Gundobad
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Gundobad ( la, Flavius Gundobadus; french: Gondebaud, Gondovald; 452 – 516 AD) was
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
of the
Burgundians The Burgundians ( la, Burgundes, Burgundiōnes, Burgundī; on, Burgundar; ang, Burgendas; grc-gre, Βούργουνδοι) were an early Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared in the middle Rhine region, near the Roman Empire, and ...
(473 – 516), succeeding his father
Gundioc Gondioc (died 473), also called ''Gunderic'' and ''Gundowech'', was a King of the Burgundians, succeeding his putative father Gunther in 436. In 406, the Burgundians under King Gundahar (Gundihar, Guntiar) at Mainz had crossed the Rhine and ...
of
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 c ...
. Previous to this, he had been a
patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
of the moribund
Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
in 472 – 473, three years before its collapse, succeeding his uncle
Ricimer Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
. He is perhaps best known today as the probable issuer of the ''
Lex Burgundionum The ''Lex Burgundionum'' (Latin for Burgundian Laws, also ''Lex Gundobada'') refers to the law code of the Burgundians, probably issued by king Gundobad. It is influenced by Roman law and deals with domestic laws concerning marriage and inheritan ...
'' legal codes, which synthesized
Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
with ancient Germanic customs. He was the husband of
Caretene Caretene (born ''c.'' 456 — died September 16, 506) was the wife of Gundobad, king of the Burgundians. Unlike her husband, who was an Arian, Caretene was a Catholic. She was probably the mother of Sigismund of Burgundy. Epitaph Sources * Ma ...
.


Early life

Gundobad seized the title of Patrician when his uncle
Ricimer Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
, who had been the
power behind the throne The phrase "power behind the throne" refers to a person or group that informally exercises the real power of a high-ranking office, such as a head of state. In politics, it most commonly refers to a relative, aide, or nominal subordinate of a poli ...
for the Western Empire, died on 18 August 472. According to John of Antioch, Gundobad had previously executed the deposed emperor
Anthemius Procopius Anthemius (died 11 July 472) was western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: ...
on his uncle's orders. Once in power, Gundobad elevated the current Count of the Domestics,
Glycerius Glycerius () was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire, West from 473 to 474. He served as ''comes domesticorum'' (commander of the palace guard) during the reign of Olybrius, until Olybrius died in November 472. After a four-month interre ...
, to the position of Western Roman Emperor. However, not long after this Gundobad left for Burgundy where his father, Gundioc, had died; the exact date is unclear, with authorities stating it was in either 473 or 474. Once in Burgundy, his three brothers presumably challenged his rule:
Godegisel Godegisel (? - 501) was a Burgundian sub-king and son of the Burgundian king Gondioc. Godegisel was the educator and uncle of Clotilde, wife of the Frankish king Clovis I. Since 463 he was a sub-king of the Burgundians. With the help of Clovis, ...
,
Chilperic II Chilperic II (c. 672 – 13 February 721), known as Daniel prior to his coronation, was the youngest son of Childeric II and his half-cousin wife, Bilichild. He reigned as king of Neustria from 715 and sole king of the Franks from 718 until hi ...
and Gundomar. Ian Wood speculates that Gundobad's departure may have been connected with the arrival of a new emperor,
Julius Nepos Julius Nepos (died 9 May 480), or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the western i ...
, who had the support of the Roman Emperor in Constantinople. Once Julius Nepos landed in
Portus Portus was a large artificial harbour of Ancient Rome. Sited on the north bank of the north mouth of the Tiber, on the Tyrrhenian coast, it was established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia. The archae ...
(June 474), he deposed Glycerius, whom he made
Bishop of Salona The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Split-Makarska ( hr, Splitsko-makarska nadbiskupija; la, Archidioecesis Spalatensis-Macarscensis) is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Croatia and Montenegro.
.


Reign

The events of the first decades of Gundobad's reign are not well known. The only available source that covers this part of his reign is
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 Florenti ...
, who wrote almost a century later. According to Gregory, Gundobad set about ridding himself of his brothers. First slain was Gundomar, though little is known of this encounter.Gregory of Tours, ''History of the Franks in Ten Books'', 2.28 Next killed was Chilperic. According to Gregory, Gundobad had his wife drowned by tying a stone round her neck and Chilperic's two daughters driven into exile. The older daughter, Chroma, became a nun. The other,
Clotilde Clotilde ( 474–545), also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde etc. (Latin: Chrodechildis, Chlodechildis from Frankish ''*Hrōþihildi'' or perhaps ''*Hlōdihildi'', both "famous in battle"), was a Queen of All the Franks. She was ...
, had been seen by envoys of
Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...
, King of the
Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
, who told their master of her beauty and intelligence. Clovis then asked Gundobad for Clotilde's hand in marriage. Gundobad was said to have been afraid to deny him. However, a letter written by
Avitus Eparchius Avitus (c. 390 – 457) was Roman emperor of the West from July 455 to October 456. He was a senator of Gallic extraction and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military administration, as well as Bishop of Piacenza. He o ...
, bishop of
Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Odoacer Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustul ...
and
Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy b ...
were locked in battle over control of
Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...
, the Burgundians seized the opportunity to invade northwestern Italy. They devastated
Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
, and carried away an unknown number of victims into captivity, if not slavery. Once Theodoric had killed Odoacer and was securely in control of Italy, he sent bishop
Epiphanius of Pavia Epiphanius of Pavia (438–496), later venerated as Saint Epiphanius of Pavia, was Bishop of Pavia from 466 until his death in 496. Epiphanius additionally held the offices of lector, subdeacon and deacon. During his lifetime, Epiphanius undertoo ...
on a mission to ransom as many of these captives as possible. Accompanied by Bishop Victor of Turin, they crossed the Alps in March. Shanzer and Wood believe Epiphanius was possibly also entrusted with a mission in connection with the marriage of Gundobad's son
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
to Theodoric's daughter
Ostrogotho Ostrogotho (480 - before 516) was the daughter of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great, and the wife of the Burgundian king Sigismund. Her mother is not mentioned by name. According to Jordanes, her mother was a concubine. According to Anon ...
. In his account of this visit,
Magnus Felix Ennodius Magnus Felix Ennodius (473 or 47417 July 521 AD) was Bishop of Pavia in 514, and a Latin rhetorician and poet. He was one of four Gallo-Roman aristocrats of the fifth to sixth-century whose letters survive in quantity: the others are Sidonius Ap ...
, who accompanied Epiphanius on this journey, describes Godegisel as ''germanus regis'', the "king's brother", and not king—again contradicting Gregory of Tours' later account. Ennodius notes that "more than six thousand souls" were so ransomed; from
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
s alone 400 men were thus freed. Gregory of Tours states the battle with Gundobad's third brother, Godegisel, raged long. Unaware of the other's actions, each called upon Clovis trying to persuade him to join forces against the other. Clovis sided with Godegisel, who had offered him his pleasure of tribute; Wood observes that Clovis' wife, Clotilde, whose father had been killed by Gundobad, "was not likely to encourage good relations between the Franks and the Burgundians." Together they crushed Gundobad's force. Gundobad fled but King Clovis pursued him to
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
. Gundobad feared the worst with Clovis's army at the gates. But Aridius went from Gundobad to Clovis and convinced him to spare Gundobad in return for a yearly tribute. The chronicler
Marius of Avenches Marius Aventicensis or, popularly, Marius of Avenches (532 – 31 December 596) was the Bishop of Aventicum (modern Avenches) from 574, remembered for his terse chronicle. After his death in Lausanne, he was venerated in that city as a saint, ...
dates this conflict to 500. Gundobad later broke his promise of tribute as he regained his power and besieged Godegisel, trapped in the city of Vienne. As famine devoured Vienne, Godegisel expelled the common people from the city for fear of his own survival. An outraged expelled artisan seeking vengeance on Godegisel went to Gundobad, and with his help he navigated the aqueduct and broke into the city. Gundobad murdered Godegisel in 501 in an
Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...
church along with the bishop. The next event about which information has survived is Gundobad's role concerning the
Battle of Vouillé The Battle of Vouillé (from Latin ''Campus Vogladensis'') was fought in the northern marches of Visigothic territory, at Vouillé, near Poitiers (Gaul), in the spring of 507 between the Franks, commanded by Clovis, and the Visigoths, command ...
. He was one of several rulers to whom king Theoderic sent letters urging peace, and asking for mediation between
Alaric II Alaric II ( got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; la, Alaricus; – August 507) was the King of the Visigoths from 484 until 507. He succeeded his father Euric as king of the Visigoths in Toulouse on 28 December 484; he was ...
and Clovis. Despite Theoderic's best efforts, the two kings met at Vouillé, and Alaric was slain; according to
Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...
, Gundobad supported Clovis in this battle. Isidore also provides a hint that Gundobad exploited the Visigothic defeat by plundering
Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...
. Delayed by the threat of the
Byzantine navy The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its Imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state than ...
, which had been hovering off the Italian shore around the time of the battle, the Ostrogothic army arrived to relieve the Burgundian siege of
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 of ...
. According to Herwig Wolfram, the Burgundians were "the real victims of the Ostrogothic counteroffensive" following the defeat of their cousins at Vouillé. "Not only had they lost all their conquered territories and hope of acquiring Arles and Avignon but all their territory as far as
Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
had been devastated." Following the death of King Clovis of the Franks in 511, the Burgundians became the most prestigious people in Gaul. Gundobad was favored by the court of Constantinople, which awarded him the title of ''
magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...
''. Gundobad died peacefully, succeeded by his son
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
in 516. He also had another son,
Godomar Godomar II (or Gundomar), son of king Gundobad, was king of Burgundy. He ruled Burgundy after his elder brother's death in 524 until 534. Both he and his brother Sigismund of Burgundy were defeated in battle by Clovis' sons. Godomar fled and Si ...
, who would succeed his brother after his execution in 524.


Learning

In some of the manuscripts of the ''
Lex Burgundionum The ''Lex Burgundionum'' (Latin for Burgundian Laws, also ''Lex Gundobada'') refers to the law code of the Burgundians, probably issued by king Gundobad. It is influenced by Roman law and deals with domestic laws concerning marriage and inheritan ...
'', Gundobad is stated to have published this code of law on 29 March of the second year of his reign (474 or 475). However, there are a number of inconsistencies in this ascription, and L. R. deSalis proposed a restored version of this passage which does not include a date—which would better fit the reign of his son, Sigismund. Although she accepts the strong likelihood that the ''Lex Burgundionum'' as we have it was the product of Sigismund's reign, Katherine Fisher Drew still argues that a core of this law code is the product of Gundobad or his chancellery. The letters of
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
Avitus and
Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' w ...
provide glimpses of Gundobad's intellectual side. Avitus, a Nicene bishop, answers questions posed by an
Arian Christian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
about religion in several letters, showing a great
religious tolerance Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...
, and may be the reason Gregory of Tours later thought he had secretly converted to
Nicene Christianity The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...
. Cassiodorus' ''Variae'' includes a group of letters which discuss obtaining and sending a time piece to Gundobad as a diplomatic present.''Variae'', I.45,46


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gundobad 450s births 516 deaths Year of birth uncertain Kings of the Burgundians Ancient Roman generals Burgundian warriors Magistri militum 5th-century Romans 5th-century monarchs in Europe 6th-century monarchs in Europe Patricii Regicides Romans from unknown gentes