Bertachar (or Berthachar) was a king of Thuringia from about 510 until about 525, co-ruling with his brothers

Hermanfrid Hermanfrid (also Hermanifrid or Hermanafrid; , died 532) was the last independent king of the Thuringii in present-day Germany. He was one of three sons of King Bisinus and his Lombards, Lombard queen Menia. His siblings were Baderic; Raicunda, m ...

and

Baderic Baderic, Baderich, Balderich or Boderic ( 480 – 529), son of Bisinus and Menia, was a co-king of the Thuringii. He and his brothers Hermanfrid and Bertachar, Berthar succeeded their father Bisinus. After Hermanfrid defeated Berthar in battle, ...

. Bertachar was probably not a Thuringian himself.

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

sources, such as

Venantius Fortunatus Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus ( 530 600/609 AD; ), known as Saint Venantius Fortunatus (, ), was a Latin poet and hymnographer in the Merovingian Court, and a bishop of the Early Church who has been venerated since the Middle Ages. ...

, make the three brothers sons of King Bisinus. They are sometimes considered as sons of Bisinus' wife Menia, or else as sons of Basina, who is called a wife of Bisinus by the Frankish historian

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 ...

. Many scholars, however, reject Bisinus' marriage to Basina as ahistorical, leaving Menia as his only known wife. Bertachar's rule probably began between 507 and 511. He was murdered by his brother Hermanfrid, who later murdered Baderic to become sole ruler of Thuringia. This assassination may have taken place as early as 525. Bertachar had at least one daughter and, depending on the source, one or several sons. His sons are unnamed. His daughter,

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 ...

, married the Frankish king

Chlothar 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 ...

and founded Holy Cross Abbey in Poitiers. She is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. Two hagiographies of her were produced by her friends Baudovinia and Venantius Fortunatus. Fortunatus specifies that she was "from the Thuringian region", a daughter of King Bertachar and a granddaughter of King Bisinus.Fortunatus, p. 365: ''Beatissima igitur Radegundis natione barbara de regione Thoringa, avo rege Bessino, patruo Hermenfredo, patre rege Bertechario''.

Notes

Sources

;Primary sources * Venantius Honoricus Clementianus Fortunatus
''Vita Sanctae Radegundis''
ed. Bruno Krusch. MGH SS rer. Merov. 2 (Hanover, 1888), 364–377. ;Secondary sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertachar Kings of the Thuringians 6th-century monarchs in Europe