Charibert II a son of Clotaire II

Clotaire II

Chlothar II , called the Great or the Young , King of Neustria, and, from 613 to 629, King of all the Franks, was not yet born when his father, King Chilperic I died in 584...

 and his junior wife Sichilde

Sichilde

Sichilde was a Frankish queen consort in 618–627; married to Clotaire II.She was the daughter of count Brunulphe II of the Ardennes and the sister of Gomatrude , who was married to Dagobert I; her maternal grandfather was royal maior domus. She married Clotaire in about 618...

, was briefly King of Aquitaine from 629 to his death, with his capital at Toulouse

Toulouse

Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

. We have no direct statement about when Charibert was born exact that he was "a few years younger" than his half-brother Dagobert. His father Clotaire evidently had a bigamous marriage (not then uncommon) and he was the offspring of the junior wife.

When his father, Clotaire II

Clotaire II

Chlothar II , called the Great or the Young , King of Neustria, and, from 613 to 629, King of all the Franks, was not yet born when his father, King Chilperic I died in 584...

, King of the Franks, died in 629, Charibert made a bid for the kingdom of Neustria

Neustria

The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...

 against his elder half-brother Dagobert I

Dagobert I

Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...

, who had already been king of Austrasia

Austrasia

Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...

 since 623. In the ensuing negotiations, Charibert, a minor, was represented by his uncle Brodulf, the brother of Queen Sichilde. Dagobert had Brodulf killed, but did not intercede when his half-brother took over the near-independent realm of Aquitaine

Aquitaine

Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...

. Apparently this caused no disagreement, as in 631 Charibert stood godfather to Dagobert's son Sigebert

Sigebert III

Sigebert III was the king of Austrasia from 634 to his death; probably on 1 February 656, or maybe as late as 660. He was the eldest son of Dagobert I....

.

Charibert's realm included Toulouse, Cahors

Cahors

Cahors is the capital of the Lot department in south-western France.Its site is dramatic being contained on three sides within an udder shaped twist in the river Lot known as a 'presqu'île' or peninsula...

, Agen

Agen

Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...

, Périgueux

Périgueux

Périgueux is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.Périgueux is the prefecture of the department and the capital of the region...

, and Saintes

Saintes

Saintes is a French commune located in Poitou-Charentes, in the southwestern Charente-Maritime department of which it is a sub-prefecture. Its inhabitants are called Saintaises and Saintais....

, to which he added his possessions in Gascony

Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

. Charibert was married to Gisela, the daughter of Amand, Ruler of the Gascons. His fighting force subdued the resistance of the Basques

Basque people

The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...

, until the whole of the Basque Country

Basque Country (historical territory)

The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....

 was under his control.

In 632, Charibert died at Blaye

Blaye

Blaye is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:Its inhabitants are called Blayais or the Blayaises.-Geography:...

, Gironde

Gironde

For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...

—possibly assassinated on Dagobert's orders—and soon after that Charibert's infant son Chilperic

Chilperic of Aquitaine

Chilperic was the infant son of Charibert II, and briefly king of Aquitaine in 632. He was killed shortly after his father in 632, under orders by Dagobert I, Charibert's half-brother....

 was also killed. Aquitaine passed again to Dagobert. Both Charibert and his son are buried in the early Romanesque

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 Basilica of Saint-Romain

Basilica of Saint-Romain

The Basilica of Saint-Romain, Blaye, was an important Merovingian basilica, the resting-place of Charibert II, a son of Clotaire II who was briefly king of Aquitaine from 629 to his death in 632, and of his son...

 at Blaye.

Sources

Primary

• Fredegar. 1960. The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations. Translated by J. M. Wallace-Hadrill. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

Secondary

• James, Edward
  Edward James (historian)
  Edward James is Professor of Medieval History at University College, Dublin. He received a BA 1968; DPhil in 1975. He was a Lecturer, then College Lecturer, at the Department of Medieval History, University College Dublin from 1970-1978...
  
  . 1987. The Franks.
• Wood, Ian N. 1994. The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450–751.