Aregund, Aregunda, Arnegund, Aregonda, or Arnegonda ( 515/520–580) was a Frankish queen. She is the earliest known queen of

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

. Aregund was the wife of

Clotaire I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" (French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire from the original French version, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. With his eldes ...

(also known as Clothar)

king of the Franks The Franks, Germanic peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dux, dukes and monarch, reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Franks, Salian Mero ...

, and the mother of

Chilperic I Chilperic I ( 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Franks, Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund. Life Immediately after the death of his father in 561, he ...

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...

. She was the great-grandmother of the last of the Merovingian kings to wield power,

Dagobert I Dagobert I (; 603/605 – 19 January 639) was King of the Franks. He ruled Austrasia (623–634) and Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield real royal power, after which the ...

. She is known for the discovery of her tomb at St. Denis, France, though some questions remain as to the accuracy of this identification.

Marriage

Aregund and Clotaire are believed to have been married no later than 536 CE.

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

claimed that Clotaire married both Aregund and her sister Ingund. It is said that Ingund was quite alarmed at her sister staying single and asked her husband Clotaire to find Aregund a husband. After meeting his sister-in-law, Clotaire is rumored to have announced to his wife that he had found her a suitable husband: himself. While Ingund bore 5 sons and one daughter, Aregund bore one son.The study of a skeleton identified as Aregund suggests she had a child when she was aged about 18. In Frankish society at the time, girls often married around the age of 15. The same person (whose identification has been disputed) likely had a limp as osteoarchaeology has shown that she suffered from

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

at a young age. If one accepts the original identification, Clotaire may have married his sister-in-law out of pity, as she was not deemed marriageable due to her lameness. Alternatively, as the death rate from childbirth was high, Aregund may have succeeded her sister to foster her orphaned nephews and nieces. Ingund died between 538 and 546 AD. After this time Aregund fell out of favor with Clotaire.Grégoire de Tours, ''Histoire'', livre IV, 3. In 538, Clotaire married

Radegund Radegund (; also spelled ''Rhadegund, Radegonde, or Radigund''; 520 – 13 August 587) was a Thuringian princess and Frankish queen, who founded the Abbey of the Holy Cross at Poitiers. She is the patroness saint of several churches in Franc ...

of Thuringia, who was a first cousin of Aregund and Ingund.

Widowhood

Aregund and Radegund both survived their husband Clotaire.

Archeology

What was believed to be Aregund's

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

was discovered, among dozens of others, in 1959 in the

Saint Denis Basilica The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Michel Fleury. It contained remarkably well-preserved clothing items and

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

. However, subsequent research throws doubt on the identification.Noble, Thomas F. X. From Roman Provinces to Medieval Kingdoms. Routledge, 2006. p. 159

References

* Erlande-Brandenburg, Alain, "Saint-Denis Cathedral", Editions Quest-France, Rennes, n.d. * Gregory of Tours, ''History of the Franks'

* Wemple, Suzanne Fonay, ''Women in Frankish Society: Marriage and the Cloister, 500 to 900'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Aregund 6th-century births 573 deaths Merovingian dynasty Frankish queens consort Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis 6th-century Frankish women 6th-century Frankish nobility 6th-century queens consort