Ingunde, Ingund, Ingundis or Ingunda (born in 567/568), was the eldest child of
Sigebert I
Sigebert I (c. 535 – c. 575) was a Frankish king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the third surviving son out of four of Clotaire I and Ingund. His reign found him mostly occupied with a successful civ ...
, king of Austrasia, and his wife
Brunhilda Brunhilda may refer to:
* Brunhild, a figure in Germanic heroic legend
* Brunhilda of Austrasia (c. 543–613), Frankish queen
* ''Brunhilda'' (bird), a genus of birds
See also
*
*
* Broom-Hilda, an American newspaper comic strip
* Broomhild ...
, daughter of King
Athanagild
Athanagild ( 517 – December 567) was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania. He had rebelled against his predecessor, Agila I, in 551. The armies of Agila and Athanagild met at Seville, where Agila met a second defeat. Following the death of ...
of the Visigoths. She married
Hermenegild
Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild (died 13 April 585; es, San Hermenegildo; la, Hermenegildus, from Gothic ''*Airmana-gild'', "immense tribute"), was the son of king Liuvigild of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. ...
and became the first Catholic
queen of the Visigoths
The names of only a few of the queens of the Visigoths are known. As the Gothic monarchy was elective, all queens were such only as consorts of their husbands.
In his ''Chronicon'' John of Biclarum styles Goisuintha "queen" (''regina'') under th ...
.
Early life
Following the tradition of the time, it would follow that Ingund was named after her father's mother. Her siblings included a sister,
Chlodosind (born about 569) and a brother
Childebert (born 570). Sigebert became ruler of the Frankish kingdom 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 F ...
in 561 on the death of his father
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 ...
.
In 575, Sigebert was embroiled in a civil war with his half-brother,
Chilperic I
Chilperic I (c. 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund.
Life
Immediately after the death of his father in 561, he en ...
, king of
Neustria
Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks.
Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It later ...
. On the verge of victory, Sigebert was assassinated. With the death of Sigebert, Brunhilda and the children were in great fear for their safety. Childebert, only five years old, faced almost certain death from Chilperic. Duke Gundovald immediately came to Paris, where Brunhilda and the children were living, took possession of Childebert and secured his safety among the Austrasian nobility. When Chilperic came to Paris, he seized Brunhilda and ordered Ingund and Chlodosind to be held in custody in the monastery of Meaux. Ingund would have been only seven or eight during this traumatic time.
Marriage of Hermenegild and Ingund
In 569
Leovigild
Liuvigild, Leuvigild, Leovigild, or ''Leovigildo'' (Spanish and Portuguese), ( 519 – 586) was a Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania from 568 to 586. Known for his Codex Revisus or Code of Leovigild, a law allowing equal rights between the ...
was elevated to co-rule the Visigoths in
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...
and
Septimania
Septimania (french: Septimanie ; oc, Septimània ) is a historical region in modern-day Southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septima ...
with his brother
Liuva. Soon afterwards, in order to legitimize his kingship, he married
Goiswintha
Goiswintha or Goisuintha was Visigothic Queen consort of Hispania and Septimania. She was the wife of two Kings, Athanagild and Liuvigild. From her first marriage, she was the mother of two daughters — Brunhilda and Galswintha — who were marri ...
, widow of the previous Visigothic King Athanagild and mother of Brunhilda. Leovigild had two sons,
Hermenegild
Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild (died 13 April 585; es, San Hermenegildo; la, Hermenegildus, from Gothic ''*Airmana-gild'', "immense tribute"), was the son of king Liuvigild of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. ...
and
Reccared
Reccared I (or Recared; la, Flavius Reccaredus; es, Flavio Recaredo; 559 – December 601; reigned 586–601) was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania. His reign marked a climactic shift in history, with the king's renunciation of Arian ...
, from a previous marriage. About 578 Leovigild negotiated the marriage of his eldest son Hermenegild to Ingund, daughter of Brunhilda now
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for her son Childebert.
Ingund travelled from France to
Toledo through Septimania, the part of Gaul still held by the Visigoths. Septimania stretches from the eastern end of the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
, along the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
, to the
Rhone. As Ingund passed through the Visigothic town of
Agde
Agde (; ) is a commune in the Hérault department in Southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi.
Location
Agde is located on the Hérault river, from the Mediterranean Sea, and from Paris. The Canal du Midi con ...
she met the local Catholic bishop,
Phronimius, who warned her not to accept the 'poison' of
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
.
In 579 Prince Hermenegild married Ingund, he being an Arian and she a Catholic. At first Ingund was warmly received by Queen Goiswintha. However, the queen was determined that Ingund should be re-baptized in the Arian faith. Ingund, still only twelve, firmly refused. According to
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 ...
: "the Queen lost her temper completely" and "seized the girl by her hair and threw her to the ground: then she kicked her until she was covered with blood, had her stripped naked and ordered her to be thrown into the baptismal pool". Whether because of this fracas, or, more likely, because of Leovigild's desire to assure the succession of his sons (consistent with his previous actions to associate his sons with himself as rulers of the kingdom), he sent Hermenegild and Ingund to Seville to rule a portion of his kingdom—presumably the province of
Baetica
Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of the basic di ...
and southern
Lusitania
Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and
a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusita ...
.
Revolt of Hermenegild
It was at Seville that Ingund came into contact with
Leander
Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology.
Leander may also refer to:
People
* Leander (given name)
* Leander (surname)
Places
* Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community
* Le ...
, a Catholic monk. Leander belonged to an elite and influential family of Hispano-Roman stock. His two brothers later became bishops and his sister an Abbess. The vast majority of the population of southern Spain was Hispano-Roman and Catholic. Also a significant segment of the Visigoth nobility were Catholic, not to mention that portion of the nobility whose roots were Hispano-Roman. Leander either was already bishop of Seville when Hermenegild and Ingund arrived there, or became bishop soon afterwards. There can be no doubt of the influence the bishop held, nor can there be any doubt that he saw in this Catholic princess an opportunity to advance the Catholic cause, for the history of this period contains numerous examples (real or mythical) of queens influencing their husband's religious conversion.
Hermenegild's Baetica bordered
Spania
Spania ( la, Provincia Spaniae) was a province of the Eastern Roman Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It was established by the Emperor Justinian I in an effort to restore the western prov ...
, the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
-controlled cities of southeastern Spain. These cities were predominantly
Latin Christian.
The sixth century experienced a flight of Catholic clergy to southern Spain, many from Africa, but other areas as well. Persecution and the
Three-Chapter Controversy
The Three-Chapter Controversy, a phase in the Chalcedonian controversy, was an attempt to reconcile the non-Chalcedonians of Syria and Egypt with Chalcedonian Christianity, following the failure of the Henotikon. The ''Three Chapters'' (, ''trí ...
would account for much of the flight. Examples of the new arrivals are the African Nanctus, Donatus and the Greek named
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
. So when Hermenegild and Ingund arrived in Seville, they would have been met by a strong and possibly active Catholic party.
In the winter of 579–80 Hermenegild proclaimed himself king at Seville and, yet, he continued to also refer to his father as 'King'. Whether or not Hermenegild held the Orthodox Christian belief in the Trinity at this time cannot be known, for it is not till 582 that he "officially" accepted the Catholic faith. However, from the beginning, he seems to have been supported by those who support the Catholic cause. For already in 580 Leander travelled to Constantinople to plead the rebels' cause and seek aid from the Byzantine Empire.
Sometime between 580 and 582 Hermenegild and Ingund had a son named Athanagild after his matrilineal great-grandfather king
Athanagild
Athanagild ( 517 – December 567) was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania. He had rebelled against his predecessor, Agila I, in 551. The armies of Agila and Athanagild met at Seville, where Agila met a second defeat. Following the death of ...
.
Leovigild's Response
Leander travelled to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
to gain support from
Emperor Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
in 580, returning in 582. Hermenegild converted to Catholicism in 582—as Leander was absent in the years prior, it would follow that Ingund was a major influence for his conversion.
Leovigild more or less ignored his son's transgression until 582 when he marched on
Mérida and captured the city. It is difficult to determine whether this was because of Hermenegild's new found Catholicism or a coincidence. Nevertheless, Leovigild saw in Arianism Visigothic identity and any threat to this identity as a threat to Visigoth legitimacy to rule. He viewed Catholicism as the 'Roman' religion and Arianism as the Visigoth religion. Leovigild's response may have been primarily a reaction to Hermenegild and other Visigoth nobles who had, at one time or another, converted to Catholicism.
By 584 the revolt had decidedly turned against Hermenegild and its outcome became all too clear. Ingund with their young son fled to the neighboring Byzantine cities of Spain, who later refused to turn them over to Leovigild.
On her way to Constantinople with her son Athanagild, Ingund died (584) in
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
, Africa and was buried there. The cause of her early death is not recorded, but one of the world's greatest
plagues ravaged the Mediterranean at this time. Athanagild survived the journey to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople where he was brought up by
Emperor Maurice
Maurice ( la, Mauricius or ''Mauritius''; ; 539 – 27 November 602) was Eastern Roman emperor from 582 to 602 and the last member of the Justinian dynasty. A successful general, Maurice was chosen as heir and son-in-law by his predecessor Tib ...
.
The Byzantines used their custody of Ingund and her son to induce Ingund's brother, King Childebert II, to attack the
Lombards
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
of northern Italy. Childebert, while only fourteen years of age at this time, would have also been much influenced by his strong-willed mother Brunhilda, who was also committed to securing Ingund and her grandson.
Leovigild besieged Seville for a year before he was able to capture the city in 584. The tenacity of the resistance is evidence of the support for this Catholic usurper. Convinced that resistance was now futile, Hermenegild surrendered to his father. Hermenegild was imprisoned at Tarragona and repeatedly urged to abjure Catholicism. He refused and was executed by Duke Sigisbert on 13 April 585.
Ingund and Athanagild tried to seek refuge in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
after Hermenegild's execution, but it was refused while they were already in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. She then returned to the Frankish Kingdom, where her son remained under her and her mother's custody.
Aftermath
According to Gregory of Tours, Ingund's example deeply influenced her husband's acceptance of Catholicism and eventual conversion. Used as evidence that the conversion was not solely based on political expediency is the fact that when Hermenegild was forced to choose between denying his Catholic faith and execution, he chose to remain Catholic. The revolt of Hermenegild signalled the weakening influence of the Arian doctrine in Spain.
Soon after the death of Hermenegild and Ingund, King Leovigild died and was succeeded by Reccared, Hermenegild's younger brother. By the second year of his reign, Reccared embraced Catholicism and began the task of unifying the Spanish people under a single religion. The spirit of Ingund and the example of Hermenegild is believed to have had an influence on Spanish society, and particularly on the new king Reccared. Reccared's lack of support for his father's actions against Hermenegild and the retribution he took on his brother's executioner is evidence of a bond between the two brothers. Pope Gregory's words further confirm Hermenegild's influence: "Reccared, following not his faithless father but his martyr brother, was converted from the perverseness of the Arian heresy."
Parentage
According to the 9th-century ''
Chronicle of Alfonso III
The ''Chronicle of Alfonso III'' ( la, Chronica Adefonsi tertii regis) is a chronicle composed in the early tenth century on the order of King Alfonso III of León with the goal of showing the continuity between Visigothic Spain and the later Chris ...
'',
Erwig
Erwig ( la, Flavius Ervigius; after 642 – 687) was a king of the Visigoths in Hispania (680–687).
Parentage
According to the 9th-century '' Chronicle of Alfonso III'', Erwig was the son of Ardabast, who had journeyed from the Byzantine Empire ...
was the son of Ardabast, who had journeyed from the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
to Hispania during the time of
Chindasuinth
Chindasuinth (also spelled Chindaswinth, Chindaswind, Chindasuinto, Chindasvindo, or Khindaswinth (Latin: Chintasvintus, Cindasvintus; 563 – 30 September 653) was Visigothic King of Hispania, from 642 until his death in 653. He succeeded Tulga, ...
, and married Chindasuinth's niece Goda. Ardabast (or Artavasdos), was probably an Armenian or Persian Christian exile in Constantinople or in Byzantine Africa. In Hispania he was made a count.
17th-century Spanish genealogist
Luis Bartolomé de Salazar y Castro
Hermenegild
Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild (died 13 April 585; es, San Hermenegildo; la, Hermenegildus, from Gothic ''*Airmana-gild'', "immense tribute"), was the son of king Liuvigild of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. ...
and Ingund, and his mother as Flavia Juliana, a daughter of
Peter Augustus and niece of the Emperor
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
. This imperial connection is disputed by
Christian Settipani
Christian Settipani (born 31 January 1961) is a French genealogist, historian and IT professional, currently working as the Technical Director of a company in Paris.
Biography
Settipani holds a Master of Advanced Studies from the Paris-Sorbo ...
, who says that the only source for Athanagild's marriage to Flavia Julia is
José Pellicer, who he claims to be a forger.
[Christian Settipani, ''Les ancêtres de Charlemagne'', p. 431.]
Sources
* Collins, Roger ''Early Medieval Spain: Unity in Diversity, 400-1000'' Second Edition. New York: St. Martin's Press
* Thompson, E.A. ''The Goths in Spain''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969
* Treadgold, Warren T. ''A History of the Byzantine State and Society''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997
*
Gibbon, Edward, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' Volume IV. London: The Folio Society
* Gregory of Tours, ''The History of the Franks'', England: Penguin Books Ltd. 1974
References
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Frankish princesses
568 births
Visigothic queens consort
Spanish Roman Catholics
Merovingian dynasty
6th-century people of the Visigothic Kingdom
6th-century women
Daughters of kings