Erchinoald
Erchinoald(alsoErkinoaldand, inFrench,Erchenout) succeededAegaas themayor of the palaceofNeustriain 641 and succeededFlaochadinBurgundyin 642 and remained such until his death in 658.
Family
[edit]According toFredegar,he was a relative (consanguineus) ofDagobert I's mother. Chaume cites theNotitia de Fundatione Monasterii Glanderiensisto suggest that Erchinoald was son of the Gallo Roman senatorAnsbertus,and that Erchinoald's son, Leudesius, was therefore a descendant of the Gallo-Roman families of theSyagriiand Ferrèoli[1][2]Erchinoald's relationship with Merovingian King Dagobert has been proposed to have been through his mother Gerberga, daughter of BurgundianduxRicomeres (fl.575) andBertrude,her putative sister, and mother of King Dagobert.[3][4]According toAlban Butler,Erchinoald was brother toAdalbard of Ostreventand Sigefrid, count of Ponthieu.[5]Herchenfrida (Erchinfreda), mother of St.Desiderius of Cahorswill have also been of this family as is further evidencedinter aliaby that Gallo-Roman saint's close ties to King Dagobert, and a brother named "Syagrius".
Erchinoald introducedBalthild,anAnglo-Saxonslave, most probably of a high-ranking Anglo Saxon family from East Anglia (latercanonised), toClovis II,king of Neustria. The king's marriage to the pious Balthild reinforced Erchinoald's position at court. It has been suggested given the rarity of the name element "Erchin" (Genuine or truly) among the Franks and Saxons that QueenEmma of Kent,thought to be from Frankia, and the wife ofEadbald of Kentwas of this family and perhaps Erchinoald's daughter. Eadbald and Emma had a sonEorconbertb.ca.618 so Emma was probably born before 600 and was not a daughter but a sister or less likely a cousin of Erchinoald. This was a period of considerable Frankish influence in Kent and East Anglia and as one of the most powerful men in Frankia located at his estate at Peronne not far from the English channel when he was not at court, it was Erchinoald who wielded this influence during his lifetime. Erchinoald supported efforts of successors of the Augustinian mission to England. One notable manner in which he both exerted influence and aided the mission was his involvement in and support of convents within his sphere of influence inNeustria(for exampleFaremoutiers) into which some of the princesses of Kent, such asEorcongotaand East Anglia such asAethelburgandSaethryth,in most cases his relations, retired and were made abbess.[6]
Erchinoald himself married Leutsinde.[7]Through her he had a son,Leudesius,who became the mayor of the palace of Neustria in 675.
Erchinoald died in 658 and was succeeded byEbroin,chosen by the Frankish nobles. Although his son, Leudesius, and much of his family were destroyed in the conflict between the factions ofLeudegar of Autunand Ebroin in 676, the name does resurface in the 7th century in Frankia suggesting he may have had some descendants who survived; Chaume has posited a sister who was ancestor to a number of powerful families during the Carolingian era such as the Guerinids, the counts of Gatinais, and the Guidonids.[8]
Notes
[edit]- ^"Chaume 1977, partie II, 1, p.264"
- ^"Chaume 1977, partie I, p.531"
- ^"Chaume 1977, partie II,1 p. 264"
- ^"Chaume 1977, partie I, p.529"
- ^Alban Butler, Alban. “Saint Mauront, Abbot”.Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints,1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 4 May 2013
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^"Le Jan, 2001"
- ^"Chaume 1977, partie I, p. 531"
- ^"Chaume 1977, partie I, p. 531"
- Chaume, Maurice ' 'Les origines du Duche de Bourgogne' '. Darmstadt: Scientia Verlag Aalen, 1977.
- Le Jan, Regne "Convents, Violence and Competition for Power in Francia." in Theuws, Frans; De Jong, Mayke; van Rhijn, Carine ' 'Topographies of power in the Early Middle Ages' '. Leeiden: Koninkslijke Brill NV, 2001.
Sources
[edit]- Bede, ' 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People' '. London: Penguin Classics, 1990.
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