Charibert I (french: Caribert; la, Charibertus; 517 – December 567) was the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gaul ...

King of Paris The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who co ...

, the second-eldest son of

Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" ( French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. Chlothar's father, Clovis I, divided the kingd ...

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 Childebert I (c. 496 – 13 December 558) was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clo ...

, with its capital at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Personal life

Charibert married Ingoberga and they had four children: * Blithide of Cologne (538-603), possibly married to Ansbertus, Gallo-Roman senator * Chrodobertus (d. 595) * Bertha, who married

Æthelberht of Kent Æthelberht (; also Æthelbert, Aethelberht, Aethelbert or Ethelbert; ang, Æðelberht ; 550 – 24 February 616) was King of Kent from about 589 until his death. The eighth-century monk Bede, in his ''Ecclesiastical History of the Engli ...

Charibert of Hesbaye Charibert de Haspengau (555 – 636) was a Frankish nobleman, possibly a count. parents are unknown ] {{cn, date=December 2022, Charibert is described as ''Charibert nobilis in Neustria''. No other information is available other than description ...

(555-636), who married Wulfgurd of Hesbaye Chérebert, roi de France, offrant l'anneau royal à Teudegilde (J D Lascours, d'après Jean-Antoine Laurent)

Charibert also had several concubines. By

Merofleda Merofleda (6th-century – fl. 561) was a Frankish queen consort by marriage to king Charibert I.Christian Bouyer, Dictionnaire des Reines de France, Librairie Académique Perrin, 1992 () She was the daughter of a craftsman, and the sister of M ...

, a wool carder's daughter, and her sister

Marcovefa Marcovefa (6th-century – fl. 561) was a Frankish queen consort by marriage to King Charibert I.Christian Bouyer, Dictionnaire des Reines de France, Librairie Académique Perrin, 1992 () Biography She was the daughter of a wool carder from the ...

, he had daughters: Berteflede (a nun in Tours) and Clothilde (a nun in St. Croix, Poitiers). By Theodogilda (or

Theudechild Theudechild (c.540 - c.570) was a Frankish queen consort by marriage to king Charibert I.Christian Bouyer, Dictionnaire des Reines de France, Librairie Académique Perrin, 1992 () She is believed to have been the daughter of a cowherd or a she ...

), a cowherd's daughter; Charibert had a son who died in infancy. Charibert married his daughter Bertha to Æthelberht, the pagan King of Kent. She took Bishop Liudhard with her as her private

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.St. Augustine of Canterbury's mission in 597, effecting the conversion to Christianity of the first Anglo-Saxon ruler.

Military campaigns and enthronement

In 556, Chlothar sent his sons Charibert and

Guntram Saint Gontrand (c. 532 in Soissons – 28 March 592 in Chalon-sur-Saône), also called Gontran, Gontram, Guntram, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He was the third eldest and ...

(his youngest) against their stepmother, "Chunna," and younger stepbrother, "

Chram Chram (also spelled ''Chramn'', ''Chramm'', Old Frankish for "raven"; Latin: ''Chramnus'', modern French: ''Chramn(e)'') (died 561) was the son of Chlothar I, a Merovingian king of the Franks (r. 558-561), and his fifth wife, Chunsina. Chram rose ...

n," who were in revolt. During ongoing negotiations, Chramn was hiding out on Black Mountain in the

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

. 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 Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

to secure their positions. Le royaume des Francs en 561

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 Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It late ...

(the region between the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

and the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

, and Novempopulana with

as his capital. His other chief cities were

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglome ...

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

Cahors Cahors (; oc, Caors ) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Que ...

, and

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albigé ...

. Guntram received Burgundy. Sigebert received

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the ...

(including

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

) with his capital at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

, and the youngest brother Chilperic received a compact kingdom with

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...

as its capital.

Death and legacy

Though Charibert was eloquent and learned in the law,

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Floren ...

found him one of the most dissolute of the early

Merovingians The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

. He maintained four concurrent wives, two of them sisters, and this resulted in his

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

by Germanus.Gregory, ''Hist.'' iv.26. This was the first ever excommunication of a Merovingian king. As a result, he was buried in disgrace at '' Blavia castellum'', a stronghold in the Tractatus Armoricani. 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 Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...

. 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 The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict b ...

''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charibert 01 Merovingian kings 510s births 567 deaths Year of birth uncertain 6th-century Frankish kings Frankish warriors

Personal life

Military campaigns and enthronement

Death and legacy

References

Further reading

External links