Chilperic I

Chilperic I
King of Neustria
Reign	561 - 584
Coronation	561
Predecessor	Clotaire I
Born	539
Died	584
Father	Clotaire I
Mother	Aregund

Chilperic I was king of the franks from 561 A.D. to 584 A.D.

Life

Chilperic's father, Chlothar I, reunited the Frankish Kingdom before his death in 561. After Chlothar died, his four surviving sons—Charibert I, Guntram, Sigibert I, and Chilperic—divided the kingdom. Chilperic was the son of Chlothar's second wife, Aregund.

Soon after Chlothar's death, Chilperic took control of the royal treasury and the city of Paris. His brothers forced him to leave the city and divided the kingdom between themselves. Chilperic received the area around Soissons, but he wanted more land. In 562, while Sigibert was fighting the Avars, Chilperic invaded his kingdom and captured Reims. Sigibert later defeated him, captured Soissons, and took Chilperic's son Theudebert prisoner.

In 567, Charibert I died without a son. His kingdom was divided between his brothers. Chilperic received lands in northern and western Gaul, including Amiens, Beauvais, Bordeaux, Limoges, and Cahors. Paris was shared between the brothers and was not controlled by any one of them.

The rivalry between Chilperic and Sigibert became worse because of their marriages. In 566, Sigibert married Brunhilda of Austrasia, a daughter of the Visigothic king Athanagild. Chilperic then married Brunhilda's sister Galswintha. However, Galswintha was murdered around 570. Chilperic then married his mistress Fredegund, who came from a lower social class. This caused a lasting conflict between Chilperic and Brunhilda.

Chilperic continued to fight Sigibert. In 573, he attacked Sigibert's lands, but Sigibert defeated him in 575 and captured much of Chilperic's kingdom. Chilperic took refuge in Tournai. However, Sigibert was murdered later that year by men sent by Fredegund. Chilperic then recovered much of the territory he had lost. Brunhilda was captured but escaped in 577.

Sigibert's young son, Childebert II, became king of Austrasia. Guntram supported him and adopted him as his heir in 577. In 581, however, Chilperic gained support from some nobles in Austrasia and made Childebert his heir. He also gained more land and planned another war against Guntram.

Chilperic made an alliance with the Visigothic king Liuvigild and arranged the marriage of his daughter Rigunth to Liuvigild's son Reccared I. However, Chilperic was murdered in 584 while returning from a hunting trip. The person who ordered his murder is unknown, although it may have been a plot by nobles.

Chilperic's son Chlothar II was only a few months old when his father died. Fredegund therefore sought protection from Guntram, who took control of Paris. Chilperic was buried at the Church of Saint Vincent in Paris. Fredegund was also buried there after her death.

Further reading

• Jungandreas, Wolfgang; Wenskus, Reinhard (1981). Chilperich I. Vol. 4 (2nd ed.). Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 460–462. ISBN 3-11-006513-4. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• Ewig, Eugen (1953). Die fränkischen Teilungen und Teilreiche (511–613). Wiesbaden: Steiner.
• Ewig, Eugen (2001). Die Merowinger und das Frankenreich (4th ed.). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. ISBN 3-17-017044-9.
• Ewig, Eugen (1991). "Die Namengebung bei den ältesten Frankenkönigen und im merowingischen Königshaus". Francia. 18 (1): 21–69.
• Grahn-Hoek, Heike (1976). Die fränkische Oberschicht im 6. Jahrhundert. Studien zu ihrer rechtlichen und politischen Stellung. Sigmaringen: Thorbecke. ISBN 3-7995-6681-3.
• Schneider, Reinhard (1972). Königswahl und Königserhebung im Frühmittelalter. Untersuchungen zur Herrschaftsnachfolge bei den Langobarden und Merowingern. Stuttgart: Anton Hirsemann. ISBN 3-7772-7203-5.
• Zöllner, Erich (1970). Geschichte der Franken bis zur Mitte des sechsten Jahrhunderts. München: Beck. ISBN 3-406-02211-1.