Newsletter no. 3

A Sacred Bloodline
The Merovingian Dynasty

By the Order of Antrustions on February 22

Crusader

One of the most remembered and famous first Crusaders was certainly Godfried de Bouillon, he
and his brother Baldwin of Bourges, with other family members, who were of Merovingian
descent. Baldwin would become the first King of Jerusalem, which was his rightful title.
The Merovingian bloodline of Dagobert II, through his son Sigisbert IV, came to Godfroi de
Bouillon, who captured Jerusalem in 1099 and formed the Knights Templars. His niece, Melusine,
of Godfroi (1061-1100) married Fulques V, count of Anjou whose son, Geffrey Plante Genest,
fathered the Plantagenet Kings of England.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem had its origins in the First Crusade, when proposals to govern the city
as an ecclesiastical state were rejected.
In 1099 Godfrey of Bouillon was elected as the first Frankish/Merovingian ruler of Jerusalem and
was inaugurated in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. He took the title Advocatus Sancti
Sepulchri, that is Advocate or Defender of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Advocatus was a
title with which Godfrey was already familiar as the term was much used in the lands where the
Crusaders originated, it referred to a layman who protected and administered Church Estates. The
following year, Godfrey died. His brother Baldwin I was the first to use the title King of
Jerusalem and the first to be crowned King in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
itself.

When Godfried of Bouillon and his god fearing mother Ida left for there Crusade he sold most of
his Estates, except the Chapel of the Palace of Saint Dagobert in Stenay. Other examples are,
Robert of Normandie and the Count of Bourges who sold his city to the King of France. The
Church also collected money to finance the Crusades,

THIS Month’s
STORY

Story of the Month
By the Order of Antrustions

Great Britain, the Merovingian Connection

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Merovingians

Henry II, King of England, was the great-grandson of William the Conqueror through his mother
and the grandson of Fulk V, King of Jerusalem, through his father, Geoffrey Plantagenet.
Fulk V, however, became King of Jerusalem only as a result of marrying Melesende, the daughter
of Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem, who was a direct male descendant from the Merovingian Kings
deposed centuries earlier by the Roman Catholic Church. Baldwin and Godfroi de Bouillon are both
heirs to the House of David according to Merovingian bloodlines
So the Merovingian Kings became the Counts of Razes, then the Counts of Aquitaine and Poiters,
and then, through Eleanor, the Plantagenet, Kings of England.
The branching off from this lineage occurs at Dagobert I, through Dagobert’s other son, Sigisbert
III, who was the father of Dagobert II.
The intrigues in the life of Dagobert II are mind blowing; he was eventually assassinated and this
event was a betrayal of his ancestor’s pact with the Roman Catholic Church. Historians have tried
to erase him, and his son Sigisbert IV was likewise erased from history books. However, recent
historical investigation indicates that Sigisbert IV did survive and became the Count of Razes, and
his line descended to Bernard Plantevelue and, eventually, William X and his daughter Eleanor.
In 1152 Eleanore of Aquitaine remarried the Norman nobleman Hendrik II Plantagenet ‘both of
Merovingian descent’, who would later become King of England. On her recommendation the
Knights were allowed into England and the English territories in France like Anjou, Bretagne and
Normandie. Again the Order received many donations. It became fashionable to enter into the
Order and donate all earthly possessions to the Order. Eleanor mostly stayed in Aquitaine
although she was the Queen of England. Here marriage was blessed with the birth of among
others; Richard the Lionheart and Jan without Land.
Between 1168 and 1173, Eleanor held court in Poitiers, where she is said to have established the
so-called ‘Court of Love’. Troubadours, who sang of chivalry and courtly love, were attracted to
Eleanor’s court, and found a patron in the Queen. We also know that at least four writers
dedicated their works to Eleanor, indicating that they had received patronage from her. Thus,
Eleanor’s court became a center of culture, where music, poetry, and the arts flourished.
Eleanor was the Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen Consort of France, Queen Consort of the Franks,
Queen Consort of England and Regent of England. She was mother of Kings, Queens consorts,
Dukes, Duchesses, Counts and Countesses. She had 10 children and 40 grandchildren. She is the
21 times great Grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and thus 24 time great
Grandmother of youngest members of the Royal Family.

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Genealogy:
Pharamond
Clodio
Merovech
Childeric I
Clovis I
Chlotar I
Chilperic I
Chlotar II
Dagobert I
Sigisbert III
Dagobert II
Sigisbert IV (Count of Razes)
Sigisbert V
Bera III
Guillaume

Bera IV (founded Abbey of Alet)

Argila
Bera V

Bernard Plantevelue (founded duchy of Aquitaine)

William I
William II, III, IV

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William V (founded duchy of Poiters)
William VI, VII, VIII
William IX (the “1st Troubadour”)

William X
Eleanor of Aquitaine

Updates from the Antrustions

● The Order of Antrustions preview of our major publication (book and presentation)
regarding the complete history of the Merovingian Bloodline, from the very
beginning in ancient Arcadia (Greece) to the end of the Dynasty, is available on our
website. Follow the link.
● We have a new publication available on our website: Knights Templars, the
Merovingian connection.
● We still aim to promote and develop field trips in the coming year depending on the
Covid 19 situation.
● Remember our referral program for our members, for each new member introduced
you will receive the sum of $10 for your support.

Other publications
Antrustions: The Bodyguards of Merovingian Kings.
Merovingian Notebook
Merovingian Crypte of Jouarre
Sigisbert III; Son of Dagobert I and Father of Dagobert II
Dagobert II; True origin of the Royal House of Lorraine
History of Dagobert II; Son of Saint Sigisbert III
Sacred Merovingian Kings; Complete history of the Dynasty

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All publications are digitally available on our website for our members, or can be ordered:

A small piece of text from our Merovingian Kings publication:
It is remarkable that in a warlike society, governed by men, Queens or Princesses
could shape formidable coalitions and could actually direct war bands. But at a
closer look, able Queens were in a position to make it worthwhile for people to
work for them. Merovingian Queens were at the centre of politics and could easily
join or form a coalition, building a network of political loyalties, and gaining the
same position as other magnates. It depended on the abilities of these women to
create and maintain such coalitions. Although a woman never could act in battle
herself, she could still be in the same position as a magnate, even if her power
depended on her link with her male relatives.
Although the Queens had no formal position in the structure of government, these
women could act in the name of their husband, son, grandson, or great-grandson.
In this way they were able to acquire political authority. Queens participated in
assemblies and issued donations and privileges. They received secular and
ecclesiastical officials. They could influence episcopal elections. The coalitions that
were wrought by queens became visible when they came in action. Queen
Fredegunde asked the Saxons living near Bayeux to act according to her wishes,
but in violent opposition to the official policy of the Kingdom. Fredegunde was in
coalition with the duke of Champagne. Queen Brunhild even tried to prevent a war
by her intervention.
Magnates did form coalitions, but common people also organized themselves and
effectively exercised power as a collective. When people had a common cause or a
shared identity this could motivate them enough to act as a collective, e.g. as
warriors of the army who acted as a whole, or of the citizens of a civitas en bloc.
Such collectives expressed themselves by spokesmen.
The collective of the citizens of a civitas was very much self-governing, but in their
relations to the central government they were represented by a count, who was a
magnate and not one of the citizens of the city.

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