King of Paris from 561 to 567
Charibert I
(
French
:
Caribert
;
Latin
:
Charibertus
;
c.
517 ? December 567) was the
Merovingian
King of Paris
, the second-eldest son of
Chlothar I
and his first wife
Ingund
. His elder brother Gunthar died sometime before their father's death. He shared in the partition of the Frankish kingdom that followed his father's death in 561, receiving the old kingdom of
Childebert I
, with its capital at
Paris
.
Personal life
[
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]
Charibert married
Ingoberga
and they had five children:
Charibert married his daughter Bertha to
Æthelberht
, the pagan
King of Kent
. She took
Bishop Liudhard
with her as her private
confessor
. Her influence in the Kentish court was instrumental in the success of
St. Augustine of Canterbury's
mission in 597, effecting the conversion to Christianity of the first Anglo-Saxon ruler.
Military campaigns and enthronement
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]
In 556, Chlothar sent his sons Charibert and
Guntram
(his youngest) against their stepmother, "Chunna," and younger stepbrother, "
Chramn
," who were in revolt. During ongoing negotiations, Chramn was hiding out on Black Mountain in the
Limousin
. When the negotiations failed, the two armies prepared for battle. However, a thunderstorm prevented any engagement, and Chramn (who was hiding out in
Black Mountain
) sent forged letters to his brothers (Charibert and Guntram) in which he falsely reported the death of their father (Chlothar). Charibert and Guntram immediately returned to
Burgundy
to secure their positions.
After the actual death of Chlothar in 561, the
Frankish kingdom
was divided between his sons in a new configuration (
map, left
). Each son ruled a distinct realm which was not necessarily geographically coherent but could contain two unconnected regions. Their kingdoms were named after the city from which they ruled. Charibert received
Neustria
(the region between the
Somme
and the
Loire
),
Aquitaine
, and
Novempopulana
with
Paris
as his capital. His other chief cities were
Rouen
,
Tours
,
Poitiers
,
Limoges
,
Bordeaux
,
Toulouse
,
Cahors
, and
Albi
. Guntram received Burgundy.
Sigebert
received
Austrasia
(including
Rheims
) with his capital at
Metz
, and the youngest brother
Chilperic
received a compact kingdom with
Soissons
as its capital.
[1]
Death and legacy
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]
Though Charibert was eloquent and learned in the law,
Gregory of Tours
found him one of the most dissolute of the early
Merovingians
. He maintained four concurrent wives, two of them sisters,
[2]
and this resulted in his
excommunication
by
Germanus
.
[3]
This was the first ever excommunication of a Merovingian king.
[1]
As a result, he was buried in disgrace at
Blavia castellum
, a stronghold in the
Tractus Armoricanus
. At his death, his brothers divided his realm between them, agreeing at first to hold Paris in common. His surviving queen (out of four), Theudechild, proposed a marriage with Guntram, though a council held at Paris in 557 had outlawed such matches as incestuous. Guntram decided to house her more safely, though unwillingly, in a nunnery at
Arles
. His bastard,
Charibert of Hesbaye
receiving nothing.
The main source for Charibert's life is Gregory of Tours'
History of the Franks
(Book IV, 3,16,22,26 and IX, 26), and from the English perspective Bede's
Ecclesiastic History of the English People
.
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
Bachrach, Bernard S. (1972).
Merovingian military organization, 481-751
. University of Minnesota Press.
ISBN
0816606218
.
- ^
A bishops' council held in Pars under Charibert in 561 or 562 narrowly defined the consanguinities ruled to be
incest
. (Alexander C. Murray, ed.
A Companion to Gregory of Tours
p. 454).
- ^
Gregory,
Hist.
iv.26.
Further reading
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]
External links
[
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]
Charibert I
|
Preceded by
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King of Paris
561–567
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Succeeded by
Partitioned
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People
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Other
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