Ingund (wife of Hermenegild)
Encyclopedia
Ingunde, Ingund, Ingundis or Ingunda born 568 (or possibly 567) first child to Sigebert I
, king of Austrasia, and his wife Brunhilda. Following the tradition of the time, it would follow that Ingund was named after her father's mother. Siblings include a sister, Chlodosind (born about 569) and a brother Childebert
(born 570). Sigebert came to rule the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia
in 561 with the death of his father Chlothar I.
King Sigebert sent messengers loaded with gifts to Spain to the court Athanagild
King of the Visigoths, asking for the hand of his daughter, Brunhilda. In 567 Brunhilda made the journey to Rheims
and entered into marriage with Sigebert.
In 575, Sigebert is embroiled in a civil war with his half brother, Chilperic I
, king of Neustria
. On the verge of victory, Sigebert is assassinated. With the death of Sigebert Brunhilda and the children are now in great fear for their safety. Little Childebert, only five years of age, faces almost certain death from Chilperic. Duke Gundovald immediately comes to Paris, where Brunhilda and the children reside, takes possession of Childebert and secures his safety among the Austrasian nobility. When Chilperic comes to Paris, he seizes Brunhilda and orders Ingund and Chlodosind to be held in custody in the monastery in Meaux. Ingund would have been only seven or eight during this traumatic time.
was elevated to co-rule the Visigoths in Hispania
and Septimania
with his brother Liuva. He soon thereafter, in order to legitimize his kingship, married Goiswintha, widow of the prior Visigothic King Athanagild
. Leovigild had two sons, Hermenegild
and Reccared, from a previous marriage. About 578 Leovigild negotiates a marriage between his eldest son Hermenegild and Ingund, daughter of Brunhilda now regent
for her son Childebert.
As Ingund made her way from France to Toledo
the journey took her through Septimania, the remaining region of Gaul still held by the Visigoths. Septimania stretches from the eastern end of the Pyrenees
, along the Mediterranean
, to the Rhone
. There, as Ingund passed through the Visigoth town of Agde
she meets the local Catholic bishop, Phronimius, who warned her not to accept the 'poison' of Arianism
.
In 579 Prince Hermenegild
married Ingund, he being an Arian and she a Catholic. At first Ingund was warmly received by Queen Goiswintha. However, the queen was set that Ingund should be re-baptized in the Arian faith. Ingund, who was but twelve, firmly refused. According to Gregory of Tours
: "the Queen lost her temper completely" and "seized the girl by her hair and threw her to the ground: then she kicked her until she was covered with blood, had her stripped naked and ordered her to be thrown into the baptismal pool". Whether as a result of this fracas, or, more likely, the result of Leovigild's desire to assure the succession of his sons (consistent with his previous actions to associate his sons with himself as rulers of the kingdom), he sent Hermenegild and Ingund to Seville to rule a portion of his kingdom - presumably the province of Baetica and southern Lusitania.
, a Catholic monk. Leander belonged to an elite and influential family of Hispano-Roman stock. His two brothers will become bishops and his sister an Abbess. The vast majority of the population of southern Spain was Hispano-Roman and Catholic. Also a significant segment of the Visigoth nobility were also Catholic, not to mention that portion of the nobility whose roots were Hispano-Roman. Upon Hermenegild and Ingund's arrival Leander is already bishop of Seville or soon will be. There can be no doubt of the influence the bishop held, nor can there be any doubt that he saw in this Catholic princess an opportunity to advance the Catholic cause, for the history of this period contains numerous examples (real or mythical) of queens influencing their husband's religious conversion.
Hermenegild's Baetica bordered Spania
, the Byzantine controlled cities of southeastern Spain. These cities were predominantly Latin Christian
.
The sixth century experienced is a flight of Catholic clergy to southern Spain, many from Africa, but other areas as well. Persecution and the Three-Chapter Controversy
would account for much of the flight. Examples of the new arrivals are the African Nanctus, Donatus and the Greek named Paul. So when Hermenegild and Ingund arrive in Seville, they would have been met by a strong and possibly active Catholic party.
In the winter of 579-80 Hermenegild proclaimed himself king at Seville, and yet, he continued to also refer to his father as 'King'. Whether or not Hermenegild held the Orthodox Christian belief in the Trinity at this time, cannot be known, for it is not till 582 that he "officially" accepts the Catholic faith. However, from the beginning, his support seems to stem from those who support the Catholic cause. For already in 580 Leander travels to Constantinople to plead the rebel's cause and seek aid from the Byzantine Empire.
Sometime between 580 and 582 Hermenegild and Ingund had a son named Athanagild after Ingund's maternal grandfather.
to gain support from Emperor Tiberius
in 580 and does not return until 582. Hermenegild converts to Catholicism in 582, since Leander was absent the years prior, it would follow that Ingund was a major influence for his conversion.
Leovigild basically ignores his son's transgression until 582 when he marches on Merida
and captures the city. Whether Hermenegild's new found Catholicism is a cause for action or a coincidence it is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, Leovigild saw in Arianism Visigoth identity and any threat to this identity as a threat to Visigoth legitimacy to rule. He viewed Catholicism as the 'Roman' religion and Arianism as the Visigoth religion. Leovigild's response may have been primarily a reaction to Hermenegild and other Visigoth nobles who had, at one time or another, gone over to Catholicism.
By 584 the revolt had decidedly turned against Hermenegild and its outcome became all too clear. Ingund with their young son fled to the neighboring Byzantine cities of Spain, who would later refused to turn them over to Leovigild.
En route to Constantinople with her son Athanagild, Ingund died (584) in Carthage
Africa and was buried there. The cause of her early death is not recorded, but one of the world's greatest plagues
ravaged the Mediterranean at this time. Athanagild survived the journey to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople where he was brought up by Emporer Maurice
.
The Byzantines used their custody of Ingund and her son to induce Ingund's brother, King Childebert II, to attack the Lombards of northern Italy. Childebert while only fourteen years of age at this time, would have also been much influenced by his strong-willed mother Brunhilda, who was also committed to securing Ingund and her grandson.
Leovigild sieges Seville for a year before he is able to capture the city in 584. The tenacity of the resistance speaks to the support of this Catholic usurper. Convinced that resistance was now futile, Hermenegild surrendered to his father. Hermenegild is imprisoned at Tarragona and repeatedly urged to abjure Catholicism. He refuses and is executed by Duke Sigisbert on 13 April 585.
Soon after the death of Hermenegild and Ingund, King Leovigild died and was succeeded by Reccared, Hermenegild's younger brother. By the second year of his reign, Reccared embraces Catholicism and begins the task of unifying the Spanish people under a single religion. It is plain that the spirit of Ingund and the example of Hermenegild had an influence on Spanish society, and particularly on the new king Reccared. Reccared's not supporting his father's actions against Hermenegild and the retribution he took on his brother's executioner indicates a bond between the two brothers. Pope Gregory's words further confirms Hermenegild's influence: "Reccared, following not his faithless father but his martyr brother, was converted from the perverseness of the Arian heresy."
became king of the Visigoths as a result of a palace coup. The Chronicle of Alfonso III
asserts that Erwig was the son of Ardabast, who had travelled to Spain from Greece in the mid-7th century; and that Ardabast was the son of Athanagild.
Sigebert I
Sigebert I was the king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the third surviving son out of four of Clotaire I and Ingund...
, king of Austrasia, and his wife Brunhilda. Following the tradition of the time, it would follow that Ingund was named after her father's mother. Siblings include a sister, Chlodosind (born about 569) and a brother Childebert
Childebert II
.Childebert II was the Merovingian king of Austrasia, which included Provence at the time, from 575 until his death in 595, the eldest and succeeding son of Sigebert I, and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted and succeeding son of his uncle Guntram.-Childhood:When his father...
(born 570). Sigebert came to rule the Frankish kingdom 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...
in 561 with the death of his father Chlothar I.
King Sigebert sent messengers loaded with gifts to Spain to the court Athanagild
Athanagild
Athanagild was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania. He had rebelled against his predecessor, Agila, in 551. The armies of Agila and Athanagild met at Seville, where Agila met a second defeat...
King of the Visigoths, asking for the hand of his daughter, Brunhilda. In 567 Brunhilda made the journey to Rheims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
and entered into marriage with Sigebert.
In 575, Sigebert is embroiled in a civil war with his half brother, Chilperic I
Chilperic I
Chilperic I was the king of Neustria from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund....
, king 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 the verge of victory, Sigebert is assassinated. With the death of Sigebert Brunhilda and the children are now in great fear for their safety. Little Childebert, only five years of age, faces almost certain death from Chilperic. Duke Gundovald immediately comes to Paris, where Brunhilda and the children reside, takes possession of Childebert and secures his safety among the Austrasian nobility. When Chilperic comes to Paris, he seizes Brunhilda and orders Ingund and Chlodosind to be held in custody in the monastery in Meaux. Ingund would have been only seven or eight during this traumatic time.
Marriage of Hermenegild and Ingund
In 569 LeovigildLiuvigild
Liuvigild, Leuvigild, Leovigild, or Leogild was a Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania from 569 to April 21, 586. From 585 he was also king of Galicia. Known for his Codex Revisus or Code of Leovigild, a unifying law allowing equal rights between the Visigothic and Hispano-Roman population,...
was elevated to co-rule the Visigoths in Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
and Septimania
Septimania
Septimania was the western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed under the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theodoric II. Under the Visigoths it was known as simply Gallia or Narbonensis. It corresponded roughly with the modern...
with his brother Liuva. He soon thereafter, in order to legitimize his kingship, married Goiswintha, widow of the prior Visigothic King Athanagild
Athanagild
Athanagild was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania. He had rebelled against his predecessor, Agila, in 551. The armies of Agila and Athanagild met at Seville, where Agila met a second defeat...
. Leovigild had two sons, Hermenegild
Hermenegild
Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild , was the son of king Leovigild of Visigothic Spain. He fell out with his father in 579, then revolted the following year. During his rebellion, he converted from Arian Christianity to Roman Catholicism. Hermenegild was defeated in 584, and exiled...
and Reccared, from a previous marriage. About 578 Leovigild negotiates a marriage between his eldest son Hermenegild and Ingund, daughter of Brunhilda now regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
for her son Childebert.
As Ingund made her way from France to Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
the journey took her through Septimania, the remaining region of Gaul still held by the Visigoths. Septimania stretches from the eastern end of the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, along the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, to the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
. There, as Ingund passed through the Visigoth town of Agde
Agde
Agde is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi.-Location:Agde is located on the river Hérault, 4 km from the Mediterranean Sea, and 750 km from Paris...
she meets the local Catholic bishop, Phronimius, who warned her not to accept the 'poison' of Arianism
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
.
In 579 Prince Hermenegild
Hermenegild
Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild , was the son of king Leovigild of Visigothic Spain. He fell out with his father in 579, then revolted the following year. During his rebellion, he converted from Arian Christianity to Roman Catholicism. Hermenegild was defeated in 584, and exiled...
married Ingund, he being an Arian and she a Catholic. At first Ingund was warmly received by Queen Goiswintha. However, the queen was set that Ingund should be re-baptized in the Arian faith. Ingund, who was but twelve, firmly refused. According to Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
: "the Queen lost her temper completely" and "seized the girl by her hair and threw her to the ground: then she kicked her until she was covered with blood, had her stripped naked and ordered her to be thrown into the baptismal pool". Whether as a result of this fracas, or, more likely, the result of Leovigild's desire to assure the succession of his sons (consistent with his previous actions to associate his sons with himself as rulers of the kingdom), he sent Hermenegild and Ingund to Seville to rule a portion of his kingdom - presumably the province of Baetica and southern Lusitania.
Revolt of Hermenegild
It is at Seville that Ingund comes into contact with LeanderLeander of Seville
Saint Leander of Seville , brother of the encyclopedist St. Isidore of Seville, was the Catholic Bishop of Seville who was instrumental in effecting the conversion to Catholicism of the Visigothic kings Hermengild and Reccared of Hispania .-Family:Leander and Isidore and...
, a Catholic monk. Leander belonged to an elite and influential family of Hispano-Roman stock. His two brothers will become bishops and his sister an Abbess. The vast majority of the population of southern Spain was Hispano-Roman and Catholic. Also a significant segment of the Visigoth nobility were also Catholic, not to mention that portion of the nobility whose roots were Hispano-Roman. Upon Hermenegild and Ingund's arrival Leander is already bishop of Seville or soon will be. There can be no doubt of the influence the bishop held, nor can there be any doubt that he saw in this Catholic princess an opportunity to advance the Catholic cause, for the history of this period contains numerous examples (real or mythical) of queens influencing their husband's religious conversion.
Hermenegild's Baetica bordered Spania
Spania
Spania was a province of the Roman Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It was a part of the conquests of Roman Emperor Justinian I in an effort to restore the western half of the Empire....
, the Byzantine controlled cities of southeastern Spain. These cities were predominantly Latin Christian
Western Christianity
Western Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and groups historically derivative thereof, including the churches of the Anglican and Protestant traditions, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage...
.
The sixth century experienced is a flight of Catholic clergy to southern Spain, many from Africa, but other areas as well. Persecution and the Three-Chapter Controversy
Three-Chapter Controversy
The Three-Chapter Controversy, a phase in the Chalcedonian controversy, was an attempt to reconcile the Non-Chalcedonian Christians of Syria and Egypt with Chalcedonian Eastern Orthodoxy, following the failure of the Henotikon...
would account for much of the flight. Examples of the new arrivals are the African Nanctus, Donatus and the Greek named Paul. So when Hermenegild and Ingund arrive in Seville, they would have been met by a strong and possibly active Catholic party.
In the winter of 579-80 Hermenegild proclaimed himself king at Seville, and yet, he continued to also refer to his father as 'King'. Whether or not Hermenegild held the Orthodox Christian belief in the Trinity at this time, cannot be known, for it is not till 582 that he "officially" accepts the Catholic faith. However, from the beginning, his support seems to stem from those who support the Catholic cause. For already in 580 Leander travels to Constantinople to plead the rebel's cause and seek aid from the Byzantine Empire.
Sometime between 580 and 582 Hermenegild and Ingund had a son named Athanagild after Ingund's maternal grandfather.
Leovigild's Response
Leander travels to ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
to gain support from Emperor Tiberius
Tiberius II Constantine
Tiberius II Constantine was Byzantine Emperor from 574 to 582.During his reign, Tiberius II Constantine gave away 7,200 pounds of gold each year for four years....
in 580 and does not return until 582. Hermenegild converts to Catholicism in 582, since Leander was absent the years prior, it would follow that Ingund was a major influence for his conversion.
Leovigild basically ignores his son's transgression until 582 when he marches on Merida
Mérida, Spain
Mérida is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura, western central Spain. It has a population of 57,127 . The Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993.- Climate :...
and captures the city. Whether Hermenegild's new found Catholicism is a cause for action or a coincidence it is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, Leovigild saw in Arianism Visigoth identity and any threat to this identity as a threat to Visigoth legitimacy to rule. He viewed Catholicism as the 'Roman' religion and Arianism as the Visigoth religion. Leovigild's response may have been primarily a reaction to Hermenegild and other Visigoth nobles who had, at one time or another, gone over to Catholicism.
By 584 the revolt had decidedly turned against Hermenegild and its outcome became all too clear. Ingund with their young son fled to the neighboring Byzantine cities of Spain, who would later refused to turn them over to Leovigild.
En route to Constantinople with her son Athanagild, Ingund died (584) in Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
Africa and was buried there. The cause of her early death is not recorded, but one of the world's greatest plagues
Plague of Justinian
The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Eastern Roman Empire , including its capital Constantinople, in 541–542 AD. It was one of the greatest plagues in history. The most commonly accepted cause of the pandemic is bubonic plague, which later became infamous for either causing or...
ravaged the Mediterranean at this time. Athanagild survived the journey to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople where he was brought up by Emporer Maurice
Maurice (emperor)
Maurice was Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602.A prominent general in his youth, Maurice fought with success against the Sassanid Persians...
.
The Byzantines used their custody of Ingund and her son to induce Ingund's brother, King Childebert II, to attack the Lombards of northern Italy. Childebert while only fourteen years of age at this time, would have also been much influenced by his strong-willed mother Brunhilda, who was also committed to securing Ingund and her grandson.
Leovigild sieges Seville for a year before he is able to capture the city in 584. The tenacity of the resistance speaks to the support of this Catholic usurper. Convinced that resistance was now futile, Hermenegild surrendered to his father. Hermenegild is imprisoned at Tarragona and repeatedly urged to abjure Catholicism. He refuses and is executed by Duke Sigisbert on 13 April 585.
Aftermath
When in 579 Ingund arrived in Toledo, who would have guessed how resolute a spirit resided in this young girl and the affect she would have on the course of Spanish history. Her example, as attested by Gregory of Tours, profoundly influenced her husband's acceptance of Catholicism and eventual conversion. A conversion not solely based on political expediency, for when Hermenegild faced denying his Catholic faith or execution, he remained steadfast to his new faith. Regardless, the revolt of Hermenegild made apparent the weakening influence of the Arian doctrine in Spain.Soon after the death of Hermenegild and Ingund, King Leovigild died and was succeeded by Reccared, Hermenegild's younger brother. By the second year of his reign, Reccared embraces Catholicism and begins the task of unifying the Spanish people under a single religion. It is plain that the spirit of Ingund and the example of Hermenegild had an influence on Spanish society, and particularly on the new king Reccared. Reccared's not supporting his father's actions against Hermenegild and the retribution he took on his brother's executioner indicates a bond between the two brothers. Pope Gregory's words further confirms Hermenegild's influence: "Reccared, following not his faithless father but his martyr brother, was converted from the perverseness of the Arian heresy."
Speculation
In 680 ErwigErwig
Erwig was a king of the Visigoths in Hispania . He was the only Visigothic king to be a complete puppet of the bishops and palatine nobility....
became king of the Visigoths as a result of a palace coup. The Chronicle of Alfonso III
Chronicle of Alfonso III
The Chronicle of Alfonso III is a chronicle composed in the early tenth century on the order of King Alfonso III of León with the goal of showing the continuity between Visigothic Spain and the later Christian medieval Spain...
asserts that Erwig was the son of Ardabast, who had travelled to Spain from Greece in the mid-7th century; and that Ardabast was the son of Athanagild.
Sources
- Collins, Roger Early Medieval Spain: Unity in Diversity, 400-1000 Second Edition. New York: St. Martin's Press
- Thompson, E.A. The Goths in Spain. Oxford: Claredon Press, 1969
- Treadgold, Warren T. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford: Standford University Press, 1997
- Gibbons, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume IV. London: The Folio Society
- Gregory of Tours, The History of the Franks, England: Penquin Books Ltd. 1974