Merovingian fratricidal war
The Merovingian Fratricidal War refers to a series of conflicts in the Franconian Empire that occurred in the period between the division of the empire after the death of Chlothar I († 561) and the eventual reunification by Chilperic II .
561–584: Wars of Chilperich I.
Debate after Chlothar's death
King Chlothar I died at the end of 561, leaving four sons who divided the inheritance among themselves. Three of them - Charibert I , Guntchramn (Guntram I) and Sigibert I - were sons from his marriage to Ingund, the fourth, Chilperich I , came from Chlothar's marriage to Ingund's sister Arnegunde . Charibert received the part of the empire with the capital Paris , Guntchramn with the capital Orléans , Sigibert with the capital Reims and Chilperich with the capital Soissons . While Ingund's sons received roughly equal shares in the division, the Chilperich area was smaller. Chilperich had been preferred by Chlothar as his favorite son, from which he derived a claim to priority in the succession plan. Therefore, he tried to usurp the state treasure before the division of the empire and afterwards to increase his share by force.
War for Gailswintha's morning gift
When Charibert died in 567 without an heir, the three surviving brothers were able to agree on a division of Charibert's estate, but a family conflict created new tensions. In the spring of 566 Sigibert had married Brunichild , a daughter of the Visigoth king Athanagild , the following year Chilperich married her sister Gailswintha and gave her the cities of Bordeaux , Cahors , Limoges , Bearn and Bigorre as a morning gift. However, she was murdered in 567/568 at the instigation of his concubine Fredegunde , whereupon Chilperich raised Fredegunde to be his wife. This process intensified the long-standing antagonism between Sigibert and Chilperich. Guntram's mediation, to which he summoned a Malberg who imposed Wergeld on Chilperich , ultimately failed. In 573 Chilperich commissioned his third-born son Clovis to raise an army in Angers. From there he occupied Tours and Poitiers . Chilperich considered these cities to be an adequate substitute for Bearn and Bigorre and wanted to take the other three cities as well. Guntram, however, sent his able general Mummolus , who started his army from Chalons. Mummolus first appalled Tours and then turned to Poitiers. There he met the generals of Clovis, who led voluntary associations. Siger was of Frankish origin, Basilius of Roman origin.
War Chilperichs against Guntrams Burgundy
Chilperich now occupied large parts of Sigibert's territory, whereupon Guntchramn intervened, who fought with Chilperich in 576 in Aquitaine, and 577 adopted Sigibert's underage son Childebert II and appointed him as his heir, as he did not have any male after the death of his four sons Had more offspring. Childebert II came under the rule of Frankish nobles who managed to save his father's share of 561 (for whom the name Austrasia came up). An upheaval in Austrasia, by which Brunichild was deposed, led in 581 to an understanding between Childebert II and Chilperich against Guntchramn, which gave Chilperich a free hand to appropriate Guntchramn's property in Aquitaine.
Two years later, however, Chilperich was alone in his major attack against Guntchramn, since in Reims a counter-revolution of Brunichild's partisans had success and led to Austrasia switching to Guntchramn's side. However, the new alliance was no longer effective, on the one hand because of foreign policy disruptions (the Eastern Roman Emperor Maurikios demanded alliance obligations, which the Franks also complied with), on the other hand because of the murder of Chilperich in the autumn of 584, probably as part of a nobility conspiracy, which was at its core had in Austrasia.
584–596: Guntchramn and Childebert II.
Chilperich's death caused his empire to collapse; In contrast to the situation in Austrasia after Sigibert's death, the greats were not ready to ensure continuity. In the south the usurper Gundowald rose . Fredegunde and her son Chlothar II, born a few months ago, had to place themselves under the protection of Guntchramn. Chlothar II was the only heir to Chilperich, after his older sons had already died ( some of them murdered from his first marriage to Audovera on behalf of Fredegunde). Guntchramn then moved into Paris and took over the reign of Chlothar for his part of the kingdom, for which the name Neustria became natural at that time . He included the Austrasian nephew in his policy by confirming him as his heir, defeating the usurper Gundowald and killing him the following year.
The only critical issue was the situation at the court in Reims, where the now adult Childebert II had two sons in quick succession: Theudebert II (585) and Theuderich II (587) The possibility of a new reign opened up. The murder plot was discovered, after its suppression the royal family moved closely together and on November 28, 587 with the Treaty of Andelot settled the remaining differences.
The peace lasted until Guntchramn's death on March 28, 592. Childebert II assumed the inheritance as planned and immediately began to subjugate Neustria, which was not yet under his rule. This time, too, it was external influences (uprisings by the Bretons and the Warnen ) that delayed the execution until he died unexpectedly in March 596, although a violent death is quite possible here too.
604 Chlothar II. And Theuderich II.
At Brunhilde's instigation, the Burgundian caretaker Bertoald was supposed to inspect residences along the Seine. Chlotar II felt this as a provocation and sent his son Merowech and his caretaker Landerich with an army to besiege the three hundred men of Bertoald near Orleans. At Christmas 604, Theuderich II intervened with his main army and was able to drive out the Neustrians and even take Paris.
612–613: Theudebert II. And Theuderich II.
In Austrasia and Burgundy Theudebert II and Theuderich II, 10 and 9 years old respectively, were raised to kings under the reign of their grandmother Brunichild; a division of the empire was made, in which Theudebert II got Australia and took up residence in Metz , Theuderich II received Burgundy and settled in Chalon-sur-Saône . Together they handle (597) then the slightly older cousin in Neustria to which in the year 600 with the death Fredegund Dormelles (south of Montereau ) suffered a clear defeat, after his rule some districts to Rouen , Beauvais and Amiens limited has been.
But the alliance of the brothers did not last long, in 604 a border conflict broke out, 605 a war could still be prevented, but in the following years they looked for allies. In 610 a meeting took place in the Palatinate Seltz in Alsace , to which Theudebert II appeared with an army and was thus able to assert himself. In 611 Theudebert had to go into the field against the Avars, which Theuderich used in 612 to become offensive in turn. He was able to beat his brother at Toul and later at Zülpich . Theudebert and his sons were captured and killed; the newly born Merowech was crushed on a rock. Theuderich could no longer use his victory, because the following year he died in Metz at the age of 25.
Brunichild reacted immediately and had her great-grandson Sigibert II , a son of Theuderich II, raised to the rank of king in order to take over the reign himself. But the nobility was not willing to accept this. The Austrasian nobility immediately went over to Chlothar II, the Burgundian only when they faced the Neustrian opponent at Châlons-sur-Marne . The Burgundian caretaker arrested Brunichild in Orbe near Neuchâtel and handed her over to Chlothar II. Chlothar II had her tortured and dragged to death by a horse. Two of Theuderich II's four sons were also killed; only the youngest, Merowech, was spared Chlothar as his own godchild, while the second, Childebert, managed to escape; however, neither of the children was heard from again.
The division of the empire in 561 came to an end after almost fifty years of war. The main participants had all died, mostly by hand or on behalf of family members. The surviving Chlothar II did not need to do a sword stroke and could limit himself to collecting the inheritance.
Although the civil wars ended with the reunification of the entire empire, the end result was a strengthening of the nobility, to which Chlothar II owed his success, and a defeat of the idea of centralism and powerful kingship advocated by Brunichild. The uprising of child kings in all parts of the empire, which made regency necessary, contributed to this development.
717–719: Chilperich II. And Chlothar IV.
The Philippine-Carolingian succession crisis (714–723)
In the year 717 the Merovingian kings were usually only symbols of the state, if one wanted to express it positively; they were kind of puppets for the caretakers. The last civil war-like conflict was therefore more of a conflict between Raganfrid and Karl Martell.
Shortly before his death, Pippin had lost his two sons from his first marriage. Drogo died in 708, Grimoald was murdered in 714. However, this did not give Karl any power and he was not taken into account in the settlement of Pippin's successor. Plektrud, who wanted to succeed Pippin for her sons and grandchildren, benefited most from this exclusion. Due to Pippin's death, there were disputes about the succession, which are referred to in research as the "Pippinid-Carolingian succession crisis".
After Pippin's death in December 714, Plektrud acted like a king's widow, while the mother of the then Merovingian king Dagobert III. not even the name is known. Plektrud secured her grandson Theudoald 's successor in the caretaker's office. In order to prevent claims from her stepson Karl, she arrested him. She resided mainly in Cologne, while Theudoald himself as Dagobert III's caretaker. stayed in Neustria.
Against Plectrud, however , the great neustrians rose up , who wanted to regain their former position in the Franconian Empire. On September 26, 715 the Neustrians defeated Theudoald in Compiègne . They seized the Merovingian King Dagobert III. and installed their leader Raganfrid as the new caretaker. After Dagobert's early death at the age of almost 20 in 715/16, the Neustrians raised a monk Daniel as the new king, who from then on bore the name Chilperich II . Remarkably, the latter seems to have tried actively to intervene in the affairs of state and was the last Merovingian to even go into battle himself.
Meanwhile, Karl Martell had managed to escape from custody. In 716 the Neustrians under Chilperich advanced as far as Cologne and seized the treasures of the Plektrud. In this situation leading supporters of Plektrud defected to Karl Martell. In addition, the Carolingian was able to secure the support of the Anglo-Saxon missionary Willibrord . The basis for Karl's rise was the traditional following of his maternal family in the Maastricht-Liège area. Against the Frisians, Karl suffered his only defeat before Cologne in 716 and fled the battlefield. But then he gathered his strength and defeated the Neustrians in the spring of 716 at Amel in the Ardennes and on March 21, 717 in the battle of Vinchy near Cambrai . Cologne was then besieged and taken. Karl forced his stepmother Plektrud to hand over the Merovingian royal treasure. This came completely under the control of the Carolingians.
With the handover of the treasure, the transition of rule from stepmother to Karl was symbolized. The royal treasure was an important means of power for gaining and establishing rule. It made it possible for its owner to materially reward the followers and thus to ensure their loyalty. The treasure was increased by booty from military campaigns. Plektrud had to give up her political ambitions and became the founder of the Cologne Convention of St. Maria in the Capitol .
Before February 3, 718, Charles raised his own Merovingian king, Chlothar IV., To legitimize his power , who formally appointed him a caretaker. After their defeat at Vinchy Herzog (dux), Chilperich and Raganfrid were able to win Eudo of Aquitaine as allies. In the spring of 718 or in October 718/719 Karl defeated Chilperich II and Raganfrid again in Soissons . He pursued Eudo and moved with his army as far as Orléans in 718 . Eudo was therefore forced to hand over Chilperich and his treasures. By settling with Charles, Eudo was able to secure his position of power in Aquitaine. Raganfrid had to be content with a local rule in Anjou until his death (731) . The Merovingian king Chlothar died in 719. Karl then recognized Chilperic II, but from then on he was disempowered. So the Neustrians could hold on to their king, while Karl could increase the acceptance of his rule. After Chilperich's death in 721, Charles raised Theuderich IV , a son of Dagobert III, a new Merovingian king.
literature
- Eugen Ewig : The Merovingians and the Franconian Empire . 4th edition, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2001. ISBN 3-17-017044-9
- Heike Grahn-Hoek: The Franconian upper class in the 6th century. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1976. ISBN 3-7995-6681-3
Individual evidence
- ↑ The term goes back to the essay by Josef Semmler: Zur Pippinidisch-Carolingischen Successionskrise 714 to 723. In: Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters 33 (1977), pp. 1–36 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Brigitte Kasten: The sons of kings and the rule of kings. Studies on participation in the empire in the Merovingian and Carolingian times. Hanover 1997, pp. 65ff., 84ff. Theo Kölzer: The last Merovingian kings: Rois fainéants? In: Matthias Becher, Jörg Jarnut (Ed.): The dynasty change from 751. Prehistory, strategies of legitimation and memory. Münster 2004, pp. 33-60. here: p. 55f.
- ^ Richard A. Gerberding: 716: A Crucial Year For Charles Martel. In: Jörg Jarnut, Ulrich Nonn, Michael Richter (eds.): Karl Martell in his time. Sigmaringen 1994, pp. 205-216.
- ↑ See on this cooperation Waltraud Joch: Legitimität und Integration. Investigations into the beginnings of Karl Martell. Husum 1999, p. 108ff.
- ↑ Wolfram Drews: The Carolingians and Abbasids of Baghdad. Legitimation strategies of early medieval ruling dynasties in a transcultural comparison. Berlin 2009, p. 402. (accessed via De Gruyter Online) Cf. in detail Richard A. Gerberding: The Rise of the Carolingians and the Liber Historiae Francorum. Oxford 1987, pp. 116ff. Richard A. Gerberding: 716: A Crucial Year For Charles Martel. In: Jörg Jarnut, Ulrich Nonn, Michael Richter (eds.): Karl Martell in his time. Sigmaringen 1994, pp. 205-216.
- ↑ Doubt on March 21, 717 Marco Kamradt: The early Franconian historiography and the battle of Vinchy on March 21, 717. In: Concilium Medii Aevi 10, 2007, pp. 153–166 ( online ) recently expressed.
- ^ Daniel Carlo Pangerl: The royal treasure of the Merovingians. An interdisciplinary historical-archaeological study. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien Vol. 47 (2013), pp. 87–127, here: pp. 104f.
- ^ Andreas Fischer: Karl Martell. The beginning of Carolingian rule. Stuttgart 2012, p. 24. Cf. in detail on the royal treasure: Matthias Hardt: Gold und Herrschaft. The treasures of European kings and princes in the first millennium. Berlin 2004.
- ↑ Josef Semmler: On the Pippinid-Carolingian succession crisis 714 to 723. In: German Archives for Research into the Middle Ages 33 (1977), pp. 1–36. Paul Fouracre: The Age of Charles Martel. Harlow 2000, pp. 69f.
- ↑ The opinion prevailing since Josef Semmler: On the Pippinid-Carolingian succession crisis 714 to 723. In: German Archive for Research into the Middle Ages 33 (1977), pp. 1–36, here: p. 10 ( digital copy ).
- ↑ So recently Roland Zingg: On the dating of Karl Martell's victory in the battle of Soissons. In: German Archive for Research into the Middle Ages 68 (2012), pp. 127-136 ( digitized version )
- ^ Andreas Fischer: Karl Martell. The beginning of Carolingian rule. Stuttgart 2012, p. 170.