Fritigil (or ''Fritigils''), Queen of the

Marcomanni The Marcomanni were a Germanic people * * * that established a powerful kingdom north of the Danube, somewhere near modern Bohemia, during the peak of power of the nearby Roman Empire. According to Tacitus and Strabo, they were Suebian. Or ...

, is the last known ruler of the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and e ...

who were at that time (late 4th century) probably settled in Pannonia. She is alleged to have had her residence in the present

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

. Fritigil corresponded with

Ambrose of Milan Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...

for the conversion of her people to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. She convinced her husband to submit to Roman authority and the tribe fell under the power of a

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

according to the '' Notitia Dignitatum''.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

referred to Fritigil in his letter ''Operosam Diem'': :''Has quidem normas sectabatur Mediolanensis Episcopus sua etiam in catechesi, quae singulari omnino vi audientes captabat. Eam plures sunt experti. Longinqua illa regina Marcomannorum Fritigil, ipsius fama adducta, scripsit ei ut super catholica religione informaretur recepitque vicissim «epistulam ... praeclaram in modum catechismi».'' Ambrose died on year 397, before Fritigil reached Milan to meet him.

References

Sources

Fritigil, markomannische Königin.
*

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

''Operosam Diem''
1996. *'' Notitia Dignitatum''

Latin text with pictures, from Bibliotheca Augustana. {{Authority control Ancient queens regnant 4th-century Germanic people Germanic women Marcomannic rulers 4th-century women rulers 4th-century monarchs in Europe