Ebroin
Encyclopedia
Ebroin was the Frankish
mayor of the palace
of Neustria
on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the authority of Neustria, which was under his control, over Burgundy
and Austrasia
.
Following the failed coup of the Pippinid
mayor Grimoald the Elder
in Austrasia, the Merovingian court resided in Neustria. According to the Liber historiae Francorum
, during the reign of Chlothar III the mayor Erchinoald
of Neustria died. A council of Franks then elected Ebroin as his replacement.
The Life of Saint Eligius
records that as of the middle 670s Ebroin had only one child, a son named Bobo; Bobo was then convalescing from an illness contracted during his adolescence. Based on that, Bobo was likely born c. 660.
The Venerable Bede
(IV.1) took notice of an anecdote concerning Ebroin in 668. Bede tells that Ebroin waylaid an Englishman returning from Rome, for fear that the Byzantine
Emperor (Constans II, residing in Syracuse (Sicily)) was plotting an alliance against his rule. It follows that Ebroin by 668 had arrogated to himself the de facto rule of Neustria and so (in theory) "of the Franks"; it also follows that Ebroin had a streak of paranoia
.
It remains unclear how direct was Ebroin's influence over the next four years (the Liber historiae may imply that Chlothar had roused himself by then), but when Chlothar died in 673 Ebroin was back in charge. Another brother Theuderic III
was raised as king of Neustria, still viewed as the core kingdom "of the Franks".
Ebroin endeavoured to maintain at any rate the union of Neustria and Burgundy, but the great Burgundian nobles too wished to remain independent. They rose under bishop Leodegar
(or Léger) of Autun
, and defeated Ebroin and Theuderic. They decided to tonsure
Ebroin, interning him in the monastery of Luxeuil
. A proclamation was then issued to the effect that each kingdom should keep its own laws and customs, that there should be no further interchange of functionaries between the kingdoms, and that no one should again set up a tyranny like that of Ebroin. Soon, however, Leodegar too was defeated by Wulfoald and the Austrasians, and was himself confined at Luxeuil in 673.
When Childeric II was murdered at Bondi that year, by a disaffected Frank, Theoderic III was reinstalled as king in Neustria with Leudesius as his mayor. Ebroin and Leodegar took advantage of the confusion to leave the cloister, and soon found themselves once more face to face. Each looked for support to a different Merovingian king, Ebroin even proclaiming a false Merovingian imposter
as sovereign. In a short time Ebroin caused Leudesius to be murdered and became mayor once again, now with a score to settle with Leodegar.
About 675 Ebroin reimposed his authority over Neustria and most of Burgundy, and induced the Duke of Champagne and the Bishops of Châlons and Valence to attack Autun. They invested the city, and forced it to surrender. Ebroin had Leodegar's eyes put out. Ebroin persuaded the king that Childeric's murder had occurred under Leodegar's instigation; and so the king had Leodegar additionally arrested, tried, and exiled. In 12 October 678 Ebroin had his enemy led away and murdered.
Ebroin meanwhile had defeated the Austrasians at Bois-du-Fay, near Laon
, uniting France under Neustrian rule. His triumph, however, was short-lived; he was assassinated in 681, the victim of a combined attack of his numerous enemies.
In 684, Ansoald, bishop of Poitiers in Neustria, the homeland of Leudesius, commissioned a Life of Leodegar the Burgundian. It cast Ebroin as an enemy of God motivated by nothing but ambition and a lust for power. This biography became canonised in the Church to such an extent that Leodegar, too, was canonised - as Saint Leger. Tales of Ebroin's infamy were also found useful by the Austrasians, whose own ambitious mayoral family commissioned the continuations to the chronicle of Fredegar
.
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
mayor of the palace
Mayor of the Palace
Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....
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...
on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the authority of Neustria, which was under his control, over Burgundy
Burgundians
The Burgundians were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe...
and 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...
.
Following the failed coup of the Pippinid
Pippinid
The Pippinids or Arnulfings are the members of a family of Frankish nobles whose select scions served as Mayor of the Palace, de facto rulers, of the Frankish kingdoms of Neustria and Austrasia that were nominally ruled by the Merovingians....
mayor Grimoald the Elder
Grimoald the Elder
Grimoald I , called the Elder , was the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia from 643 to 656. He was the son of Pepin of Landen and Itta....
in Austrasia, the Merovingian court resided in Neustria. According to the Liber historiae Francorum
Liber Historiae Francorum
Liber historiae Francorum is a book that briefly starts as secondary source for early Franks in the time of Marcomer, and it gives a short breviarum of events until the time of the late Merovingians, where it becomes an important primary source of the contemporaneous history...
, during the reign of Chlothar III the mayor Erchinoald
Erchinoald
Erchinoald succeeded Aega as the mayor of the palace of Neustria in 641 and succeeded Flaochad in Burgundy in 642 and remained such until his death in 658. According to Fredegar, he was a relative of Dagobert I's mother...
of Neustria died. A council of Franks then elected Ebroin as his replacement.
The Life of Saint Eligius
Saint Eligius
Saint Eligius is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers , a corps of the British Army, but he is best known for being the patron saint of horses and those who work with them...
records that as of the middle 670s Ebroin had only one child, a son named Bobo; Bobo was then convalescing from an illness contracted during his adolescence. Based on that, Bobo was likely born c. 660.
The Venerable Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
(IV.1) took notice of an anecdote concerning Ebroin in 668. Bede tells that Ebroin waylaid an Englishman returning from Rome, for fear that the Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
Emperor (Constans II, residing in Syracuse (Sicily)) was plotting an alliance against his rule. It follows that Ebroin by 668 had arrogated to himself the de facto rule of Neustria and so (in theory) "of the Franks"; it also follows that Ebroin had a streak of paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
.
It remains unclear how direct was Ebroin's influence over the next four years (the Liber historiae may imply that Chlothar had roused himself by then), but when Chlothar died in 673 Ebroin was back in charge. Another brother Theuderic III
Theuderic III
Theuderic III was the king of Neustria on two occasions and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of all the Franks from 679...
was raised as king of Neustria, still viewed as the core kingdom "of the Franks".
Ebroin endeavoured to maintain at any rate the union of Neustria and Burgundy, but the great Burgundian nobles too wished to remain independent. They rose under bishop Leodegar
Leodegar
Saint Leodegar or Leger, Bishop of Autun , was the great opponent of Ebroin— the mayor of the Palace of Neustria— and the leader of the faction of Austrasian great nobles in the struggles for hegemony over the waning Merovingian dynasty...
(or Léger) of Autun
Autun
Autun is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in Burgundy in eastern France. It was founded during the early Roman Empire as Augustodunum. Autun marks the easternmost extent of the Umayyad campaign in Europe.-Early history:...
, and defeated Ebroin and Theuderic. They decided to tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
Ebroin, interning him in the monastery of Luxeuil
Luxeuil-les-Bains
Luxeuil-les-Bains is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France.-History:Luxeuil was the Roman Luxovium and contained many fine buildings at the time of its destruction by the Huns under Attila in 451...
. A proclamation was then issued to the effect that each kingdom should keep its own laws and customs, that there should be no further interchange of functionaries between the kingdoms, and that no one should again set up a tyranny like that of Ebroin. Soon, however, Leodegar too was defeated by Wulfoald and the Austrasians, and was himself confined at Luxeuil in 673.
When Childeric II was murdered at Bondi that year, by a disaffected Frank, Theoderic III was reinstalled as king in Neustria with Leudesius as his mayor. Ebroin and Leodegar took advantage of the confusion to leave the cloister, and soon found themselves once more face to face. Each looked for support to a different Merovingian king, Ebroin even proclaiming a false Merovingian imposter
Clovis III
Clovis III was the king of Austrasia from 675 to 676. Perhaps the son of Theuderic III or Clovis II, the Austrasian magnates who proclaimed him called him an illegitimate son of Clotaire III. They placed him on the throne in opposition to the young Dagobert II, the claimant of Wulfoald, the mayor...
as sovereign. In a short time Ebroin caused Leudesius to be murdered and became mayor once again, now with a score to settle with Leodegar.
About 675 Ebroin reimposed his authority over Neustria and most of Burgundy, and induced the Duke of Champagne and the Bishops of Châlons and Valence to attack Autun. They invested the city, and forced it to surrender. Ebroin had Leodegar's eyes put out. Ebroin persuaded the king that Childeric's murder had occurred under Leodegar's instigation; and so the king had Leodegar additionally arrested, tried, and exiled. In 12 October 678 Ebroin had his enemy led away and murdered.
Ebroin meanwhile had defeated the Austrasians at Bois-du-Fay, near Laon
Laon
Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-History:The hilly district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance...
, uniting France under Neustrian rule. His triumph, however, was short-lived; he was assassinated in 681, the victim of a combined attack of his numerous enemies.
In 684, Ansoald, bishop of Poitiers in Neustria, the homeland of Leudesius, commissioned a Life of Leodegar the Burgundian. It cast Ebroin as an enemy of God motivated by nothing but ambition and a lust for power. This biography became canonised in the Church to such an extent that Leodegar, too, was canonised - as Saint Leger. Tales of Ebroin's infamy were also found useful by the Austrasians, whose own ambitious mayoral family commissioned the continuations to the chronicle of Fredegar
Chronicle of Fredegar
The Chronicle of Fredegar is a chronicle that is a primary source of events in Frankish Gaul from 584 to around 641. Later authors continued the history to the coronation of Charlemagne and his brother Carloman on 9 October 768....
.
Primary sources
- Liber historiae Francorum, edited by B. Krusch, in Monumenta Germaniae historicaMonumenta Germaniae HistoricaThe Monumenta Germaniae Historica is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published sources for the study of German history from the end of the Roman Empire to 1500.The society sponsoring the series was established by the Prussian reformer Heinrich Friedrich Karl Freiherr vom...
script. rer. Merov. vol. ii. - Vita sancti Leodegarii, by UrsinusUrsinus the AbbotUrsinus the Abbot was an abbot of Saint-Martin at Ligugé, and presumed biographer of Saint Leodegar. He began his career as a monk in the monastery of Saint-Maixent at Poitiers in Neustria....
, then a monk of St Maixent (MigneJacques Paul MigneJacques Paul Migne was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely-distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a universal library for the Catholic priesthood.He was born at Saint-Flour, Cantal and studied...
, Patrologia LatinaPatrologia LatinaThe Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
, vol. xcvi.) - Vita metrica in Poetae Latini aevi Carolini, vol. iii. (Mod. Germ. Hist.)
Secondary sources
- J. B. Pitra, Histoire de Saint Léger (Paris, 1846)
- J. Friedrich, Zur Geschichte des Hausmeiers Ebroin, in the Proceedings of the Academy of Munich (1887, pp. 42–61)