Ermenberga

Ermenberga
Queen consort of Burgundy
Tenure606 - 607
SpouseTheuderic II
FatherWitteric

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.[1][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]

  1. ^ a b GarcÍa Moreno, Luis A. (2008). "Prosopography, Nomenclature, and Royal Succession in the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo". Journal of Late Antiquity. 1 (1): 142–156. doi:10.1353/jla.0.0002. ISSN 1942-1273. S2CID 201793522.
  2. ^ 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. doi:10.21039/rsj.345.
  3. ^ Bouyer, Christian Bouyer, Dictionnaire des Reines de France, Librairie Académique Perrin, 1992 (ISBN 2-262-00789-6), p. 73
  4. ^ Diem, Albrecht (July 2007). "Monks, Kings, and the Transformation of Sanctity: Jonas of Bobbio and the End of the Holy Man". Speculum. 82 (3): 521–559. doi:10.1017/S0038713400010241. ISSN 0038-7134. S2CID 163124468.
  5. ^ Nelson, Janet L. (January 1978). "Queens as Jezebels: The Careers of Brunhild and Balthild in Merovingian History". Studies in Church History Subsidia. 1: 31–77. doi:10.1017/S0143045900000338. ISSN 0143-0459.
  6. ^ Rider, Catherine (2006-01-26). Magic and Impotence in the Middle Ages. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-153604-5.
  7. ^ Murray, Alexander Callander (1999-08-01). From Roman to Merovingian Gaul: A Reader. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-0413-1.
  8. ^ James, Edward (1980). Visigothic Spain: New Approaches. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-822543-0.
  9. ^ Halfond, Gregory I. (January 2015). "The Endorsement of Royal-Episcopal Collaboration in the Fredegar Chronica". Traditio. 70: 1–28. doi:10.1017/S0362152900012320. ISSN 0362-1529. S2CID 147271594.