Theudebald

Theudebald (also Theudowald ; * around 537; † November / December 555 ) was a king of the Franks from the Merovingian family . He ruled in the part of the empire that was later known as Austrasia from 548 to 555. Today in French he is usually referred to as Théobald or Thibaut .

Expansion of the Franconian Empire at the time of Theudebald's rule

Life

Theudebald was the only son of King Theudebert I. His mother was the Galloromaness Deoteria , who had become Theudebert's concubine in 532 and was expelled in 537 or 538 at the urging of the Franks. In 551, Theudebald was still referred to as a child, so had not yet reached the age of consent of 15 years. It follows that he was born not long before his mother was rejected.

Theudebald was sickly from the beginning of his reign. The prestige of his father and the loyalty of the great made it possible for the minor to come to power without any problems. As a child he was betrothed to Walderada (Waldrada, Vuldetrada) around 540 , a daughter of the Longobard King Wacho , who was also a sister of his stepmother Wisigarde , who his father had married after Deuterias was rejected. When he was of legal age, he married Walderada. This was an affront to the Longobards, because as Wachos' daughter she belonged to the Lethingian dynasty that had just been ousted from the Lombard throne . The alliance between the Franks and the Lombards broke up.

The new Longobard king Audoin allied himself with the Eastern Romans . Soon after Theudebald took office, clashes broke out in northern Italy between the Franks, who had established themselves there under Theudebert I, and the Eastern Romans. The Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I sent two embassies to Theudebald (548/549 and 551/552); he demanded the evacuation of the Frankish occupied territories in Italy and assistance against the Ostrogoths . Theudebald reacted evasively; he sent a delegation to negotiate the territorial issues. In 552 the Byzantine general Narses intervened in Italy and destroyed the Ostrogoth Empire in a short time. The Franks in northern Italy avoided direct clashes with Eastern Roman troops, and Theudebald rejected an offer of alliance by the last Ostrogoth king, Teja . Despite the military successes of the Eastern Romans, the Franks were able to hold Veneto for a few years, but had to give up north-western Italy after a defeat in the year after Theudebald's death.

After a long illness and infirmity, Theudebald died childless in 555. His great-uncle Chlothar I , who married Theudebald's widow Walderada, inherited his part of the empire .

literature

• Eugen Ewig : The Merovingians and the Franconian Empire. 5th updated edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-17-019473-9 ( Kohlhammer-Urban-Taschenbücher 392).
• Thorsten Fischer :  Theudebald. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 35, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-018784-7 , pp. 116-117.
• Heike Grahn-Hoek: The Franconian upper class in the 6th century. Studies on their legal and political position. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1976, ISBN 3-7995-6681-3 ( Lectures and Research Special Volume 21), (At the same time: Marburg, Univ., Diss., 1975).
• Reinhard Schneider : Election and elevation of the king in the early Middle Ages. Investigations into the succession of power among the Longobards and Merovingians . Anton Hirsemann, Stuttgart 1972, ISBN 3-7772-7203-5 ( Monographs on the History of the Middle Ages 3), (At the same time: Berlin, Freie Univ., Habil.-Schr., 1970/71).
• Erich Zöllner : History of the Franks up to the middle of the sixth century . Revised on the basis of the work of Ludwig Schmidt with the assistance of Joachim Werner . Beck, Munich 1970, ISBN 3-406-02211-1 .

Remarks

1. ^ Gregory of Tours, Historiae 4,6: At the death of Bishop Gallus of Clermont (551) the king was referred to as a child ( parvulus ). Cf. Eugen Ewig: The naming of the oldest Franconian kings and the Merovingian royal family , in: Francia 18/1 (1991) p. 52.
2. ↑ Ewig (1991) p. 52; Jörg Jarnut: Agilolfingerstudien , Stuttgart 1986, pp. 44–45.
3. ↑ On the Frankish-Eastern Roman relations under Theudebald see Eugen Ewig: Die Merowinger und das Imperium , Opladen 1983, pp. 21–24.

predecessor	Office	successor
Theudebert I.	King of the Franks / Kingdom of Reims 548–555	Chlothar I.