INDEX:
A. A Note on Genealogy (with a rough family tree)
B. Childebert I and the siege of Saragossa
C. The story of Amalasuntha
D. The Sons of Lothar take wives
E. The assassination of Sigibert
F. Fredegund and the Tax-Demands
G. The Death of Clovis, son of Chilperic
H. The Engagement of Rigunth
I. The Death of Chilperic and the Fate of Fredegund
J. Rigunth Redux
K. Fredegund's Machinations
L. Fredegund and Bishop Praetextatus
M. Brunhild and Guntram Boso
N. The Treaty of Andelot, 588
O. Fredegund and Rigunth: the Final Chapter
P. Beretrude's Inheritance
Q. Notes

1. Clovis (d. 511), leaving four sons (1 by a concubine, and three by Clotild)
        2. Theuderic (d. 534)
                    -had a son, Theudebert (d. 548), who had a son Theudebald (d. 555).
        2. Chlodomer (d. 524)
                    -no offspring survived him
        2. Childebert I (d. 558)
                    -no offspring survived him
        2. Lothar I (d. 561), had four sons by four different wives:
                    3. Charibert (561-567)
                                -married four times, but no surviving sons
                    3. Guntram (561-593), king of Burgundy
                                -three wives, no sons outlived him
                    3. Sigibert I (561-575), king of Austrasia
                                            -married Brunhild (d. 613), had a son and some daughters
                                4. Childebert II (d. 595), King of Austrasia, then Burgundy; sons:
                                                5. Theudebert (d. 612), king of Austrasia
                                                5. Theuderic (d. 613), kg. of Austrasia (595-613), king of Burgundy (612-613)
                    3. Chilperic I (561-584), king of Neustria
                                            -married Audovera, Galswintha, and Fredegund (d. 597)
                                4. Lothar II (d. 629) [king of Neustria, 584-629, king of Burgundy and Austrasia, 613-629]
                                                5. Dagobert I (d. 638) [ruled all three kingdoms]

Childebert I and the Siege of Saragossa
III.29.  Next, King Childebert set off for Spain. He and Lothar [his brother] arrived there together. They attacked and laid siege to the city of Saragossa.  The inhabitants turned in great humility to God: they dressed themselves in hair-shirts, abstained from eating and drinking, and marched round the city walls singing psalms and carrying the tunic of Saint Vincent the martyr. Their women-folk followed them, weeping and wailing, dressed in black garments, with their hair blowing free and with ashes on their heads, so that you might have thought they were burying their dead husbands. The city pinned its hope on the mercy of God. It could have been said to fast as Nineveh fasted [cf Jonah, 3:5], and it was quite unimaginable that God in His compassion would not be swayed by the prayers of these people. The besiegers were nonplused to see them behave in this way: as they watched them march round the walls they imagined that it was some curious kind of black magic. They seized hold of a peasant who lived in Saragossa and asked them what in the world they were doing. "They are marching behind the tunic of St Vincent," he told them, "and with this as their banner they are imploring God to take pity on them." This scared the troops and they withdrew from the city. However, they succeeded in conquering a large part of Spain and they returned to Gaul with immense booty.

The Story of Amalasuntha
III.31. Theodoric, King of Italy [an Ostrogoth, not a Frank], who had married Audofleda, the sister of Clovis, died and left his wife with a small daughter called Amalasuntha [he died in 526]. When she grew up Amalasuntha soon showed what little sense she had, for, ignoring the advice of her mother, she took as lover one of her own slaves called Traguilla and eloped with him to a neighboring city, where she thought she would be free to do as she liked. Her mother was very angry with her and begged her not to disgrace her royal blood any longer, but to marry the man of equal status whom she had herself proposed. Amalasuntha would have none of this. Her mother became even more angry and sent a band of armed men to take her into custody. These soldiers came upon the two lovers, killed Traguilla, gave Amalasuntha a good beating, and brought her back to her mother's home. Mother and daughter both belonged to the Arian sect, whose custom it is, when they come to the altar for communion, for those of royal blood to drink from one cup and lesser mortals from another. Amalasuntha popped some poison into the chalice from which her mother was to drink next. Audofleda drank from the cup and dropped down dead. There can be no doubt at all that such a crime as this was the work of the Devil. What can these miserable Arian heretics say, when the Devil is present even at their altar? We Catholics, on the contrary, who believe in the Trinity, co-equal and all-powerful, would come to no harm even if we were to drink poison in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, one true Godhead. The Italians [Ostrogoths] were furious with Amalasuntha for what she had done, and they summoned Theudat, King of Tuscany, to rule over them. When he heard of the deeds of this meretricious woman, who had murdered her own mother for the sake of a slave who had been her lover, Theudat had a hot steam-bath prepared and ordered her to be shut up inside it with one of her maids. As soon as she was in the scalding steam she fell to the stone floor and died immediately [Note 1]. When her cousins, the three Kings Childebert, Lothar and Theudebert [Childebert and Lothar were sons of Clovis; Theudebert was Clovis' grandson], learned that Amalasuntha had died such a shameful death, they sent messengers to Theudat to upbraid him for having killed her. "If you do not agree to pay lavishly for what you have done," they said, "we will seize your kingdom and submit you to the same treatment." Theudat was afraid and sent them 50,000 pieces of gold [ie., as wergeld]. Childebert, that crafty man, who was always jealous of King Lothar, conspired with his nephew Theudebert to divide the gold equally between them and give nothing to Lothar. Lothar thereupon seized the treasury of Chlodomer and deprived them both of much more than they had stolen from him.

The Sons of Lothar Take Wives
[Note: Lothar outlived his brothers and nephew, and had four sons (who were thus grandsons of Clovis); they were Charibert, Guntram, Chilperic, and Sigibert]
IV.21 Once his father [ie. Lothar] had been buried [in 561] Chilperic took possession of his treasury, which was kept at his villa at Berny. Chilperic sought out the more influential Franks and won them over to his side with bribes. Soon after this he entered Paris and occupied Childebert's throne; but he was not able to hold it for long, for his brothers leagued against him and drove him out. These four, Charibert, Guntram, Chilperic, and Sigibert, then divided things up fairly between themselves. The kingdom of Childebert, with Paris for its capital, fell to Charibert. Guntram received the kingdom of Chlodomer, with Orleans as his chief city [this would become the kingdom of Burgundy]. Chilperic inherited the kingdom of his father, Lothar, which he ruled from Soissons [the kingdom of Neustria]. Sigibert took over the kingdom of Theuderic, and he established himself at Rheims [the kingdom of Austrasia].

IV.25 The good King Guntram first made Veneranda his mistress and took her to bed with him. She was the servant of one of his subjects. By her he had a son called Gundobad. Later on Guntram married Marcatrude, the daughter of Magnachar. He packed his son Gundobad off to Orleans. Marcatrude had a son of her own. She was jealous of Gundobad and encompassed his death. She sent him poison to drink, so they say, and killed him. Soon after Gundobad's death, she lost her own son by the judgment of God. As a result the king was estranged from her and he dismissed her. She died not long afterwards. Then Guntram married Austrechild, also called Bobilla. He had two sons by her, the elder called Lothar and the younger Chlodomer.

IV.26. King Charibert married a woman called Ingoberg. He had by her a daughter, who eventually married a man from Kent [in England] and went to live there. At that time Ingoberg had among her servants two young women who were the daughters of a poor man. The first of these, who wore the habits of a religious [ie., of a nun], was called Marcovefa, and the other Merofled. The king violently in love with the two of them. As I have implied, they were the daughters of a wool-worker. Ingoberg was jealous because of the love which the king bore them. She made a secret plan to set their father to work, in the hope that when Charibert saw this he would come to despise the two girls. When the man was working away Ingoberg summoned the King. Charibert came, hoping to see something interesting, and, without approaching too near, watched the man preparing the wool for the royal household. He was so angry at what he saw that he dismissed Ingoberg and took Merofled in her place. He had another woman, the daughter of a shepherd who looked after his flocks. Her name was Theudechild and he is said to have had a son by her, but the child was buried immediately after his birth. [I skip a paragraph here ....]
        Next King Charibert married Marcovefa, the sister of Merofled. They were both excommunicated as a result by Saint Germanus the Bishop. The King refused to give up Marcovefa: but she was struck by the judgment of God and died. Not long afterwards the King himself died in his turn [in 567]. After his death Theudechild, one of his queens, sent messengers to King Guntram, offering her hand in marriage. The King replied in these terms: "She may come to me and bring her treasure with her. I will receive her and I will give her an honorable place among my people. She will hold a higher position at my side than she ever did with my brother, who has died recently." Theudechild was delighted when she heard this. She collected all her possessions together and set out to join Guntram. When he saw her, Guntram said; "It is better that this treasure should fall into my hands than it should remain in the control of this woman who was unworthy of my brother's bed." He seized most of her goods, left her a small portion and packed her off to a nunnery at Arles. Theudechild bore ill the fasts and vigils to which she was subjected [ie., as a nun]. She sent messengers in secret to a certain Visigoth, promising him that, if he would carry her off to Spain and marry her there, she would escape from the nunnery with what wealth remained to her and set off with him without the slightest hesitation. He immediately promised to do what she asked. She once more collected her possessions together and made them into bundles. As she was about to make her escape from the nunnery, she was surprised by the vigilant abbess. The abbess, who had caught her red-handed, had her beaten mercilessly and locked her up in her cell. There she remained until her dying day, suffering awful anguish.

IV.27. King Sigibert observed that his brothers were taking wives who were completely unworthy of them and were so far degrading themselves as to marry their own servants. He therefore sent messengers loaded with gifts to Spain and asked for the hand of Brunhild, the daughter of King Athanagild [king of the Visigoths]. This young woman was elegant in all that she did, lovely to look at, chaste and decorous in her behavior, wise in her generation and of good address. Her father did not refuse to give her to Sigibert, but sent her off with a large dowry. Sigibert assembled the leading men of his kingdom, ordered a banquet to be prepared and married Brunhild with every appearance of joy and happiness.  She was, of course, an Arian [all Visigoths were], but she was converted by the bishops sent to reason with her and by the King who begged her to accept conversion. She accepted the unity of the blessed Trinity and was baptized with the chrism. In the name of Christ she remains a Catholic. [Note 2]

IV.28. When he saw this, King Chilperic sent to ask for the hand of Galswinth, the sister of Brunhild, although he already had a number of wives. He told the messengers to say that he promised to dismiss all the others, if only he were considered worthy of marrying a King's daughter of a rank equal to his own. Galswinth's father believed what he said and sent his daughter to him with a large dowry, just as he had sent Brunhild to Sigibert. Galswinth was older than Brunhild. When she reached the court of King Chilperic, he welcomed her with great honor and made her his wife. He loved her very dearly, for she had brought a large dowry with her. A great quarrel soon ensued between the two of them, however, because he also loved Fredegund, whom he had married before he married Galswinth. Galswinth was converted to the Catholic faith and baptized with the chrism. She never stopped complaining to the King about the insults she had to endure. According to her, he showed no respect for her at all, and she begged that might be permitted to go back home, even if it meant leaving behind all the treasures which she had brought with her. Chilperic did his best to pacify her with smooth excuses and by denying the truth as convincingly as he could. In the end he had her garrotted by one of his servants and so found her dead in bed. After her death, God performed a great miracle. A lamp suspended on a cord burned in front of her tomb. One day, without anyone touching it, the cord broke and the lamp fell to the stone floor. The hard stone withdrew at the point of impact and the lamp penetrated it just as if it had been made of soft material, and there it stood embedded up to its middle without anything being broken. Everyone who saw this knew that a miracle had occurred. King Chilperic wept for the death of Galswinth, but within a few days he had asked Fredegund to sleep with him again. His brothers had a strong suspicion that he had connived at the murder of the Queen and they drove him out of his kingdom.  Chilperic had three sons by one of his earlier consorts, Audovera: these were Theudebert, about whom I have already told you, Merovech and Clovis. I must now return to what I was describing to you.

The Assassination of Sigibert
[Note: Some years later Chilperic was again waging war against Sigibert ...]
IV.51. In that year lightning was observed to flicker across the sky, just as we saw it before Lothar's death. Once he had invested the cities which are south of Paris, Sigibert advanced as far as Rouen [ie., into Chilperic's kingdom of Neustria]. He had intended to abandon these cities to the tender mercies of their enemies, but his advisers prevented him from doing this. Next he left Rouen and returned to Paris. Brunhild joined him there, bringing their sons.  Then those Franks who had once looked to the older Childebert [Sigibert and Chilperic's long-dead uncle, who had once ruled Neustria] sent envoys to Sigibert, saying that they would abandon Chilperic if he, Sigibert, would come to them, and that they would then appoint him as their king.  When he heard this Sigibert sent troops to besiege his brother in Tournai, planning to follow himself with all speed. Saint Germanus, the bishop, said to him: "If you set out with the intention of sparing your brother's life, you will return alive and victorious. If you have any other plans in mind, you will die. That is what God announced through the mouth of Solomon: ‘Whosoever digs a pit (for his brother) will fall into it himself' [Proverbs 26:27]." The King in his sinfulness took no notice of Saint Germanus. He advanced to the royal villa of Vitry and assembled the entire army around him. They raised him on a shield and elected him as their king. Two young men who had been suborned by Queen Fredegund then came up to Sigibert, carrying the strong knives which are commonly known as scramasaxes, and which they had smeared with poison. They pretended that they had something to discuss with him, but they struck him on both sides. He gave a loud cry and fell to the ground. He died soon afterwards [in 575]. [I skip ahead a bit ....]
            Chilperic was in a desperate situation, no knowing whether he could escape alive or would be killed instead. At this moment messengers arrived to tell him that his brother was dead. He sallied forth from Tournai with his wife and sons, dressed Sigibert's corpse and buried it in the village of Lambres. Later on Sigibert's body was translated to the church of Saint Medard at Soissons, which he had himself constructed; he was interred there at the side of his father, Lothar. He died in the fourteenth year of his reign, when he was forty years old.

V.1. At the moment when King Sigibert was killed in Vitry, Queen Brunhild was in residence with her children in Paris. When the news was announced to her, she was prostrate with anguish and grief, and she hardly knew what she was doing. Duke Gundovald took charge of her little son, Childebert II, and removed him from her in secret, snatching him from certain death.  Gundovald assembled the people over whom Sigibert had reigned and proclaimed Childebert II to be their king, although he was barely five years old. Childebert began to reign on Christmas Day.
            In the first years of Childebert's rule, King Chilperic came to Paris, seized hold of Brunhild, banished her to the city of Rouen and took possession of the treasure which she had brought to Paris. He ordered her daughters to be held in custody in Meaux.

Fredegund and the Tax-Demands
V.34.  A most serious epidemic followed these prodigies [circa 580]. While the Kings were quarreling with each other again and once more were making preparations for civil war, dysentery spread throughout the whole of Gaul. Those who caught it had a high temperature, with vomiting and severe pains in the small of the back: their heads ached and so did their necks. The stuff they vomited up was yellow or even green. Many people maintained that some secret poison must be the cause of this. The country-folk imagined that they had boils inside their bodies; and actually this is not as silly as it sounds, for as soon as cupping-glasses were applied to their shoulders or legs, great tumors formed, and when these burst and discharged their pus, they were cured. Many recovered their health by drinking herbs which are known to be antidotes to poisons. The epidemic began in the month of August. It attacked young children first of all and to them it was fatal: and so we lost our little ones, who were so dear to us and sweet, whom we had fed and nurtured with such loving care. As I write I wipe away my tears and I repeat once more the words of Job the blessed: "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; as it has pleased the Lord, so it will come to pass. Blessed is the name of the Lord, world without end."
        In those days King Chilperic fell ill. When he recovered, his younger son, who had not yet been baptized in the name of the Holy Ghost, was attacked in his turn. They saw that he was dying and so they baptized him. He made a momentary recovery, but then Chlodobert, his older brother, caught the disease. When their mother Fredegund realized that he, too, was at death's door, she repented of her sins, rather late in the day, it is true, and said to the King: "God in his mercy has endured our evil goings-on long enough. Time and time again He has sent us warnings through high fevers and other indispositions, but we have never mended our ways. Now we are going to lose our children. It is the tears of paupers which are the cause of their death, the sighs of orphans, the widows' lament. Yet we still keep on amassing wealth, with no possible end in view. We still lay up treasures, we who have no one to whom we can leave them. Our riches live on after us, the fruits of rapine, hated and accursed, with no one left to possess them once we are gone. Were our cellars not already overflowing with wine? Were our granaries not stuffed to the roof with corn? Were our treasure-houses not already full enough with gold, silver, precious stones, necklaces and every regal adornment one could dream of? Now we are losing the most beautiful of our possessions! Come, then, I beg you! Let us set fire to all these evil tax-schedules! What sufficed for King Lothar, your father, should be plenty enough for our exchequer [treasury], too." As she said this, the Queen beat her breast with her fists. She ordered to be placed before her the tax-demands which had been brought back by Mark from her own cities [Note 3], and she put them into the fire. She spoke to the King a second time. "What are you waiting for?," she asked. "Do what you see me doing! We may still lose our children, but we will at least escape eternal damnation." King Chilperic was deeply moved. He tossed all the files of tax-demands into the fire. As soon as they were burned, he sent messengers to ensure that no such assessments should ever be made again. Meanwhile their youngest son wasted away before the onslaught of the disease and finally died. With broken hearts, they carried him to Paris from their estate at Berny, and buried him in the church of Saint-Denis. As for Chlodobert, they placed him on a stretcher and carried him to the church of Saint-Medard in Soissons. They set him down before the saint's tomb and made vows for his recovery. He died in the middle of the night, worn to a shadow and hardly drawing breath. They buried him in the church of the holy martyrs Cripsin and Crispinian. The whole populace bewailed his death: they walked behind his funeral cortege, the men weeping and the women wearing widows' weeds as if they were escorting their own husbands to the grave. From this time onwards, King Chilperic was lavish in giving alms to cathedrals and churches, and to the poor, too.

The Death of Clovis (son of Chilperic, not the great King Clovis)
V.39. After the death of their sons, King Chilperic and his wife spent the month of October in mourning in the forest of Cuise. Then, at the suggestion of Fredegund, Chilperic sent his son Clovis [son of Chilperic and his first wife, Audovera] to Berny, in the hope that he would die of the same disease. The epidemic which had killed Clovis' brothers [half-brothers, really] was still raging there in all its intensity, but he did not catch it. The King moved to Chelles, his estate near Paris. After a few days he ordered Clovis to join him there. I will now tell you in full detail how Clovis met his death.
        While Clovis was staying with his father on the estate at Chelles, he began to boast in a childish way. "Now that my brothers are dead," he kept saying, "the entire kingdom comes to me. The whole of Gaul is mine to command; fate has made me heir to the entire country. My enemies are now in my power and I can do to them whatever I choose." He also made unforgivable remarks about his stepmother, Queen Fredegund. She came to hear of this and was terrified. Not long afterwards someone approached the Queen and said, "It is through Clovis' treacherous behavior that you sit there deprived of your sons. He has fallen in love with the daughter of one of your women-servants, and it is through the mother's magic arts that he has encompassed their death. I warn you, you can expect no better fate yourself, now that you have lost the hope through which you were to have reigned." The Queen was greatly frightened. She was still in a state of nervous depression because of her recent loss, and she worked herself up into a fury. She took the girl on whom Clovis had cast sheep's eyes and had her thrashed. Then she ordered all her hair to be cut off, and had her tied to a stake which was set up outside Clovis' lodgings. She had the girl's mother bound and subjected to torture until she had forced her to admit that the charges against her were true. All this she reported to the King, adding a few details of her own. Then she demanded her revenge on Clovis.
        The King was just setting out for the hunt. He ordered Clovis to be brought before him in secret. When he arrived, the King commanded that he should be seized and manacled by Duke Desiderius and Duke Bobo. He was stripped of his weapons and his clothes, and paraded before the Queen in rags and with his arms bound. She ordered him to be kept in custody, for she wanted to find out if the events had really happened as she had been told, whose advice Clovis had been following, at whose encouragement he had acted as he did, and who were his most intimate friends. He denied everything else, but he admitted that he possessed many close associates. Three days later the Queen gave orders that he should be taken across the River Maine, with his arms still bound. He was kept under close surveillance on an estate called Noisy-le-Grand. While he was a prisoner there he was murdered by a stab with a knife. They buried his body immediately. Messengers were sent off to the King to announce that Clovis had stabbed himself with his own hand; and they added the confirmatory detail that the knife with which he had struck the blow was still in the wound. Chilperic accepted the report: the Queen had kept egging him on, but in my opinion it was the King who had delivered Clovis up to death, and yet he wept no tear. The young prince's household was dispersed. His mother [Audovera] was murdered in the most cruel fashion. His sister was tricked by Fredegund's servants and persuaded into entering a nunnery, where she has become a religious [ie., a nun] and where she remains to this day. All their property was purloined by the Queen.  The woman who had given evidence against Clovis was condemned to be burned alive. As she was dragged off to the stake, the poor creature started to admit she had lied. Her confession availed her nothing; she was bound to the stake and set afire while still alive. Clovis' treasurer was fetched back from Bourges by Chuppa, master of the Stables to Chilperic, and handed over to the Queen. He was condemned to be subjected to various tortures. At my intervention, Fredegund had his shackles struck off and absolved him from punishment. The King eventually gave him his liberty.

The Engagement of Rigunth, daughter of Chilperic and Fredegund
VI.34 Once again legates arrived from Spain. They brought gifts, and in conference with King Chilperic they arranged that Chilperic's daughter, Rigunth, should marry Recared, son of King Leuvigild [king of the Visigoths], according to the agreement made some time earlier. The contract was confirmed, all the details were settled and the ambassador set off for home. King Chilperic then left home and traveled some way towards Soissons, but on the journey he suffered yet another bereavement. His son, who had been baptized only the year before, fell ill with dysentery and died. This is what the ball of fire presaged, the one I described above as emerging from a cloud. They were all prostrate with grief. They turned back to Paris and buried the child there. They sent after the ambassador and called him back, for clearly what they had just planned would have to be deferred. "I can hardly think of celebrating my daughter's wedding when I am in mourning because I have just buried my son," said Chilperic. For a time he considered the idea of sending another daughter to Spain instead; he was considering sending Basina, whom he had shut away in the nunnery in Poitiers, since her mother was Audovera [Note 4]. Basina was unwilling, however, and the blessed Radegund [abbess of the nunnery] backed her up. "It is not right," she said, "for a nun dedicated to Christ to turn back once more to the sensuous pleasures of this world."

VI.45. On 1 September [584], a great embassy of Visigoths came to see King Chilperic. He took up residence in Paris once more. Then he ordered a great number of families of serfs to be rounded up from various royal estates and carted off in wagons. They wept bitterly and refused to go. He had them guarded closely, ready for the day when he could send them abroad with his daughter Rigunth. They say that quite a few of the serfs hanged themselves in their distress, dreading to be carried off from those near and dear to them.  Sons were torn from fathers, mothers were separated from daughters. They parted with groans and curses. The mourning in the city of Paris could only be compared with that in Egypt. Quite a few of them were of good birth. Those who were forced to emigrate made their wills, leaving all their property to the churches and stipulating that, as soon as it was known that the Princess had reached Spain, these wills should be acted upon at once, as if they themselves were dead and buried.
        Meanwhile envoys from King Childebert [son of Sigibert] came to Paris, warning King Chilperic to remove nothing which he had taken from his brother's kingdom [ie, from Sigibert's kingdom] and forbidding him to dare to lay a finger on any slaves, or horses, or pairs of bulls or anything else of that sort. They say that one of these envoys was murdered in secret, but no one knows by whom, although suspicion turned on the King.  Chilperic promised that he would touch none of these things. He invited the Frankish leaders and all his loyal subjects to celebrate the engagement of his daughter. Then he handed her over to the Visigothic envoys, providing her with a tremendous dowry. Her mother added a vast weight of gold and silver, and many fine clothes. When he saw this, King Chilperic thought he had nothing left at all.  Queen Fredegund realized he was upset. She turned to the Franks and said, "Do not imagine, men, that any of this comes from the treasures amassed by your earlier kings. Everything you see belongs to me. Your most illustrious King has been very generous to me, and I have put aside quite a bit from my own resources, from the manors granted to me, and from revenues and taxes. You, too, have given me gifts. From such sources come all the treasures which you see in front of you. None of it has been taken from the public treasury." The King calmed down when he heard this. There was such a vast assemblage of objects that the gold, silver, and other precious things filled fifty carts. The Franks themselves all brought wedding presents: gold, silver, horses and clothing, each giving according to his means. At length the time came for the princess to say good-bye. The tears streamed down her face as she kissed her parents. As she drove through the city gate, one of the axles of her carriage broke. "An unlucky omen," people muttered, for some saw it as poor promise for the future.
        As she left Paris, Rigunth ordered her tents to be pitched by the eighth milestone. That night fifty of her escort got up, stole a hundred of the best horses, with their golden bridles, and two great salvers as well, and slipped away in flight to King Childebert. All the way along the route anyone who saw the chance of escaping made off, taking with him whatsoever he could lay his hands on. Vast supplies were stockpiled along the road, at the expense of the cities through which they passed. The King made no provision whatsoever from the public purse, everything being requisitioned from the poor inhabitants. Chilperic had a suspicion that his brother or his nephew might set an ambush for his daughter, so he ordered her to be escorted by a force of soldiers. Many men of great distinction went with her: Duke Bobo, the son of Mummolen, who was to give away the bride, took his wife with him; Domigisel, Ansovald and Waddo, major-domo of the Princesses' household and onetime Count of Saintes, also went; and there were more than four thousand ordinary folk. All the other dukes and chamberlains who had set out with Rigunth turned back at Poitiers; but those whom I have mentioned, who were to complete the journey, pressed on as best they could. As they advanced they robbed and plundered to an extant which beggars all description. They stole from the cottages of the poor, ruined the vineyards by cutting off whole branches with the grapes hanging from them, made off with the cattle and everything they could lay their hands on, leaving desolation along the roads where they passed. Thus was the saying of the prophet Joel fulfilled: "That which the locust has left has the caterpillar eaten; and that which the caterpillar has left has the blight eaten [Joel 1:4]." What actually happened at this time was as if a great storm blew down what the hoar-frost left, and a drought burned up what the great storm left, and then a hostile army carried off what the drought left.

The Death of Chilperic and the Fate of Fredegund
VI.46. While these people were proceeding on their way with all their plunder, Chilperic, the Nero and Herod of our time, went off to his manor of Chelles, which is about a dozen miles from Paris. There he spent his time hunting. One day when he returned from the chase just a twilight was falling, he was alighting from his horse with one hand on the shoulder of a servant, when a man stepped forward, struck him with a knife under the armpit and then stabbed him a second time in the stomach. Blood immediately streamed both from his mouth and through the gaping wound, and that was the end of this wicked man [in 584].

VII.4. Meanwhile the widowed Queen Fredegund arrived in Paris. She took with her that part of her treasure which she had secreted within the city walls, and she sought sanctuary in the cathedral, where she was given protection by Bishop Ragnemod. The remainder of her treasure, which had been left behind in Chelles, and which included the golden salver which Chilperic had recently had made, was confiscated by the treasury officials, who lost no time in joining King Childebert [son of Sigibert and Brunhild], who was in Meaux at that time.

VII.5. Queen Fredegund took the advice of her supporters and sent messengers to King Guntram. "Let my lord come and take charge of his brother's kingdom," she said. "I have a tiny baby [Lothar II], whom I long to place in his arms. At the same time I shall declare myself his humble servant." King Guntram wept bitterly when he heard of his brother's death. As soon as his mourning was over, he summoned his army and marched on Paris. He had already taken up his quarters within the city walls when his nephew, King Childebert, arrived from another direction.

[Guntram refuses to share Chilperic's kingdom with Childebert]

VII.7. The envoys departed. A second set of messengers then arrive from Childebert to ask King Guntram to surrender the person of Queen Fredegund. "Hand over the murderess," they said, "the woman who garrotted my aunt [Galswinth], the woman who killed first my father [King Sigibert] and then my uncle [King Chilperic], and who put my two cousins [Merovech and Clovis, the sons of Chilperic] to the sword." "We will consider all these matters at an assembly which I propose to hold," answered King Guntram, "and so decide what is to be done." He had taken Fredegund under his protection, inviting her frequently to eat with him and promising that he would see that she came to no harm. [it is revealed that Fredegund is again pregnant, even though Lothar is only 4 months old ....]
        The chief men of Chilperic's kingdom, Ansovald and the others, rallied around his son, who, as I have just said, was four months old. They decided to call him Lothar. From all the cities which had hitherto owed allegiance to Chilperic they exacted an oath of loyalty to King Guntram and his nephew Lothar.

Rigunth Redux ...
VII.9. While these things were going on in Paris, Rigunth, the daughter of Chilperic, reached Toulouse, carrying with her the treasures I have described to you. When she realized that she was already very close to territory held by the Visigoths, she began to come up with reasons for delaying; what is more, her retainers impressed upon her the need to halt for a while in Toulouse, saying that they were exhausted by the journey, their clothes were shabby, and their shoes torn to pieces. ... While they were being held up by these considerations, the news of Chilperic's death began to be whispered into the ears of Desiderius [one of Chilperic's chief generals]. He collected together some of his most formidable warriors and entered the city of Toulouse. He discovered the whereabouts of the treasure and took it out of the hands of the Princess. He placed it in one of the buildings there, sealed the doors and left a strong force of men on guard. He doled out a meager allowance to the Princess, enough to last her until he should come back to the city.

VII.15. While Queen Fredegund was still living in the cathedral in Paris, her servant Leunard, who had just come back from the town of Toulouse, called upon her and began to tell her the wrongs being done to her daughter and the various humiliations which she was suffering. "According to the orders which you gave me," he said, "I accompanied Princess Rigunth. I witnessed the treatment she received, and I saw her despoiled of her treasure and of all her possessions. I myself escaped and have hurried here to tell my mistress what has happened." Fredegund nearly went mad when she heard this. ... [Fredegund, in her rage punishes anyone who had fled from the marriage party and whom she recognizes]. Fredegund had no fear of God, in whose house she had sought sanctuary, and she was the prime mover in many outrages.

VII. 19. A great outcry arose against the men who had held positions of great power while Chilperic was King. They were accused of having misappropriated by main force villas and all sorts of property belonging to others. As I have already told you, the King [Guntram] ordered that everything which had been seized should be handed back. He told Queen Fredegund to return to the manor of Rueil, which is in the Rouen area. With her went all the chief men of King Chilperic's realm. There they left her in the care of Bishop Melanius, who had been deposed from the diocese of Rouen. Then they transferred their allegiance to her son Lothar II, promising that he should be brought up with the greatest care.

Fredegund's Machinations
VII.20. When Queen Fredegund had been packed off to the manor about which I have told you, she was very depressed, because much of her power had been brought to an end, and yet she considered herself a better woman than Brunhild [mother of King Childebert]. In secret she sent a clergyman from her household who was to gain Brunhild's confidence by trickery and then assassinate her. If only he could on some pretense or other be accepted as one of her retainers and so gain her confidence, she could then be despatched when no one was about. The clergyman went off to Brunhild and by the lies he told, made his way into her good graces. "I am a fugitive from Queen Fredegund," he said, "and I seek your protection." He began behaving in the most humble manner to everyone and so gave himself out as the obedient and trusty servant of Queen Brunhild. Not long afterwards they realized on what a treacherous errand he had been sent. He was bound and flogged until he confessed his secret plan; then he was permitted to return to the Queen who had sent him. When he told Fredegund what had happened and confessed that he had failed in his mission, she punished him by having his hands and feet cut off.

VII.21. While these things were happening, King Guntram sent off for Chalon in an attempt to find out the truth concerning his brother's death. Queen Fredegund tried to put the blame on the Treasurer, Eberulf. After the death of Chilperic, she had asked him [Eberulf] to come to live with her, but he had refused. A bitter enmity had resulted between them, and the Queen now alleged that it was he who had killed Chilperic, that he stolen much of the treasury and had then gone off with it to Touraine. If the King wished to avenge his brother's death, let him know that this was the ringleader in the crime. King Guntram swore before all his leaders that he would destroy not only Eberulf himself but his children down to the ninth generation, so that by their death an end might be put to an abominable habit, and no more kings might be assassinated. [Eberulf took sanctuary in Tours, in the church of St. Martin, but after much maneuvering and threats, Guntram's agents managed to drag him from his spot before the altar and put him to the sword. Eberulf's property was confiscated by Guntram and distributed to his men]

VII.39. ..... At this time Fredegund sent Chuppa into the Toulouse area to bring home her daughter Rigunth by hook or by crook. Many people said that the real reason why he was sent was to entice Gundovald away [from loyalty to Childebert] with many promises, provided that Chuppa found him alive, and to bring him to the Queen. This, of course, he could not do, so he took Rigunth, humiliated and insulted as she was, and brought her home instead.

VIII.28. [King Guntram is given papers pointing to an alleged  plot between Fredegund and the Visigoths, the aim of which is to kill Childebert and Brunhild] Despite the fact that these despatches had been handed over to King Guntram and brought by him to the notice of his nephew Childebert, Fredegund still had two iron daggers made, which she ordered to be deeply grooved and smeared with poison so that, even if no mortal thrust should sever vital tissues, the infection caused by the poison would quickly be a cause of death. She handed these daggers over to two clerics, and then gave them the following instructions: "Take these two poignards and make your way with all speed to King Childebert, pretending you are beggars. As soon as you have cast yourself at his feet, as if you have come to beg for alms, stab him on both sides, so that at long last Brunhild, whose arrogant behavior is encouraged by the support which he gives her, may fall as he falls and so that she will cease to be my rival. If the boy is so closely guarded that you cannot come close to him, kill Brunhild instead, the woman whom I hate. For doing this you will receive the following reward: if you are killed as you carry out your task, I will give recompense to your relations, endowing them richly and raising them to the highest rank in my realm. Cast all fears aside, then, and let no dread of death enter your minds, for you know full well that all human beings are but mortal. Steel your hearts like men and remember that, if many brave soldiers have died in battle, the outcome has been that their relatives have risen to high place in the state, overstepping others in their vast wealth and holding precedence over all men." As she said this, the two churchmen began to shiver and shake, for they realized how difficult it was going to be to carry out her orders. When she saw how hesitant they were, she drugged them with a potion and packed them off on their mission. Their courage immediately rose and they swore they would do what she had asked of them. She ordered them to carry with them a phial filled with the same potion. "On the day when you are due to carry out my command," she said, "swallow this potion early in the morning, before you set out to do the deed. It will give you courage to see things through to the end." As soon as she had given them all these instructions, she dismissed them. They set out on their journey and came to Soissons. There they were captured by Duke Rauching. They were questioned closely and they revealed everything, upon which they were thrown into prison. A few days passed and then Fredegund, who was quite convinced her order had been carried out, sent a servant to inquire whether there were any rumors circulating among the people, and to see if he could find anyone who admit to him that Childebert had been assassinated. He left her presence and made his way to Soissons. Having heard rumors that the two churchmen had been thrown into prison, he went to the city gate, but the moment he started talking to the gate-keeper he, too, was seized and placed under arrest. All three of them were sent to King Childebert. When they were interrogated they told the truth, saying that they had been sent by Queen Fredegund to assassinate the king. "The Queen ordered us to disguise ourselves as beggars," they said. "We were to throw ourselves at your feet and beg for alms, and then we intended to stab you through with these daggers. Even if the thrust had been so weak that each dagger failed to do its work, the poison with which the blade is smeared would soon have caused your death." When they had made these admissions, they were subjected to a number of tortures; their hands, ears and noses were cut off, and they were put to death, each in a different way.

Fredegund and Bishop Praetextatus
[Note: Bishop Praetextatus was bishop of Rouen. He had been exiled some years earlier for conspiring against Chilperic, but after the death of this king he had returned to reclaim his diocese.]
VIII.31. While these things were happening, Fredegund was living in the town of Rouen. A bitter exchange of words occurred between the Queen and Bishop Praetextatus. She told him that the time would come when he would have to return to the exile from which he had been recalled. "In exile and out of exile I have always been a bishop," replied Praetextatus, "but you will not always enjoy royal power. With God's help I myself have come back from exile and have returned to my diocese; but when you give up your role as Queen you will be plunged into the abyss. It would be better for you to abandon your stupid, malicious behavior, and to turn your mind to higher things. If you were to give up the boastful pride which burns within you, you might gain eternal life and be able to bring up to a man's estate this young boy whose mother you are [ie., Lothar II]." That was what Praetextatus said. The Queen bore his words ill. She was extremely angry when she left him.
        The day of our Lord's Resurrection came round. Early in the morning Bishop Praetextatus hurried off to church to perform the holy offices. He began to intone the antiphons in their proper order according to the use [ie., the liturgy]. During the chanting he reclined on a bench. As Praetextatus rested on this bench, there appeared a cruel assassin who drew a dagger from his belt and struck the Bishop under the armpit [24 Feb. 586]. He cried out to the clergy who were present for help, but of all those standing by, no one came to his assistance. As he prayed and gave thanks to God the hands which he stretched out over the altar dripped with blood.  Then he was carried to his cell by his faithful followers and placed in his bed. Fredegund lost no time in coming round to see him. She was accompanied by Duke Beppolen and Ansovald. "Holy Bishop," she said, "your flock and I should never have lived to see the day when such a crime as this should be committed, and while you were performing the office, too. I can only hope that the man who has dared to do such a thing will be properly punished for his evil action." The Bishop knew she was lying. "Who else has done this thing," he answered, "but the person who has killed our kings, caused innocent blood to be shed not once but many times, and been responsible for so much evil behavior in this realm?" "I have experienced doctors in my household who can cure the wound," said Fredegund. "Do let them come to take care of you." "God has decreed that I must be recalled from this world," answered Praetextatus. "As for you, who are the prime mover in these crimes, as long as you live you will be accursed, for God will avenge my blood upon your head." As soon as the Queen had left him, the Bishop put his affairs in order and gave up the ghost.

Brunhild and Guntram Boso
IX.8. Guntram Boso [an important noble, and formerly Sigibert's chief general], who was loathed by Queen Brunhild, began to visit the bishops and nobles one after another, in order to sue for forgiveness, which he had previously scorned. During the minority of King Childebert, he had never ceased to heap abuse and insults on Queen Brunhild; and he had encouraged her enemies, too, to behave towards her in the most hostile manner. The King was now determined to avenge the wrongs done to his mother; and he ordered Guntram Boso to be pursued and killed. As soon as he realized what peril he was in, Guntram Boso sought sanctuary in Verdun cathedral, confident that he could obtain pardon through the good offices of Bishop Ageric, who had been the King's sponsor at his baptism. Ageric hurried off to King Childebert and interceded for Guntram Boso. The King found it hard to refuse the Bishop this boon, but he said, "He must appear before me in person, and he must give sureties. Then he must go before my uncle. I will take whatever action King Guntram ordains." Guntram Boso was brought to the place where the King was in residence. He was stripped of his arms and manacled. In this state Bishop Ageric led him into the King's presence. He threw himself at Childebert's feet and said: "I have sinned before you and before your mother, I have refused to obey your commands, and I have acted against your will and against the public weal. For all that, I now entreat you to forgive me all the wrongs I have done to you." King Childebert told him to get up off the ground. He then handed him over to Ageric, saying "He must remain in your charge, Bishop, until the time comes for him to appear before King Guntram." Then he ordered him to withdraw. [Later, at Trier, Childebert managed to have Guntram Boso brought before him and King Guntram when Bishop Ageric was not present. They agreed he must be killed. Guntram Boso tried to prevent his death by holding another bishop hostage, but the Kings' men ignored the captive and set fire to the house. The captive bishop's clergy managed to rush in and drag out their leader. Finally, Guntram Boso appeared in the door with a sword, shouting wildly; the kings' men proceed to feather him with javelins, and he dies.]

The Treaty of Andelot, 588
[Note: Gregory of Tours was present at this meeting and helped arrange the terms of this treaty. It marked an important moment of peace between King Guntram and his nephew, King Childebert II. Note the role of Brunhild, Childebert's mother. I provide only a few selections from the treaty ...]
IX.20. In the name of Christ, the most noble Lords King Guntram and King Childebert, and the most renowned Lady Queen Brunhild, met at Andelot to reaffirm their friendship and, after full debate, to put an end to any circumstance whatsoever which might prove to be a cause of discord between them ... [they begin by dividing up possession of disputed cities and towns ...]
        Item. It is further most specifically agreed, and it shall be observed no matter what happens, that whatsoever King Guntram has granted to his daughter Clotild, or whatever he may, by God's grace, give her in the future, whether properties of all kinds in men, cities, lands, or revenues, shall remain in her power and under her control.  It is agreed that if she shall decide of her own free will to dispose of any part of the lands or revenues or monies, or to donate any of them to any person, by God's grace they shall be held by that person in perpetuity, and they shall not be taken from him at any time or by any person ...
        Item. [Guntram promises to protect and support Childebert's sons if Childebert should die] In addition, King Guntram promises that he will take under his own guardianship and protection, with all loving kindness, her Majesty the Queen Brunhild, mother of Childebert, Brunhild's daughter Chlodosind, the sister of Childebert, as long as she shall remain in the land of the Franks, as well as Childebert's Queen, Faileuba. [Guntram will protect her] as if she were his own dear sister, and her daughters, too. ....
        Item. As to the cities of Bordeaux, Limoges, Cahors, Lescar and Cieutat, which, as is unquestioned, Galswinth, sister of Lady Brunhild, acquired as her dowry or as morgengabe, that is as a morning-gift, when she first came to the land of the Franks, and which [cities] the Lady Brunhild is recognized to have inherited, by the decree of King Guntram and with the agreement of the Franks, during the lifetime of Chilperic and King Sigibert, it is agreed that the Lady Brunhild shall immediately receive into her possession the city of Cahors, with all its lands and all its inhabitants, but that King Guntram shall hold the other cities named above as long as he shall live, on this condition: that after his death, they shall pass, God willing, in all security into the possession of Lady Brunhild, it being understood that as long as King Guntram lives, they shall not under any pretext or at any time be claimed by the Lady Brunhild or by her son King Childebert or by his sons. ....

Fredegund and Rigunth: the Final Chapter
IX.34. Rigunth, Chilperic's daughter, was always attacking her mother (Fredegund), and saying that she herself was the real mistress, whereas her mother ought to revert to original rank of serving woman [Note 5]. She would often insult her mother to her face, and they frequently exchanged slaps and punches. "Why do you hate me so, daughter?," Fredegund asked her one day. "You can take all your father's things which are still in my possession and do what you like with them." She led the way into a strong-room and opened a chest which was full of jewels and precious ornaments. For a long time she kept taking out one thing after another, and handing them to her daughter, who stood beside her. Then she suddenly said, "I'm tired of doing this. Put your own hand in and take whatever you find." Rigunth was stretching her arm into the chest to take out some more things, when her mother suddenly seized the lid and slammed it down on her neck. She leaned on it with all her might and the edge of the chest pressed so hard against the girl's throat that her eyes were soon standing out of her head. One of the servant-girls who was in the room screamed at the top of her lungs: "Quick! Quick! Mistress is being choked to death by her mother!" The attendants who had been waiting outside for them to emerge burst into the strong-room, rescued the princess from almost certain death and dragged her out of doors. The quarrels between the two were even more frequent after this. There were never-ending outbursts of temper and even fisticuffs. The main cause was Rigunth's habit of sleeping with all and sundry.

Beretrude's Inheritance
IX.35. When she was dying, Beretrude appointed her daughter as her heiress. She made a few bequests to the nunneries she had founded, and to the churches and cathedrals of the blessed saints. Then [Count] Waddo, of whom I have told you in an earlier book, made a complaint that some of his horses had been stolen by Beretrude's son-in-law. He made up his mind to pay a visit to one of Beretrude's country estates, which she had left to her daughter, somewhere near Poitiers. "This man, who came here from another country anyway, stole my horses," said Waddo. "All right! I will take his villa!" He thereupon sent word to the bailiff [of the villa in question] to make ready for his coming. [The bailiff resists Waddo's demands. Waddo arrives with his men, and kills the bailiff with a dagger to the head. The bailiff's enraged son seizes a javelin and skewers Waddo, who dies shortly thereafter].

SOURCE:
Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, trans. Lewis Thorpe (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974), 187-189, 217, 218-223, 247-248, 296-298, 303-305, 364-5, 377-379, 390-391, 401-402, 456-458, 462-465, 488-489, 521-522.

2. Queen Brunhild outlived Gregory of Tours by many years. She was eventually put to a shameful death in 613 by King Lothar II, son of King Chilperic and of her arch-enemy Fredegund. Lothar II had her dragged to death behind a wild horse.

3. On the morning after their first night together, Merovingian Kings usually offered substantial gifts to their new wives. This gift was known as the morgengabe, and often included several cities with all revenues accruing from them.

4. As the previous passage makes clear, Fredegund did not want competition from the offspring of Chilperic's previous wives. This nunnery was Holy Trinity of Poitiers, founded by Saint Radegund, who herself was the former wife of King Lothar (Chilperic's father).

5. This passage makes explicit Fredegund's origins as a servant. Rigunth clearly feels that, as the daughter of a king, she has more status than her mother, who was merely the wife of a king.

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