Dagobert I
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Dagobert I (c.603–January 19, 639) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power.
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[edit] Rise to power
Dagobert was the eldest son of Clotaire II and Berthetrude, (also Haldetrude), daughter of Ricomer of Burgundy and Gertrude, Abbess of Hamage. Clotaire II had reigned alone over all the Franks since 613, and Dagobert became the king of Austrasia when her independent nobles demanded a king of their own. In 623, Clotaire installed his son Dagobert in Austrasia.
On the death of his father in 629, Dagobert inherited the Neustrian and Burgundian kingdoms. His half-brother Charibert, son of Sichilde, claimed Neustria but Dagobert opposed him. Brodulf, the brother of Sichilde, petitioned Dagobert on behalf of his young nephew, but Dagobert assassinated him and gave his younger sibling Aquitaine.
Charibert died in 632 and his son Chilperic was assassinated on Dagobert's orders. By 632, Dagobert had Burgundy and Aquitaine firmly under his rule, becoming the most powerful Merovingian king in many years and the most respected ruler in the West.
[edit] Reign
Also in 632, the nobles of Austrasia revolted under the mayor of the palace, Pepin of Landen. In 634, Dagobert appeased the rebellious nobles by putting his three-year-old son, Sigebert III, on the throne, thereby ceding royal power in the easternmost of his realms, just as his father had done for him eleven years earlier.
As king, Dagobert made Paris his capital. During his reign, he built the Altes Schloss in Meersburg (in modern Germany), which today is the oldest inhabited castle in that country. Devoutly religious, Dagobert was also responsible for the construction of the Saint Denis Basilica at the site of a Benedictine monastery in Paris.
In 631, Dagobert led three armies against Samo, the Slavic king, but his Austrasian forces were defeated at Wogastisburg.
[edit] Death and legacy
Dagobert died in 639 and was the first of French kings to be buried in the royal tombs at Saint Denis. His second son, Clovis II, from his marriage to Nanthild, inherited the rest of his kingdom at a young age.
The pattern of division and assassination which characterise even the strong king Dagobert's reign continued for the next century until Pepin the Short finally deposed the last Merovingian king in 751, establishing the Carolingian dynasty. The Merovingian boy-kings remained ineffective rulers who inherited the throne as young children and lived only long enough to produce a male heir or two, while real power lay in the hands of the noble families (the Old Noblesse) who exercised feudal control over most of the land.
[edit] Le bon roi Dagobert
Dagobert was immortalized in the song Le bon roi Dagobert (The Good King Dagobert), a nursery rhyme featuring exchanges between the king and his chief adviser, Saint Eligius (Eloi in French). The satirical rhymes place Dagobert in various ridiculous positions from which Eligius' good advice manages to extract him. The text, which probably originated in the 18th century, became extremely popular as an expression of the anti-monarchist sentiment of the French Revolution. Other than placing Dagobert and Eligius in their respective roles, it has no historical accuracy.
[edit] See also
- Franks (main history of Frankish kingdoms)
- List of Frankish Kings
- Merovingians
- King Samo
| Merovingian Dynasty Born: 603; Died: 19 January 639 |
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|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Clotaire II |
King of Austrasia 623–629 |
Succeeded by: Sigebert III |
| Preceded by: Clotaire II |
King of the Franks 629–634 |
Vacant Title next held by Theuderic III |
| New Title Gaul partitioned |
King of Neustria and Burgundy 634–639 |
Succeeded by: Clovis II |
