Clovis II (633 – 657) was King of the Franks in Neustria and Burgundy, having succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639. His brother

Sigebert III Sigebert III ( 630–656) was the Merovingian dynasty, Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian ''roi fainéant'', or "do-nothing king", with the mayor of the palace in fact ruling ...

had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642. Nanthild's death allowed Clovis to fall under the influence of the secular magnates, who reduced the royal power in their own favour; first Aega and then Erchinoald. The Burgundian

mayor of the palace Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo, ( or ) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He ...

Flaochad used him to lure his rival, Willebad, to a battle in Autun, in which Willebad was killed.

Background

Clovis married Balthild, an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

sold into slavery in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

. She had been owned by the Neustrian mayor of the palace, Erchinoald, but then attracted the interest of the king. They had three sons, who all became kings after his death. The eldest, Chlothar, succeeded him and his second eldest, Childeric, was placed on the Austrasian throne and eventually also succeeded in Neustria. The youngest, Theuderic, succeeded Childeric in Neustria and eventually became the sole king of the Franks. Clovis was a minor for almost the whole of his reign. He is sometimes regarded as king of Austrasia during the interval 656–57 when

Childebert the Adopted Childebert III the Adopted (''Childebertus Adoptivus'') was a Frankish king. Childebert was a son of the Mayor of the Palace Grimoald the Elder. He was thus a grandson of Pepin of Landen. He was adopted by King Sigebert III and Queen Chimne ...

usurped the throne. Grimoald the Elder, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, was captured and later executed in Paris by Clovis II, the king of Neustria, in 657. He is often regarded as an early '' roi fainéant''. Belgian historian Henri Pirenne stated that Clovis "died insane." Clovis II was buried in Saint Denis Basilica,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

References

Works cited

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clovis 02 Merovingian kings 633 births 657 deaths Medieval child monarchs Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis 7th-century Frankish kings