Gundemar

Statue of Gundemar in Madrid (1753).

Gundemar (Latin Gundemarus , Gunþemarus ; † February / March 612 in Toledo ) was King of the Visigoths from April 610 to February / March 612.

Life

Gundemar administered the province of Septimania under his predecessor Witterich . After the murder of Witterich, who fell victim to a conspiracy of the court nobility, Gundemar came to power; whether there was an election act is unknown.

During his reign the Austrasian - Neustrian conflict in the neighboring kingdom of the Franks came to a head. Gundemar took sides with Austrasia under King Theudebert II , to whom he promised financial support. Such Visigoth interference in internal Franconian conflicts was very unusual.

Gundemar fought against the Basques and Byzantines in Spania . Under his rule in 610 the imperial capital Toledo was raised by a provincial synod to the metropolitan seat of the ecclesiastical province of Carthaginiensis; this fact was politically significant because Cartagena , the former metropolitan seat, was in the hands of the Byzantines.

Gundemar died in 612; his wife Hildoara had already died during his reign. Sisebut became his successor .

Coins

A gold coin has been preserved from Gundemar. The inscription reads: GVNÞEMARVS RE ( King Gunthemarus ) and MENTESA PIVS .

swell

• Isidore of Seville , Chronica contains the most detailed account of Gundemar
• Fredegar did not mention Gundemarus in his chronicle . Witterich's successor was Sisebut with him.

literature

• Dietrich Claude : History of the Visigoths , Stuttgart 1970
• Edward A. Thompson : The Goths in Spain. Oxford 1969, pp. 159-161

Remarks

1. ↑ Gundemars coins ( Memento of the original from February 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

predecessor	Office	successor
Witterich	King of the Visigoths 610–612	Sisebut