Gundoald

Gundoald or Gundovald, also called Ballomer, was a usurper king of Aquitaine in either 584 or 585. He claimed to be an illegitimate son of Clotaire I and, with the financial support of the Emperor Maurice, took some major cities in southern Gaul, including Poitiers and Toulouse, which belonged to Guntram, king of Burgundy, a legitimate son of Clotaire. Guntram marched against him, calling him nothing more than a miller's son named 'Ballomer'. Gundowald fled to Comminges and Guntram's army set down to besiege the citadel (now known as Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges). The siege was unsuccessful; nevertheless, Gundowald's followers gave him over and he was executed.

The account of the sole source for these events (Gregory of Tours, Histories, Bks. 6-7) differs considerably from the summary above. For one thing, Gundovald was never king of Aquitaine. There was no such kingdom at the time. He had no Byzantine support when taking cities in the south. His main backers were magnates of Austrasia.

Further reading

• Bachrach, Bernard S. 1994. The Anatomy of a Little War: A Diplomatic and Military History of the Gundovald Affair (568–586). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
• Widdowson, Marc. 2009. "Merovingian Partitions: A 'Genealogical Charter'?" Early Medieval Europe, 17(1), 1–22.