General Notes

[Direct Linage1.FTW]

Note:
She was the daughter of Visigoth King Aregund. She played a leading part in the bloody war (567 - 613) against Neustria following the murder of her sister Galswintha by Chilperic I (husband) of Neustria. She was put to a horrible death by Clotaire II of Neustria. (Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia)Note:


1. Brunehilde, who, throughout the reigns of her son and grandsons, had been very influential, on the death of Theuderic II assumed the guardianship of her great-grandson, Sigebert II, and the government of the two kingdoms. But the earlier struggle between monarchical absolutism and the independence of the Frankish nobility now broke out with tragic violence. It had long been latent, but the sight of a woman exercising absolute power caused it to break forth with boundless fury. The Austrasian nobles, eager to avenge the sad fate of Theuderic II, joined with Clotaire II, King of Neustria, who took possession of the Kingdoms of Burgundy and Austrasia. The children of Theuderic II were slain. Brunehilde, who fell into the hands of the victor, was tied to the tail of a wild horse and perished (613). She had erred in imposing a despotic government on a people who chafed under government of any kind. Her punishment was a frightful death and the cruel calumnies with which her conquerors blackened her memory.