Clovis III

Clovis III was the king of Austrasia from 675 to 676. Perhaps the son of Theuderic III or Clovis II, his Austrasian magnate supporters described him as an illegitimate son of Chlothar III. They placed him on the throne in opposition to the young Dagobert II, the claimant of Wulfoald, the mayor of the palace. At this time, Ebroin, once mayor of the palace of Neustria, escaped from his monastic imprisonment and joined the partisans of Clovis. He probably hoped to use the claimant to oppose Theuderic III and Pepin of Heristal in Neustria and Burgundy as well. Though Ebroin intended it, he never succeeded in displacing Theuderic and Pepin, though he was eventually recognised as mayor in his old post.

Clovis died soon after his acclamation and he did nothing of his own will, being but a puppet of a faction. There remains the possibility that Clovis III (not always numbered among the kings of the Franks) was an imposter -- not really a Merovingian at all.

Sources

• The Oxford Merovingian Page.