Teudelinda (5th-century – d. 501) was a Burgundian queen consort by marriage to king

Godegisel Godegisel (? – 501) was a Burgundian sub-king and son of the Burgundian king Gondioc. Godegisel was the educator and uncle of Clotilde, wife of the Frankish king Clovis I. Beginning in 463 he was a sub-king of Kingdom of the Burgundians. ...

. She founded a number of churches around Geneva. Teudelinda was killed at Vienne during the war between her husband and his brother,

Gundobad Gundobad (; ; 452 – 516) was King of the Burgundians (473–516), succeeding his father Gundioc of Burgundy. Previous to this, he had been a patrician of the moribund Western Roman Empire in 472–473, three years before its collapse, suc ...

History

No information has been preserved about the origin and early life of Theudelinda. She is mentioned in historical sources already at the time when she was the wife of Godegisel, one of the rulers of the Burgundian kingdom at the end of the fifth century. Hagiographical works describe Theudelinda as a devout Christian who especially honored the warrior-martyrs of the

Theban Legion The Theban Legion (also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum) figures in Christianity, Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Roman Egypt, Egypt —"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men" — consisting of Christian soldiers who were marty ...

. With the support of Bishop Dormitianus, Theudelinda, together with her relative Sedeleuba, built in and around Geneva several churches consecrated in honor of these saints. Among them is the Cathedral of Saints Ursa and Victor in

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

. According to

Frederick George Holweck Frederick George Holweck (born Friedrich Georg Holweck; December 29, 1856 – February 15, 1927) was a German-Americans, German-American Catholic Church, Catholic parish priest and scholar, hagiographer and church historian. Monsignor Holweck co ...

, in 480 the body of Victor was brought to Geneva by the Burgundian Queen Theudelinde. He is buried in the former St-Victor's Basilica in Geneva. Gregor Reinhold, writing in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' attributes this to Sedeleuba, who had a basilica built dedicated to Victor. (He also says Sedeleuba was a sister to

Clotilde Clotilde ( 474 – 3 June 545 in Burgundy, France) (also known as Clotilda (Fr.), Chlothilde (Ger.) Chlothieldis, Chlotichilda, Clodechildis, Croctild, Crote-hild, Hlotild, Rhotild, and many other forms), is a saint and was a Queen of the Fran ...

, wife of

Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...

, King of the Franks.) Together with her husband, Theudelinda founded the monastery of St. Peter in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. It is assumed that the Arian Godegisel did so both to rally his subjects in anticipation of a possible military clash with his brother Gundobad and to strengthen his alliance with the King of the Franks, Clovis. In the year 500 an internecine war broke out between Godegisel and Gundobad. At first, success was on the side of Theudelinda's husband, who, with the help of Clovis, managed to defeat Gundobad's army in a battle near Dijon. Godegisel, however, failed to capture his brother when he besieged him at Avignon, and in the following year he himself was besieged at Vienne. This siege ended with the capture of the city by Gundobad's warriors. By order of his brother, Godegisel, who had taken refuge in the church, was killed. Gundobad also ordered the execution of the wife and children of Godegisel: Queen Theudelinda was drowned in the Rhone, and two sons (the older of them, perhaps, named Hilperic) beheaded and thrown into a well. Only the two granddaughters of Theudelinda and Godegisel (probably daughters of Prince Hilperic) were spared because of their young age: Gunteka and Sedelevbeuda.

References

{{Reflist Queens consort of Burgundy 5th-century queens consort 501 deaths 5th-century births Executed royalty