Emma ( fl. early seventh century) was a member of the

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...

n royal family. She is sometimes identified with the Emma (or Ymma) who married

Eadbald of Kent Eadbald ( ang, Eadbald) was King of Kent from 616 until his death in 640. He was the son of King Æthelberht and his wife Bertha, a daughter of the Merovingian king Charibert. Æthelberht made Kent the dominant force in England during his reign ...

. Emma was a daughter of

Theudebert II Theudebert II () (c.585-612), King of Austrasia (595–612 AD), was the son and heir of Childebert II. He received the kingdom of Austrasia plus the cities (''civitates'') of Poitiers, Tours, Le Puy-en-Velay, Bordeaux, and Châteaudun, as well ...

King of Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the Fr ...

from 595 to 612. He had previously shown little interest in the

Kingdom of Kent la, Regnum Cantuariorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the Kentish , common_name = Kent , era = Heptarchy , status = vassal , status_text = , government_type = Monarchy ...

, but

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

had written to him in 601, encouraging him to back Paulinus and

Mellitus Saint Mellitus (died 24 April 624) was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third Archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Chris ...

' missionary campaign, which was to be based in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. In 616, Eadbald came to the throne of Kent. His mother appears to have been

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

, a

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

princess. He came to throne following traditional Germanic religion, but was converted and gave up his first wife who, as his stepmother, was not considered acceptable by the Christian church.S. E. Kelly,
Eadbald
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' This development appears to have initiated closer relations between Kent and the Frankish kingdom. Eadbald made a second marriage, to a Christian named Emma, who is identified in the annals of St Augustine's Abbey as the daughter of a Frankish king - implying Emma, daughter of Theudebert. However, S. E. Kelly, writing in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', holds that the belief that Eadbald married a daughter of Theudebert is the result of confusion between him and

Adaloald Adaloald (602–628) was the Lombard king of Italy from 616 to 626. He was son and heir of King Agilulf and his Catholic queen Theodelinda. He was baptised shortly after his birth in 602; the abbot Secundus of Non (later historian) was his g ...

, King of the Lombards. Kelly gives more credence to a suggestion that Eadbald's wife was the daughter of

Erchinoald Erchinoald (also ''Erkinoald'' and, in French, ''Erchenout'') succeeded Aega as the mayor of the palace of Neustria in 641 and succeeded Flaochad in Burgundy in 642 and remained such until his death in 658. Family According to Fredegar, he was a ...

, the mayor of the palace in the Frankish kingdom of Neustria from 641 to 658. The Emma who married Eadbald had, as described in the

Kentish Royal Legend The Kentish Royal Legend is a diverse group of Medieval texts which describe a wide circle of members of the royal family of Kent from the 7th to 8th centuries AD. Key elements include the descendants of Æthelberht of Kent over the next four ge ...

, three children: Eormenred, Eorcenberht and

Eanswith Saint Eanswith ( ang, Ēanswīþ; born c. 630, Kent, England. Died c. 650, Folkestone, England), also spelled Eanswythe or Eanswide, was an Anglo-Saxon princess, who is said to have founded Folkestone Priory, one of the first Christian monastic com ...

. She is known to have died in 642, two years after her husband. She was buried alongside Eadbald in the Church of St Mary, which he had built in the precincts of the monastery of St Peter and St Paul in Canterbury (a church later incorporated within the Norman edifice of St Augustine's). At that time, her relics were probably translated along with Eadbald's for reburial in the south transept ca. A.D. 1087.See, e.g., the guide booklet to ''St. Augustine's Abbey'' (London: English Heritage, 1997), 20, 25.

References

External links

* {{end box 7th-century English women 7th-century English people Anglo-Saxon royal consorts 7th-century Frankish women Merovingian dynasty 7th-century Frankish nobility Daughters of kings