Fredegund
(about 550 - 597)Frankish Queen
(also Frédégonde, Fredegunda)
wife of King Chilperic I of Soissons - Neustria
regent for her son Chlotar or Lothair II
A servant who became the mistress of the Merovigian King Chilperic I, Fredegund married him after first persuading him to put aside his first wife and then to murder his second wife, Galswitha. Forty years of war ensued between their kingdom of Neustria* with a rival kingdom, Austrasia**, whose king, Sigebert, was Chilperic's half-brother and was married to Galswitha's sister, Brunhilde.
Fredegund had Sigebert killed in 575, and Chilperic was murdered in 584. Fredegund fled to Paris with her son, Chlotar or Lothair. He was proclaimed heir, and she ruled as his regent. Her reign was marked by war with rival parties for the throne and numerous murders engineered by Fredegund. She finally won the throne of Neustria for Chlotar against Brunhilde in 597, only to die shortly thereafter.
She is remembered primarily as a figure of cruelty and intrigue.
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*Neustria: today's northern France
**Austrasia: today's northeastern France and western Germany
Also on this site:
Around About - From Other Guides
Fredegund on the web
- Fredegunde - Biography from The Columbia Encyclopedia Sixth Edition 2001. Includes pronunciation key.
- Saint Prix or Praetextatus - caught in the cross-fire.
About Fredegund
- Categories: Queen of Francia, Merovingian, Frankish
- Places: Francia, Paris
- Period: medieval, 6th century
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Text copyright 1999-2006 © Jone Johnson Lewis.
