Aighyna, Aeghyna, Aegyna, Aigino, or Aichina, probably a
Saxon, was the
duke of Gascony (''
Vasconia'') from 626 or 627 to his death in 638. He succeeded
Genial. The chief source for his reign is
Fredegar.
He probably hailed from the
Bessin
Bessin () is an area in Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Norman ...
, which contained many Saxon colonies at the time. He was mentioned as a Saxon ''
dux'' in 626. He repressed the intrigues of the bishops Palladius and Sidocus of
Eauze, exiling them for inciting Basque revolts, and even ordered the assassination of one of
Charibert II's councillors in the palace at
Clichy.
In 635, he took part in the great Frankish expedition against the Basques, which involved ten
Burgundian ''duces'' and ten columns. Aeghyna was reinstated after this. He was certainly the duke of the
Basques
The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...
(''
Vascones'') in 636, when he is recorded as conducting the Basque chiefs (''seniores'') who submitted to
Dagobert I at Clichy.
[Fredegar, 4.78, p 67.] Though he is certainly not of Basque stock, whether he acted as a tribal leader with only tenuous ties to the Frankish monarchy or as the Frankish client duke of a vassal people is unknown.
Notes
Sources
*
Collins, Roger. ''The Basques''. Blackwell Publishing: London, 1990.
*
Wallace-Hadrill, J. M., translator.
The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations'. Greenwood Press: Connecticut, 1960.
*Lewis, Archibald R.
The Dukes in the Regnum Francorum, A.D. 550-751. ''Speculum'', Vol. 51, No. 3. (Jul., 1976), pp. 381–410.
Auñamendi Encyclopedia: Ducado de Vasconia Monlezun, Jean Justin. ''Histoire de la Gascogne''. 1846.*Higounet, Charles. ''Bordeaux pendant le haut moyen age''. Bordeaux, 1963.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aeghyna
638 deaths
Dukes of Gascony
Year of birth unknown