Stories of Queens

Did Queen Fredegund really put the evil into Medieval? If accounts are to be believed, she was extremely calculating, cold-blooded and cruel.

Fredegund grew up in France in a poor family, but  she was able to obtain work as a servant for Queen Audovera, King Chilperic’s first wife.

Chilperic became fascinated with Fredegund, and she convinced him to divorce Audovera and put her in a convent so he could marry her instead. And no, I haven’t mistaken Fredegund for Anne Boleyn!

King Chilperic, free to marry again, didn’t marry Fredegund! Instead, he married Galswintha, a daughter of the Visigothic king, and received a huge dowry for his new bride.

However, pity would be wasted on Fredegund. Within a year, Galswintha was strangled in her bed, and a few days after that, Fredegund finally married the king! We can only assume the murder was a sinister scheme of the king and his most recent bride as there was not the slightest investigation into Galswintha’s death.

Galswintha’s sister was Queen Brunhilda, and she swore revenge on Fredegund for the death of her sister. Brunhilda was married to Chilperic’s brother, King Sigebert, and the two brothers were already at war with each other, but eventually Sigebert succeeded in conquering Chilperic’s kingdom. Chilperic fled and hid. Brunhilda would soon avenge her sister’s murder.

But Fredegund would not let go of her queenship so easily! As Sigebert was declared king over Chilperic’s territories, he was assassinated by two of her servant boys who used a dagger dipped in powerful poison.

Ten years later, King Chilperic was stabbed to death by a mysterious attacker. Now Queen Fredegund and Queen Brunhilda ruled the kingdoms left by their husbands. It was a rivalry of fierce queens!

But Fredegund had matters closer to home to take care of. Tired of bickering with her daughter, Rigunth, she summoned Rigunth to see the jewels in a large chest. As Rigunth reached into the chest, Fredegund slammed the heavy lid down upon her neck! The servants rushed to rescue her, and she survived. But, chillingly, nothing more is known about Rigunth, not even the year of her death.

There are so many more stories to tell!

The children’s book The Queens Alphabet describes Fredegund’s cunning plan, which saw her defeat Brunhilda’s larger army in The Battle of Droizy.

It is very likely that even Shakespeare was impressed, making reference to her tactics with ‘the moving woods’ in Macbeth!

Another account tells how she had an Archbishop attacked in the church. She visited him later, pretending to bring medicinal aid. But she sat next to him, and watched as he slowly died.

While the murders and schemes are dark and fascinating, I believe we should look at them through somewhat rose-coloured glasses. Gregory of Tours wrote these accounts of Fredegund, but he was a member of Brunhilda’s Court. It was not in his interests to give Fredegund a good character, and he didn’t!