Gomatrud

Leaded glass window in the Catholic parish church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in Clichy, depicting Gomatrud

Gomatrud , also Gometrude or Gomatrudis , (* around 598 , † 630 ) was a queen of the Franks under the rule of the Merovingians .

Life

The origin of Gomatrud gave rise to speculation since the High Middle Ages - scholars such as Jacques de Guyse assumed that she came from the family of the Sal Franconian Ardennes counts with Chlodio as ancestor; However, this assumption has been refuted by modern source research and will therefore not be pursued further.

In contrast to other members of the Merovingian ruling family of the early Middle Ages, the historical personality of Gomatrud is clearly proven by several sources; In addition to the older Fredegar chronicle, it is also mentioned in detail in the Gesta Dagoberti , the life story of Dagobert I in the Liber Historiae Francorum .

Gomatrud was born around the year 598 and had at least two siblings, Sichildis and Brodulf .

Through Sichildis, who was the third wife of Chlothar II. Queen of the Franconian Empire, there was a further connection to the Merovingian ruling house. The efforts of Sichildi and her ambitious brother Brodulf to exert greater influence on the imperial political decisions of Chlothar II and in this way to bring about an even closer and lasting connection between their family and the royal family, culminated in the marriage of Gomatrud with Chlothar's eldest, which was largely arranged by the siblings Son and later successor, Dagobert I. , in the year 625 in the royal palace in Clichy . However, the marriage took place against the express wish of Dagobert I - the resistance of the son could only be removed by direct instructions from the king. However, it also led to a serious national crisis in the Frankish Empire, since Dagobert, as sub-king of the greatly reduced part of the empire Austrasia, in return claimed the part empire in its original extent with Champagne , Toul and Verdun . His father refused to do that. It was only after an arbitration commission under Arnulf von Metz had negotiated a compromise that the rift between Chlothar II and Dagobert I was settled at the imperial council of Clichy 626 or 627.

Shortly after the death of his father Chlothar II in the winter of 629/630, the newly crowned King Dagobert I expelled his wife Gomatrud - according to the Gesta Dagoberti because of the sterility of his wife: “From Chalon, where he did his work of justice Having continued, he traveled to Auxerre via Autun and then on to Paris via Sens; Then, on the advice of the Franks, he left Queen Gomatrudis in the villa of Reuilly because she was sterile and married Nanthild, an extraordinarily beautiful virgin, and made her his queen. ”However, research agrees that in all probability After Gomtatrud's alleged sterility was not the cause of the divorce, it was Scrooge's wish to end the marital union that his father had arranged against his will and thus to finally break away from the influence of the family of his wife and stepmother.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Martina Hartmann: Departure into the Middle Ages. The time of the Merovingians. Primus-Verlag, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-896-78484-6 , p. 72.
2. ↑ Gesta Dagoberti, cap. 22 in Bruno Krusch (ed.): Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 2: Fredegarii et aliorum Chronica. Vitae sanctorum. Hannover 1888, p. 408 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version )

literature

• Eugen Ewig : The Merovingians and the Franconian Empire. 4th supplemented edition, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-17-017044-9 , pp. 146-149.
• Patrick J. Geary: The Merovingians. Europe before Charlemagne. CH Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-49426-9 , pp. 158, 186-187.