Desiderius of Aquitaine

Desiderius(died 587) was aGallo-Romanduxin theKingdom of the Franksduring the reigns ofChilperic IandGuntram.He served Chilperic asDuke of Aquitaineand was his greatest general.

WhenSigebert IofAustrasiadied in 575, Chilperic sent Desiderius to invade his kingdom, but Guntram of Burgundy sent the patricianMummolusagainst him and Desiderius was defeated and forced to retreat, leaving Austrasia to Sigebert's sonChildebert II.The following year, with the armies ofBladastandBerulf,^[1]surrounded the territory ofBourges.They subsequently devastated theTouraine,as recorded by the thenbishop of Tours,Gregory,the historian.

In 583, Chilperic gave the province ofAquitaineto him and Bladast and sent them intoVasconiawith a large army. They were defeated and most of the army destroyed.^[2]

When Chilperic died (584), Desiderius went toToulouseto secure the treasure imparted to Chilperic's daughter Riguntha, betrothed toReccared,son ofLeovigild,King of Spain.The next year (584), Desiderius made peace with Guntram. The chronicle ofJohn of Biclarreports how around 587 Frankish forces attacked the recently enthroned kingReccaredofVisigothic Spain,but were defeated, their general, Desiderius, being killed in battle.^[3]His widow Tetradia, daughter of a noblewoman and a peasant, was taken to court by her former husband Eulalius, from whom she had fled with a large portion of his fortune. The stolen property was returned to Eulalius and Desiderius' children by her were delegitimised.

Notes

^Gregory of Tours, VI.31, calls him duke ofPoitou,Anjou,Touraine,andNantais.
^Gregory of Tours, I.vi.12, saysBladastes veri dux in Vasconiam abiit maximamque partem exercitus sui amisit.
^Palmer, Trevor."The Chronology of Europe from the Reign of Septimius Severus to that of Maurice, according to Sources from the Fourth to the Ninth Centuries: A Challenge for Heinsohn, Quantavolution Magazine, 2014".

Sources

Gregory of Tours.Historia Francorum.Archived2014-08-14 at theWayback Machinetranslated Earnest Brehaut, 1916.
Lewis, Archibald R. "The Dukes in the Regnum Francorum, A.D. 550-751."Speculum,Vol. 51, No 3 (July 1976), pp 381–410.

This biography of a French peer or noble is astub.You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it.

[1] Gregory of Tours, VI.31, calls him duke ofPoitou,Anjou,Touraine,andNantais.

[2] Gregory of Tours, I.vi.12, saysBladastes veri dux in Vasconiam abiit maximamque partem exercitus sui amisit.

[3] Palmer, Trevor."The Chronology of Europe from the Reign of Septimius Severus to that of Maurice, according to Sources from the Fourth to the Ninth Centuries: A Challenge for Heinsohn, Quantavolution Magazine, 2014".

[1]

[2]

[3]