Tea at Trianon: Brunhilda of Austrasia

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Brunhilda of Austrasia

From World History Encyclopedia:

In 575, Brunhilda and Sigebert's son Childebert II (r. 575-596) ascended to the throne at age five. Brunhilda served as the young king's regent, effectively becoming the true power behind the throne of Austrasia. The discontented Austrasian nobles resisted Brunhila's rule, but Brunhilda convinced King Guntram of Orléans to support her, granting the queen the legitimacy she needed. As a competent and focused leader, Brunhilda set about repairing old roads from the time of the Romans, building churches, constructing fortresses, reorganizing the kingdom's budget, and restructuring the Austrasian army. Though she was opposed by the Austrasian nobility at every turn, Guntram's adoption of Childebert II as his heir only added to her authority's legitimacy.
By 584, Childebert had reached the age of majority, but Brunhilda still maintained some power behind the throne. Three Austrasian dukes opposed Brunhilda's influence and decided to assassinate Childebert. The plot was exposed and one of the dukes was slain. The two other dukes retreated to a fortress only to be crushed by the forces of Orléans. After the insurrection, Orléans and Austrasia signed the Pact of Andelot in which it was codified that, upon the death of King Guntram, Childebert would ascend to the throne of Orléans and unite it with Austrasia. This was another power play by Brunhilda as it effectively blocked Fredegund's puppet son King Chlothar II of Neustria (r. 584-613) from inheriting the throne of Orléans.

Guntram died in 592, and as per the Pact of Andelot, Childebert II became king of Orléans (which was gradually becoming known as Burgundy, the name of a Germanic kingdom that once stood in the region). Naturally, war broke out between Austrasia-Burgundy, puppeted by Brunhilda, and Neustria, puppeted by Fredegund. A notable battle from this war was the Battle of Droizy in 593 where Fredegund directly led Neustrian forces to victory against Brunhilda's Austrasia-Burgundian soldiers. (Read more.)