Guntram

Guntram I (c.545-592) (also called Gontran, Gunthram, or Gunthchramn) was the king of Burgundy from 561 to 592. He was a son of Clotaire I and Ingunda. On his father's death (561), he became king of a fourth of the kingdom of the Franks, and made his capital at Orléans.

He had something of that fraternal love which his brothers lacked and the preeminent chronicler of the period, Gregory of Tours, often calls him good king Guntram, as noted here, where Gregory discusses the fate of Guntram's three marriages:

The good king Gunthram first took a concubine Veneranda, a slave belonging to one of his people, by whom he had a son Gundobad. Later he married Marcatrude, daughter of Magnar, and sent his son Gundobad to Orléans. But after she had a son Marcatrude was jealous, and proceeded to bring about Gundobad's death. She sent poison, they say, and poisoned his drink. And upon his death, by God's judgment she lost the son she had and incurred the hate of the king, was dismissed by him, and died not long after. After her he took Austerchild, also named Bobilla. He had by her two sons, of whom the older was called Clothar and the younger Chlodomer.[1]

In 573, he was caught in a civil war with his brother Sigebert I of Austrasia and in 575, called upon the aid of their brother Chilperic I of Soissons. He reversed his allegiance later—due to the character of Chilperic, if we may give him the benefit of the doubt in light of Gregory's commendation—and Chilperic retreated. He thereafter remained an ally of Sigebert and his wife and sons until his death. When Sigebert was assassinated later that year (575), Chilperic invaded the kingdom, but Guntram sent his general Mummolus (always Guntrams main weapon, for he was the greatest general in Gaul at the time) to remove him and Mummolus defeated Chilperic's general Desiderius and the Neustrian's forces retreated from Austrasia.

In 577, Clotaire and Clodomir, his two surviving children, died of dysentery and he adopted as his son and heir, Childebert II, his nephew, Sigebert's son, whose kingdom he had saved two years prior.

However, Childebert did not always prove faithful to his uncle. In 581, Chilperic took many of Guntram's cities and in 583, he allied with Childebert and attacked Guntram. This time Guntram made peace with Chilperic and Childebert retreated.

In 584, he returned Childebert's infidelity by invading his land and capturing Tours and Poitiers, but he had to leave to attend the baptism of Clotaire II, his other nephew, who now ruled in Neustria. Supposed to take place on the feast of Saint Martin, July 4, in Orléans, it never did and Guntram turned to invade Septimania. Peace was soon made.

In 587, Fredegund attempted to assassinate him, but failed. He went, on November 28, to Trier to make a treaty with Childebert; Brunhilda, his sister-in-law, Sigebert's wife, whose ally he had always been; Chlodosind, Childebert's sister; Faileuba, Childebert's queen; Magneric, bishop of Trier; and Ageric, bishop of Verdun. This was called the Treaty of Andelot and it lasted until Guntram's death.

In 589, he made a final advance on Septimania, to no avail. He fought against the barbarians who menaced the kingdom and quelled an uprising at a Poitevin nunnery with the aid of many of his bishops (590).

He died at Chalon-sur-Saône in 592, and his kingdom passed to his adopted son Childebert II.

Guntram is also the name of Richard Strauss's first opera.

External Link

• History of the Franks: Books I-X At Medieval Sourcebook.