Queen Fredegund
There doesn't seem to be anything heroic about these next two ladies, but their story is so unbelievably fascinating and crazy. Fredegund's (Freddie) rise to power really begins when she becomes a servant to King Chilperic's first wife. Freddie didn't really like her position, so she soon became Chilperic's mistress and efficiently convinced him to send his wife to a convent. After his divorce Chileperic remarried a Visigoth princess named Galswintha. This second marriage was not part of Freddie's plans so of course the next step was to have Galswintha strangled. Galswintha's death led to the marriage of Chilperic and Freddie, but it also had an unintentional consequence. Galswintha's sister, Brunhilda (Hilda), wasn't going to let the upstart new queen get away with the murder of her beloved sister.
Queen Brunhilda's marriage to King Sigebert I
Hilda was married to King Sigebert of Austrasia, Chilperic's brother. After the death of her sister Galswintha, Hilda and Freddie initiated a bloody feud. A seven year war ravaged the two countries and eventually a short peace was reached, but Chilperic broke the peace and was defeated by Sigebert. Chilperic escaped, but his life was still threatened so naturally Freddie arranged for Sigebert's assassination. The feud continued and Chilperic was eventually murdered (Fredegund is rumored to have been involved in his death, but I don't think she would have had much to gain from the death of a man she had been obsessed with marrying). After Chilperic's death, Fredegund took sanctuary in Notre Dame cathedral and became Queen Regent of her late husband's country.
Hilda tried to become/ was the regent of Austrasia a couple times throughout the rest of her life. Most of these attempts led to the death of the succeeding king. That is why when Brunhilda was finally captured by Freddie's son, Clotaire, she was accused of causing the death of ten kings of the Franks. Hilda didn't have many fans because of all her meddling in the governing of the country, so she was found guilty and executed by being drawn and quartered (ripped apart by being tied to four horses). Freddie died peacefully in her sleep a few years before her arch nemesis was murdered brutally.
The Murder of Brunhilda
The Legends: Fredegund is most interesting to me because she is thought to be the inspiration for the wicked step-mother in Cinderella. This comes from the story of Freddie closing her daughter's head in an very large treasure chest. It is obvious that Freddie was a brutal and violent women, but it is surprising that she would do something like this to her own child!
Brunhilda is considered the inspiration for Brunnhild and Kriemhild in The Nibelungenlied, an epic poem about a murdered dragon-slayer and his wife's revenge.
At the end of the day, Fredegund and Brunhilda are two ladies that you would not want to get involved with!
For more info on the Merovingian Queens go to these links!
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