Fredegund or Fredegunda (also Latin Fredegundis or French Frédégonde; died 597) was the Queen consort of Chilperic I, the Merovingian Frankish king of Soissons. Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Events By Topic Education The King's School is founded in Canterbury. A queen consort is the title given to the wife of a reigning king. Chilperic I (c 539 &ndash September 584 was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death The Merovingians (also Merovings) were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region (known as Francia in Latin The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardie in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about 100
Originally a servant, Fredegund became Chilperic's mistress after he had murdered his wife and queen, Galswintha (c. Galswintha (540-568 was the daughter of Athanagild, Visigothic king of Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and 568). Events By Place Europe April 1 — King Alboin leads the Lombards into Italy refugees fleeing from them go on But Galswintha's sister, Brunhilda, in revenge against Chilperic, began a feud which lasted more than 40 years.
Fredegund is said to be responsible for the assassination of Sigebert I in 575 and made attempts on the lives of Guntram (her brother-in-law and the king of Burgundy), Childebert II (Sigebert's son), and Brunhilda. Sigebert I (535-575 was the king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death Events By Place Europe The Kingdom of East Anglia is founded by the Angle groups "North Folk" and "South Saint Guntram (c 532 – 592 (also called Gontram, Gontran, Gunthram, or Gunthchramn) was the king of Burgundy from 561 to 592 Burgundy (Bourgogne Burgund is a region historically situated in modern-day France and Switzerland, inhabited in turn by Celts ( Gauls) Childebert II (570-595 was the Merovingian king of Austrasia, which included Provence at the time from 575 until his death in 595 the eldest and succeeding son
After the mysterious assassination of Chilperic (584), Fredegund seized his riches and took refuge in the cathedral at Paris. Events By Place Europe Andeca deposes and kills Eboric to become king of the Suevi. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Both she and her surviving son, Clothar II, were protected by Guntram until he died in 592. Chlothar II (or Chlotar, Clothar, Clotaire, Chlotochar, or Hlothar, giving rise to Lothair; 584 &ndash 629 called Saint Guntram (c 532 – 592 (also called Gontram, Gontran, Gunthram, or Gunthchramn) was the king of Burgundy from 561 to 592 Events By Place Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire regains Singidunum from the Avars.
Gregory of Tours depicts her as ruthlessly murderous and sadistically cruel; in his account, Fredegund perhaps has few rivals in monstrousness. Although she did not live to see it, her son's execution of Brunhilda bore the mark of Fredegund's hatred: Clothar II had the old queen, now in her sixties, stretched in agony upon the rack for three entire days, then watched her meet her death chained between four horses that were goaded to the four points of the compass, tearing her body asunder.
Fredegund died c. 8 December 597 in Paris, France. The tomb of Frédégonde (d. 597) is a mosaic figure of marble and copper, situated in Saint Denis Basilica, having come from St. The Basilica of Saint Denis ( French: Basilique de Saint-Denis, or simply Basilique Saint-Denis) is the burial site of almost all the French Germain-des-Prés.
Fredegund in Folklore
Fredegund has been proposed as one of many sources for the folk tale alternatively known as Cinderella, Aschenputtel, Cennerentolla or Cendrillion. Cinderella ( French: Cendrillon, Slovak: Popoluška, German: Aschenputtel, Spanish: Cenicienta In his book Cinderella: A Casebook folklorist Alan Dundes sites the following excerpt from History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours:
She was jealous of her own daughter, Rigunth, who continually declared that she should be mistress (probably, as Dalton Says, because Fredegund began life as a palace maid, while she was of royal blood, being a king's daughter) in her place. Alan Dundes, ( September 8 1934 &ndash March 30, 2005) was a Folklorist at the University of California Berkeley. Saint Gregory of Tours ( November 30, c 538 &ndash November 17, 594) was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours Fredegund waited her opportunity and under the pretense of magnanimity took her to the treasure-room and showed her the King's jewels in a large chest. Feigning fatigue, she exclaimed "I am weary; put thou in thy hand, and take out what thou mayest find. " The mother thereupon forced down the lid on her neck and would have killed her had not the servants finally rushed to her aid.
References
- Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, Book IX. Saint Gregory of Tours ( November 30, c 538 &ndash November 17, 594) was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours Ch. 34, Trans by O. M. Dalton, Vol. II. pp. 405-406
- Alan Dundes, Cinderella: A Casebook, Ch. Alan Dundes, ( September 8 1934 &ndash March 30, 2005) was a Folklorist at the University of California Berkeley. 1 The Cat Cinderella by Giambattista Basile (University of Wisconsin Press, 1982)
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