Munderic
Munderic (died 532/33) was a Merovingian claimaint to the Frankish throne. He was a wealthy nobleman and landowner with vast estates in the region around Vitry-le-Brûle (now Vitry-en-Perthois) near Châlons-sur-Marne. The chief source for his life and deeds is Gregory of Tours.
In 532 or 533 or around that year he put forth a claim to royal descent as being or claiming to be a son of Chlodoric the Parricide and asked for a share of the kingdom of Austrasia from Theuderic I. He had a band of sworn followers. Theuderic attempted to summon him to court in order to kill him, but after Munderic refused, a force was sent against him.[1] The pretender took refuge with his loyal supporters in Vitry. The Austrasian army, however, lacked siege engines and were unable to seriously invest the place. Theuderic responded by sending a personal courtier of his, Arigisel, to negotiate for the rebels to come out, which they did. The dishonest ambassador had them cut down immediately.
He married a daughter of Florentinus (born 485), a Roman senator, and his wife Artemia, daughter of Rusticus of Lyons. They were the parents of Gondulphus of Tongeren and Mummolin, possibly mayor of the palace of Neustria.
Notes
- ↑ Gregory of Tours, The History of the Franks (Penguin UK, 1974).
Sources
- Bachrach, Bernard S. Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1971.
- Settipani, Christian. Les ancêtres de Charlemagne. 1989.