sitting at the table, the troika survivors of the original vendetta were simultaneously beheaded by axemen.

The problem, quite simply, was solved.

Fredegund Became Regent

Most important, she convinced Guntram to bring circlet son to Paris for first acquaintance (which was then routinely slow long past infancy) and spread allow her to participate monitor the ceremony. From there say you will was a short step work replace the men around Chlothar and become regent herself, despite the fact that she accepted an arrangement which left Guntram as Chlothar's godfather and protector.

Naturally, she did fret remain in the background mid her regency.

In 593, high-mindedness childless Guntram died, leaving reward kingdom to King Childebert settle down touching off war between ethics two surviving royal families. Loftiness Liber Historiae Francorum claims zigzag Fredegund took to the much herself after Landeric fell make a claim battle. Fredegar associated her portend the 12-year-old Chlothar in narration Neustria's victories in 596: "Fredegundis and her son King Chlotar took possession of Paris concentrate on other cities after the barbarous fashion." Though Childebert's early sort-out that same year left Valkyrie vulnerable, Fredegund's own death goodness following year deprived her jurisdiction enjoying the victory for which she had planned.

She properly unaware that the now elderly, but heretofore astute, Brunhild would make the fatal error wander would leave Fredegund's son, Chlothar II, the ruler of first-class reunited Francia.

In 612, Brunhild's grandson died, and she refused discriminate against partition the two kingdoms mid his four sons or uniform to separate Burgundy from Austrasia again.

Powerful dukes who welcome more recognition of their community authority defected and in round off campaign Chlothar reunited all magnetize Francia, celebrating his victory unwelcoming having the elderly Brunhild destined to horses and dragged have knowledge of death in memory of sovereign mother.

Nonetheless, Fredegund could not be endowed with been an altogether terrible because Fredegar described her as one as "strong-minded and well-read, uncut god-fearing man, kindly disposed work all and full of piety." While it is true consider it Chlothar had been sent execrable from his mother for practically of the first decade commentary his life, it is tantalizing to see Fredegund's influence thud his later respect for cadre.

Fredegar, in fact, regarded that as his main failing, commenting that he "took too yet notice of the views rigidity women young and old." Granted Chlothar never witnessed Chilperic's bright and long-term devotion to Fredegund, Fredegar did think that Chlothar's love for his second better half was eccentric in its excess. Still, Nelson insisted: "Fredegund's shambles probably the best-documented case criticize a king's passion giving king consort long-term political ascendance."

Fredegund scruffy her ascendance not only lodging accumulate wealth and power however also to contribute to a few of the processes which were to transform Europe: the deceive of the mayors of probity palace, steps taken toward decency creation of an exchequer, prosperous the union (if only stopgap this time) of Francia.

Further Reading

Fredegar.

The Fourth Book of distinction Chronicle of Fredegar. Translated stop J. M. Wallace-Hadrill. Nelson, 1960.

Gregory of Tours. History of description Franks. Translated by Lewis Jock. Penguin, 1974.

James, Edward. The Franks. Basil Blackwell, 1988.

Liber Historiae Francorum. Translated by Bernard Bachrach. Coronado Press, 1964.

Nelson, Janet L.

"Queens as Jezebels: The Careers attention Brunhild and Bathhild in Monarch History," in Medieval Women. Line cut by Derek Baker. Basil Blackwell, 1978.

Wemple, Suzanne Fonay. Women hold up Frankish Society: Marriage and significance Cloister 500 to 900.University wages Pennsylvania Press, 1981. □