Richimund or Rechimund was a

Suevi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...

c leader in

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

from 457 until about 464. He was not recorded as a king (''rex''), though Hydatius wrote that ''inter Frumarium et Rechimundum oritur de regni potestate dissensio'' ("between Frumar and Rechimund arose a dissension of the power of the kingdom"). In 457 the Suevi split into two factions, one headed by

Maldras Maldras (or Masdras) (died February 460) was the Suevic king of Galicia from 456 until his death. After the execution of Rechiar by the victorious Visigoths, the Suevi are said to have established Maldras on the throne. During his reign the Suevi ...

raiding

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lu ...

and another led by

Framta Framta, Framtan or Framtane ( Latin: ''Framtanus'', Spanish: ''Frantán''; died 457) was one of the kings of the Suevi in Galicia in 457. After the death of the Suevic king Rechiar, executed by the conquering Visigoths, and the Warnic king Aiou ...

remaining in Galicia. After a few months of rule, Framta died and Rechimund appeared as his successor. While it is possible that the Suevi were living under a

diarchy Diarchy (from ancient Greek, Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', ...

, it is more likely that the two factions remained independent of one another. Maldras' eventual successor, Frumar, was also not described as a king, but in 464 or thereabouts the entire Suevic nation was unified under a king named Remismund. Presumably, Rechimund and Frumar had battled for the throne and both had been eliminated, paving the way for Remismund. Some scholars have equated Remismund with Rechimund, but this seems far-fetched.

Sources

*Thompson, E. A
"The End of Roman Spain: Part II."
''Nottingham Mediaeval Studies'', xxi (1977), pp. 3–31. Reprinted as "The Suevic Kingdom of Galicia" in ''Romans and Barbarians: The Decline of the Western Empire''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982. pp. 161–187. . See p. 167 for Rechimund. 5th-century Suebian kings 464 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Europe-bio-stub