Egidius (bishop of Reims)

Many of the dukes strongly opposed the influence Queen Brunhilda held over her son King Childebert. Three of them—Rauching, Ursio, and Berthefrid—conspired to assassinate Childebert; Egidius was suspected of involvement, but escaped prosecution much to the anger of Childebert's uncle Guntram, who had provided shelter to Brunhilda and adopted Childebert as his own son and heir.

According to Gregory of Tours, in 590, Fredegund, Queen of Soissons, encompassed the assassination of Childebert. Egidius, a known friend of Fredegund's husband King Chilperic, was asked to explain how he had come to receive a number of villas from Chilperic. The documents supposedly showing King Childeric's authorization proved to be forged. There was also a charge of bribery. Gregory describes the trial of Egidius in 590 for treason. Faced with additional documents and witnesses, Egidius was found guilty, but his life was spared.[1] He was defrocked and exiled to Argentoratum (Strasbourg).[2]

References

Sources

  • Faber, Gustav. Merowingowie i Karolingowie, PWN, Warszawa 1994, p. 83.



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.