General Notes

TYPE Book
AUTH Stuart, Roderick W.
PERI Royalty for Commoners
EDTN 3d
PUBL Genealogical Publishing co., Inc, Baltimore, MD (1998)
ISB 0-8063-1561-X
TEXT (303-49)"One of the most bloodthirsty women of history." ...maid of Chilperic's first wife.
DATE 19 MAY 2000

Fredegund,French FRDGONDE (d. 597, Paris), queen consort of Chilperic I,the Merovingian Frankish king of Soissons.Originally a servant, Fredegund became Chilperic's mistressafter he had murdered
his wife and queen, Galswintha (c. 568).Galswintha, however, was also the sister of Brunhild, the wifeof Chilperic's half-brother  Sigebert I, king of the easternkingdom of Austrasia. Galswintha's
murder engendered a violentanimosity between Fredegund and  Brunhild and an irreconcilablefeud of more than 40 years' duration between the respectivefamilies. Fredegund was certainly responsible for
theassassination of Sigebert in 575 and made attempts on the livesof  Guntram (her brother-in-law and the king of Burgundy),Childebert II (Sigebert's son), and Brunhild.After the mysterious
assassination of Chilperic (584), Fredegundseized his riches and took refuge in the cathedral at Paris.Both she and her surviving son,  Chlotar II, were at firstprotected by Guntram, but, when he
died in 592, Childebert II,who had taken over his throne, attacked Chlotar, albeitunsuccessfully. From Childebert's death (595) until her own,Fredegund intrigued on Chlotar's behalf against
Brunhild, whosought to rule through Childebert's sons, Theodebert II ofAustrasia and Theodoric II of Burgundy. Ruthlessly murderous andsadistically cruel, Fredegund can have few rivals
inmonstrousness.Related Propaedia TopicsThe Franks under the Merovingians and early Carolingians: thesuccessors of Clovis, rise and establishment of the Carolingiansunder Charles Martel and Pepin
III the Short (714-768),Carolingian relations with the papacy and entry into Italianaffairs; origins of the Papal StatesCopyright (c) 1996 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. All
RightsReservedFredegundMarried to , Chilperic I of the Franks, King of the FranksChild 1: , Chlothar II of the Franks, King of the FranksReturn to the master surname alphabetic index.Return to the
index for this person.Return to the home page for royal data.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Version: 14 Feb 99 Author: Brian Tompsett Sources:
bibliographyQuestion?: FAQ c 1994-99
DATE 27 MAY 1999