Guntheuc (or Gondioque) (495 – c. 532) was the queen of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Chlodomer Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer (c. 495 - 524) was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, King of the Franks. On the death of his father, in 511, he divided the kingdom of the Franks with his three brothers: Theuderic I, Childebert ...

, king of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" ( French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. Chlothar's father, Clovis I, divided the kin ...

, king of

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

Biographical information

Guntheuc may have been of Burgundian origin and the granddaughter of

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. Since 463 he was a sub-king of the Burgundians. With the help of Clovis, ...

King of Burgundy The following is a list of the kings of the two kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations. Kings of the Burgundians * Gebicca (late 4th century – c. 407 ...

.Information from the French language Wikipedia page. Needs a source She is briefly mentioned in

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

' ''History of the Franks''.Grégoire de Tours, Histoire, livre III, 6. In 517 she married

Chlodomer Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer (c. 495 - 524) was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, King of the Franks. On the death of his father, in 511, he divided the kingdom of the Franks with his three brothers: Theuderic I, Childebert ...

, king of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Clodoald Saint Clodoald ( la, C(h)lodoaldus, Cloudus; reconstructed Frankish: ''*Hlōdōwald''; 522 – 560 AD), better known as Saint Cloud (), was a Merovingian prince, grandson of Clovis I and son of Chlodomer, who preferred to renounce royalty and be ...

(later

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

Saint Cloud).Christian Bouyer, Dictionnaire des Reines de France, Librairie Académique Perrin, 1992 , p. 32-33 King Chlodomer led an expedition against the Burgundians in 524. He was killed on this expedition, in the spring or summer of the same year, at the

Battle of Vézeronce The Battle of Vézeronce took place on June 25, 524 near Vézeronce-Curtin (then ''Veseruntia'') in Isère, France. This battle was part of an invasion of Kingdom of Burgundy, Burgundy initiated by the four successors of the Frankish king Clovis ...

. His three sons were entrusted to his mother

Clotilde Clotilde ( 474–545), also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde etc. (Latin: Chrodechildis, Chlodechildis from Frankish ''*Hrōþihildi'' or perhaps ''*Hlōdihildi'', both "famous in battle"), was a Queen of All the Franks. She was ...

until his widow married

Clotaire I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" ( French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. Chlothar's father, Clovis I, divided the kin ...

. Clotaire, however, had Chlodomer's children killed, although Clodoald managed to escape. Better known as Saint Cloud, he later became abbot of Nogent, having given up his hair, the symbol of the Frankish royalty, rather than giving up his life. After Chlodomer's death, Guntheuc married his brother

Clothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" (French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. Chlothar's father, Clovis I, divided the kingdo ...

, king of

. Chlothar's marriage to Guntheuc gave Chlothar access to Chlodomer's treasury and ensured the rights of Guntheuc as sole heiress of King Godégisile's lands; as Frankish law allowed a woman to inherit land if she had no sons.

References

Frankish queens consort Remarried royal consorts 495 births 530s deaths Year of death uncertain Merovingian dynasty 6th-century Frankish nobility 6th-century Frankish women {{France-noble-stub