Brunhild of Austrasia

Timeline

1. 543–566Toledo · Visigothic KingdomBorn in the Visigothic Kingdom, daughter of King Athanagild and Queen Goiswintha. Raised in the Arian Christian faith with a good court education. In 566, Sigebert I of Austrasia sent envoys to Toledo to propose marriage; Brunhild married into the Franks with a rich dowry and converted to orthodox Catholicism. Her sister Galswintha subsequently married Chilperic I, foreshadowing the great divergence in the sisters' fates.
2. 566–575Metz · AustrasiaAfter marrying Sigebert I, Brunhild made Metz her court center and bore children, including the future king Childebert II. Her sister Galswintha was strangled by Chilperic around 568, enraging Brunhild; Sigebert then declared war on Chilperic. In 575, just as Sigebert was on the verge of victory, he was assassinated by killers sent by Fredegund; Brunhild was briefly captured by Chilperic, later escaped with the help of great nobles, and began governing Austrasia as regent.
3. 575–596Metz · AustrasiaBrunhild held real power in Austrasia in the name of her young son Childebert II, repeatedly repelling Neustrian military invasions and allying with Guntram, King of Burgundy. After Childebert II came of age, she retained enormous influence, and expanded her political sphere after her son inherited Burgundy (593). She also corresponded with Pope Gregory I, promoting reform of the Frankish church.
4. 596–613Burgundy · Burgundian KingdomAfter the sudden death of Childebert II around 595–596, Brunhild served as regent for her grandsons Theuderic II and Theudebert II, but the nobility grew increasingly resentful of her interference. In 613, Neustrian king Chlothar II, cooperating with a noble revolt, launched a major offensive; Brunhild was captured. Chlothar II had her executed in a cruel manner: bound to the tail of a wild horse and dragged to death before the army, by which time she was over seventy. Her death marked the end of the decades-long Merovingian civil war pattern.