THEODEBERT ([499/504]-end 547).

Gregory of Tours names Theodebert as son of Theoderich, specifying that he was born before the death of his paternal grandfather. His birth date range is narrowed more precisely to [499/504] on the assumption that he was a young adolescent when he led the Frankish campaign against the Danes, dated to 515: Gregory of Tours records that his father sent him “with a powerful army” to repel the Danish invasion led by Chlochilaich. The Liber Historiæ Francorum records that “Theudericus et Theudobertus filius eius et Chlotharius rex” invaded Thuringia and attacked “Ermenfredum regem Toringorum”. He succeeded his father in 533 as THEODEBERT I King of the Franks at Reims, Gregory of Tours recording that his childless uncle Childebert then adopted him as his heir. Gregory records King Theodebert’s campaign in northern Italy, which he appears to date to before the death of Queen Wisigardis which is recorded in the following section. Theodebert subjugated Pannonia and threatened to attack Byzantium across the Danube. He was killed while hunting. Gregory of Tours records that he died in the fourteenth year of his reign, and 37 years after the death of his paternal grandfather. The Marii Episcopi Aventicensis Chronica records the death in 548 of “Theudebertus rex magnus Francorum”. m firstly ([end 533/early 534]) as her second husband, DEOTERIA, widow of —, daughter of —. Gregory of Tours records that Theodebert seduced Deoteria, wife of an inhabitant of Cabrières near Béziers, after his betrothal to Wisigardis, and in a later passage that he married her after the death of his father. Theodebert deserted her after being pressured to marry his previous betrothed, but refused to take her back after his second wife died. m secondly (betrothed before 533, 540) WISIGARDIS, daughter of WACHO King of the Lombards & his second wife Ostrogotha of the Gepides (-[541/42]). Paulus Diaconus names “Wisigarda…[et] secunda Walderada” as the two daughters of King Wacho & his second wife, specifying that Wisigarda married “Theodeperto regi Francorum. Gregory of Tours records that Theoderich betrothed his son Theodebert to “Wisigard, a king’s daughter” and in a later passage that Theodebert married her “seven years [after he] had become engaged to [her]” after being pressured to desert Deoteria but that Wisigardis “soon died”. married thirdly ([542/47]) —. Gregory of Tours records that Theodebert “married another woman” after his second wife died but gives no details. King Theodebert & his first wife had two children:
i) daughter ([532/33] or before-drowned Verdun —-). Gregory of Tours records that Deoteria bore a daughter to Theodebert, who left mother and child at Clermont-Ferrand when he returned to assert his claim to the throne on learning that his father was dying. In a later passage, he records that this daughter drowned in the river after her mother tipped her over a bridge in Verdun “afraid that the king might desire her and take advantage of her”
ii) THEODEBALD ([534]-555). Gregory of Tours names Theodebald as the son of Theodebert and his wife Deoteria, implying that he was born after his parents’ marriage[82]. He succeeded his father in 547 as THEODEBALD I King of the Franks at Reims, “sous la régence de sa tante Theodechildis”. Settipani does not provide the source reference on which he bases this last statement. On Theodebald’s death, his territory was taken by his great uncle King Clotaire. Gregory of Tours records that he had a stroke and could not move from the waist down, dying in the seventh year of his reign. The Marii Episcopi Aventicensis Chronica records the death in 555 of “Theudebaldus rex Francorum”. m ([554]) as her first husband, WALDRADA, daughter of WACHO King of the Lombards & his second wife Ostrogotha of the Gepides. The Origo Gentis Langobardorum names “Wisigarda…secundæ Walderada” as the two daughters of Wacho & his second wife, specifying that Waldrada married “Scusuald regis Francorum” and later “Garipald”. The Historia Langobardorum names “Waldrada” as Wacho’s second daughter by his second wife, specifying that she married “Chusubald rex Francorum”. Paulus Diaconus names “Wisigarda…[et] secunda Walderada” as the two daughters of King Wacho and his second wife, specifying that Waldrada married “Cusupald alio regi Francorum” and later “Garipald”. Gregory of Tours names “Vuldetrada” as the wife of King Theodebald. Herimannus names “Wanderadam” wife of “Theodpaldus rex Francorum” when recording her second marriage to “Lotharius rex patris eius Theodeberti patruus”[90]. According to Gregory of Tours, King Clotaire “began to have intercourse” with the widow of King Theodebald before “the bishops complained and he handed her over to Garivald Duke of Bavaria”, which does not imply that Clotaire married Waldrada. She [married secondly], her first husband’s great-uncle, Clotaire I King of the Franks, and thirdly (after 555) Garibald Duke in Bavaria.

King Theodebert & his [first/second/third] wife had one child:
BERTHOARA

King Theoderich & his second wife had one child:
THEODECHILDIS [Techilde] ([516/20]-[570/595]). Procopius records that “Varnis…Hermegisclus” married “Theodeberti Francorum regis sororem” after the death of his first wife, that she gave birth to “Radiger”, for whom his father requested marriage with “puellæ…natione Brittiæ, cuius frater tunc temporis Rex Anglorum erat”, and that Radiger later married his own stepmother after his father died. It is possible that the name of this daughter was Theodechildis but, as will be explained, the link is tentative. Three different primary sources name a Queen Theodechildis. Fortunatus, dated to the late 6th century, wrote an epitaph to “Theodechildis Reginæ”, commenting that “frater, genitor, conjux, avus, atque priores” of his eponymous subject were “regius ordo”. Gregory of Tours, in one of his lesser-known works, records the return of “Nunninus…tribunus” from Auvergne and his entry in Auxerre “tempore…Theudechildæ reginæ” after giving tribute which he had collected “de Francia” to the same queen. Flodoard, in his mid-9th century history of the church of Reims, names “Teudechildi, prefatæ reginæ [=Suavegotta regina] filiæ” when recording that her mother allowed her daughter the usufruct of property which she donated to the church of Reims, and later that Theodechildis made her own testamentary donation of the same property to Reims. It is probable that these three sources all refer to the same person: the only reference to another person named “Theodechildis” in the mid- to late-6th century relates to the concubine of King Charibert, who was a shepherd’s daughter (see below). However, none of the sources specifies that Queen Theodechildis was the daughter of King Theoderich. In addition, there is no source which confirms that “Suavegotha” was the name of Theoderich’s wife, as discussed more fully above. There are three indications that Queen Theodechildis may have been King Theoderich’s daughter, and if so that she may also have been the same daughter who married the two kings of the Warnes. Firstly, Fortunatus and Gregory accord the title “regina” to her, which provides the possible link to the Procopius text concerning the king’s daughter. This is particularly relevant as so few individuals were described in contemporary sources as “queen” and therefore the number of alternative possible co-identities is restricted. Secondly, the common use of the root “Theode-” in the first part of the two names suggests a close relationship. Thirdly, the chronology is favourable. Little help is provided by the history written by Gregory of Tours, the most thorough contemporary source for early Merovingian history, which does not refer to any daughter of King Theoderich I. The reference to Auxerre in Gregory’s other work suggests a connection with Burgundy, which was ruled by King Gontran at the time. Assuming that the co-identity between Theodechildis and the daughter of King Theoderich is correct, it is possible that she retired to Burgundy after being repudiated by her second husband. One remaining possible thread to trace further is indicated by Settipani, who states that her nephew King Theodebald succeeded as king in 547 “sous la régence de sa tante Theodechildis”. However, the author does not provide the source reference on which he bases this statement. There is no way therefore at present to verify whether the primary source in question includes the crucial link between the phrase “sa tante” and the name “Theodechildis”. [A charter dated 2 Oct [499], classified as spurious in the collection, of “Clodoveus rex Francorum” purports to be written when “filia mea…Theodechildis” was becoming a nun. The editor of the Monumenta Germaniæ Scriptores series assumes that this charter refers to the daughter of King Theoderich, but if this is correct the document must be misdated.