Swanachild (also ''Swanahild'' or ''Serenahilt'') was the second wife of

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesma ...

Reign

Swanachild belonged to the clan of the

Agilolfing The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. T ...

, though her parentage is not quite clear. Her parents could be

Tassilo II Tassilo II (died c. 719) was a ruler in southern Germany. He was the son, probably third, of Theodo of Bavaria and Folchaid. Sometime before 715, Theodo divided his duchy and associated with its rule the eldest two of his four sons. The eldest, Th ...

duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and Monarch, kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic States of Germany, state in th ...

, and his wife Imma. Alternatively, her parents could be

Theudebert of Bavaria Theodbert (also ''Theodebert'', ''Theudebert'', ''Theotpert'', and ''Theodo'') ( 685 – c. 719) was the duke of Bavaria in some capacity or other from 702 to his death. He was the eldest son of Duke Theodo of Bavaria and Folchaid. He was first ass ...

, duke of Bavaria and his wife

Regintrud Regintrud, also known as Reginlind and Regentrud, (born 660–665,Note: the provided date of birth would be invalid if she is Dagobert I's daughter as he died 639 died 730–740) was probably the wife of Duke Theodbert of Bavaria or of his father Du ...

. In the 720s

married Swanachild. After an initial conflict, Martel established amicable relations with

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. The ''Reichenau Codex'' listed her as ''Suanahil regina''. With Martel she had one child, Grifo. After the death of Martel, she supported her son's failed attempt to gain a portion of his inheritance. This she did with the support of her uncle

Odilo of Bavaria Odilo, also Oatilo or Uatilo (died 18th January 748) of the Agilolfing dynasty was Duke of Bavaria from 737 until his death in 748. He had the ''Lex Baiuvariorum'' compilation edited, the first ancient Germanic law collection of the Bavarians. ...

. Afterwards she was relegated to the position of abbess of

Chelles Abbey Chelles Abbey (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Chelles) was a Frankish monastery founded around 657/660 during the early medieval period. It was intended initially as a monastery for women; then its reputation for great learning grew, and with the ...

References

{{Authority control Year of birth missing 8th-century deaths People of medieval Bavaria