Berthoald (died 622) was the Duke of the Saxons during the reign of the

Frankish kings The Franks, Germanic peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dux, dukes and monarch, reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Franks, Salian Mero ...

Chlothar II Chlothar II, sometimes called "the Young" ( French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629) was king of the Franks, ruling Neustria (584–629), Burgundy (613–629) and Austrasia (613–623). The son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fred ...

and his son

Dagobert I Dagobert I (; 603/605 – 19 January 639) was King of the Franks. He ruled Austrasia (623–634) and Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield real royal power, after which the ...

, the last ruling

Merovingians The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

.Max Diesenberger (2003), "Hair, Sacrality and Symbolic Capital in the Frankish Kingdoms," ''The Construction of Communities in the Early Middle Ages: Texts, Resources and Artefacts'', Richard Corradini, Max Diesenberger, and Helmut Reimitz, edd. (BRILL), 201–2. He despised Frankish suzerainty and rebelled, but was defeated. His story is told in the '' Liber Historiae Francorum'' (727) and the '' Gesta Dagoberti'' (830s), both sources partial to the Merovingian kings.

Revolt and death

In 622, shortly after Chlothar had appointed Dagobert to rule

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

, the Frankish kingdom that bordered the Saxons, Berthoald rose in revolt and began marching against him. Dagobert crossed the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and invaded Saxon territory to meet him. In the subsequent battle the Franks were defeated and Dagobert received a strong blow to his helmet, by which a portion of his characteristically long Merovingian hair was lost. He retrieved it and sent it with his

armiger In heraldry, an armiger is a (natural or juridical) person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an "armour-bearer") either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armig ...

to his father, to request his assistance. Chlothar, who was in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

at the time, gathered an army on hearing the news and left that same night. The Franks under Dagobert then encamped on the river

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

across from Berthoald's army. When Chlothar arrived, Dagobert's Franks applauded so loudly that the Saxons could hear on the other side of the river. Berthoald, however, refused to believe reports that Chlothar had arrived and accused his men of cowardice. Chlothar waded his horse into the river, where the Saxon leader met him. After the king removed his helmet to reveal his long grey hair, Berthoald taunted the Frank: "Retire, for if you defeat me, people will only say you have beaten your slave Berthoald, while if I win the victory, they will say everywhere that the mighty king of the Franks has been killed by his slave." The king, in full armour, then charged him and killed him in single combat, even cutting off his head with his axe. The Saxons were routed in the battle that followed. Their land was plundered and a large number of their adult men were killed.The above account is taken mostly from H. H. Howorth (1880)
"The Ethnology of Germany, Part IV: The Saxons of Nether Saxony,"
''The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'', 9, 417, supplemented by Diesenberger. Howorth cites as his sources the ''Liber'' and Regino.

Historical sources

The Saxon episode is described briefly in the tenth-century chronicle of

Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum (, ; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine Order, Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm Abbey, Prüm (892–99) and later of St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is ...

, who characteristically gets the date wrong (572): In 869, Hildegar,

Bishop of Meaux The Diocese of Meaux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Meldensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Meaux'') is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the entire department of Seine-et-Marne. It was suffragan of the Archdiocese of Sens ...

, composed a in which he claims that a (a popular song) celebrating the Frankish victory over Berthoald was still being sung. He quotes the first and last lines only:

Notes

{{end box Dukes of the Saxons Saxon warriors 7th-century Saxon people 622 deaths 7th-century dukes in Europe Year of birth unknown