Wisigard ( 510 – 540) or ''Wisigardis'' was a
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 ...
Queen by marriage to Theudebert.
Life
The life of Wisigard is slightly known by
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 ...
's ''Historia Francorum''.
[Gregor of Tours, Historiae III,20, III,27.] She was daughter of
Wacho
Wacho (also Waccho; probably from ''Waldchis'') was king of the Lombards before they entered Italy from an unknown date (perhaps c. 510) until his death in 539. His father was Unichis. Wacho usurped the throne by assassinating (or having assassina ...
, king of the
Lombards
The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...
and grew up in the middle
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
region. After an abnormally long term of engagement of seven years, Wisigard married
Theudebert I,
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
king of
Austrasia
Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...
. Around 531
Theuderich I, father of Theudebert I, had arranged the engagement for political reasons. But because of a liaison Theudebert had with a Roman woman named
Deuteria, the union with Wisigard fell through. Anew for political reasons Theudebert abandoned Deoteria and finally married Wisigard in 537 or 538. Shortly after their wedding, she died.
Burial site
In 1959 a very rich decorated grave of a Frankish woman was found by
Otto Doppelfeld in the
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...
. The woman had been buried with her precious jewelry and in a traditional costume that indicated her as a Lombardish princess. Based on the dating and the grave furniture, Doppelfeld, at that time director of the
Romano-Germanic Museum
The Roman-Germanic Museum (RGM, in German: ''Römisch-Germanisches Museum'') is an archaeological museum in Cologne, Germany. It has a large collection of Roman artifacts from the Roman settlement of ''Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium'', on ...
, interpreted the dead woman as Wisigard. However, this interpretation is not proved by an inscription or other sources.
Sources
*Gregory of Tours, Historiarum III, 20, 27.
References
*Christian Bouyer: ''Dictionnaire des Reines de France. '' Librairie Académique Perrin, 1992 , p. 59.
*Otto Doppelfeld: ''Das fränkische Frauengrab unter dem Chor des Kölner Domes.'' Germania 38. Frankfurt 1960. pp. 89–113.
*
Eugen Ewig: ''Die Merowinger und das Frankenreich.'' Stuttgart 2001. , p. 34.
Notes
External links
The Frankish royal family in Cologne Cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisigard
6th-century Frankish nobility
Merovingian dynasty
Lombard women
Frankish queens consort
510s births
540s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death unknown
6th-century Frankish women
6th-century Lombard people
6th-century queens consort