Ermenberga Explained
Ermenberga (fl. 6th/7th centuries CE) was a Visigoth princess, a daughter of the king of Spain, Witteric[1] [2]
In 606 she married Theuderic II, the Frankish king of Burgundy.[3]
Soon after the marriage, she was repudiated by Theuderic, supposedly at the insistence of Brunhild, Theuderic's grandmother, who may have seen Ermenberga as a challenge to her power.[4] [5] Brunhild, who wielded significant control over the kingdom and grandson, was even accused by some chroniclers - such as Aimoin - of using magic to sway Theuderic away from Ermenberga.[6]
Some chronicles claim that Theuderic kept Ermenberga's dowry when he sent her back to Spain.[7] [8] Her eventual fate is uncertain. Her father Witteric, furious at this repudiation, attempted to form a military alliance against his former son-in-law, but failed.[9]
Notes and References
- GarcÍa Moreno . Luis A. . 2008 . Prosopography, Nomenclature, and Royal Succession in the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo . Journal of Late Antiquity . 1 . 1 . 142–156 . 10.1353/jla.0.0002 . 201793522 . 1942-1273.
- Cudorge . Justine . 2022 . Women's quarters, an influential and political pole: a study of the Frankish inner-court (6th -7th century) . Royal Studies Journal . 9 . 1 . 18–32 . 10.21039/rsj.345. free .
- Bouyer, Christian Bouyer, Dictionnaire des Reines de France, Librairie Académique Perrin, 1992, p. 73
- Diem . Albrecht . July 2007 . Monks, Kings, and the Transformation of Sanctity: Jonas of Bobbio and the End of the Holy Man . Speculum . en . 82 . 3 . 521–559 . 10.1017/S0038713400010241 . 163124468 . 0038-7134.
- Nelson . Janet L. . January 1978 . Queens as Jezebels: The Careers of Brunhild and Balthild in Merovingian History. . Studies in Church History Subsidia . en . 1 . 31–77 . 10.1017/S0143045900000338 . 0143-0459.
- Book: Rider, Catherine . Magic and Impotence in the Middle Ages . 2006-01-26 . OUP Oxford . 978-0-19-153604-5 . en.
- Book: Murray, Alexander Callander . From Roman to Merovingian Gaul: A Reader . 1999-08-01 . University of Toronto Press . 978-1-4426-0413-1 . en.
- Book: James, Edward . Visigothic Spain: New Approaches . 1980 . Clarendon Press . 978-0-19-822543-0 . en.
- Halfond . Gregory I. . January 2015 . The Endorsement of Royal-Episcopal Collaboration in the Fredegar Chronica . Traditio . en . 70 . 1–28 . 10.1017/S0362152900012320 . 147271594 . 0362-1529.
