Munderic (died 532/33) was a
Merovingian claimant to the
Frankish throne. He was a wealthy nobleman and landowner with vast estates in the region around Vitry-le-Brûle (now
Vitry-en-Perthois) near
Châlons-sur-Marne.
In 532 or 533 or around that year he put forth a claim to royal descent as being or claiming to be a son of
Chlodoric the Parricide and asked for a share of the 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 ...
from
Theuderic I. He had a band of sworn followers. Theuderic attempted to summon him to court in order to kill him, but after Munderic refused, a force was sent against him. The pretender took refuge with his loyal supporters in Vitry. The Austrasian army, however, lacked
siege engines and were unable to invest the place. Theuderic responded by sending a personal courtier of his, Arigisel, to negotiate for the rebels to come out, which they did. The dishonest ambassador had them cut down immediately.
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 ...
, ''Historia Francorum'' III.14; translated by Lewis Thorpe, ''The History of the Franks'' (London: Penguin, 1974), pp. 173-175
Notes
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Sources
*
Bachrach, Bernard S. ''Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1971.
6th-century Frankish nobility
6th-century rulers in Europe
Frankish warriors
Year of birth unknown
533 deaths
Pippinids