The Merovingians
Episodes
The Changing World Outside
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThe episode we talk about the changing world around the Frankish kingdoms. We get our first description of a Slavic state from a Frankis...
Court and Culture
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about culture. How did cultural products play into the political game in the Frankish kingdoms? How did they affect ...
A New World
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about the aftermath of Chlothar's victory and consolidation of the Frankish kingdoms. There was once again a si...
The Death of Brunhild
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we finally reach the end of Brunhild's story. She's been a major player in Merovingian politics for decades, but ...
An End to the Brothers' War
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode will see the final phase of the conflict between the brother kings, Theudebert II of Austrasia and Theuderic II of Burgundy...
Holy Man, Unholy Woman
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is about a conflict between Queen Brunhild and the popular holy man Columbanus. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this power hungry q...
Angry Kings
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode we're going to talk about a failed marriage, jealous queens, angry kings, and an international coalition. Plus some...
Roman Mayors and Frankish Fears
03 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode focusses on discussions of ethnicity and their reality in the Merovingian period. Using Fredegar's discussion of the F...
Three Kings at War
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is about the conflicts between Chlothar II, king of Neustria, Theudebert II, king of Austrasia, and Theuderic II, king of B...
A Woman Walking Alone
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is about Brunhild and her second fall from grace. The conflict between her and the Austrasian court will spark a new period...
My Long Struggle Devours Days
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we dive into Fredegar's work, looking at a few examples from early in his chronicle to compare his style to Gregory&ap...
Living in Brunhild's World
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about Brunhild. One of the most controversial figures, in a period with nothing but controversial figures, we'l...
The Death of Two Kings
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode, like the title suggests, is about the death of two Merovingian kings. Specifically Guntram and Childebert II, both very si...
A Very Bloody Tree
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textSpecial episode this week, as we celebrate ten thousand downloads! This episode I work my way through the Merovingian family tree and sh...
Introduction to Fredegar
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode we discuss the transition from Gregory to Fredegar, as well as some of the controversies and issues with Fredegar's...
Farewell to Gregory
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we bid a fond farewell to our friend Gregory, whose histories finally stop around 590-591. We discuss aspects of his life a...
Christ and Religious Cycles
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about faith, power and revelations. As Christianity moved through it's rebellious youth phase the church tried ...
Different Types of Justice
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about justice, in all its forms from differing perspectives. Justice will come for noble rebels, for Guntram against...
The Trial of Egidius
30 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about the trial of Egidius, bishop of Rheims. Egidius was one of the last major figures left that had opposed Brunhi...
Rough and Tumble Times
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode we cover a rollercoaster of a military campaign, a concerted effort by our major source to keep tarnishing a queen'...
Failing to Tie Loose Ends
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is mostly about things going wrong. Diplomacy, war, keeping the peace, the Merovingians prove that they're not necessa...
The Revolting Nuns
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about the revolt in the nunnery of Saint Radegund. With the influential queen gone how will her followers handle her...
Conspiracy or Not?
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we cover the Conspiracy of Septimima, a curious case of intrigue, propaganda and murky details. We'll discuss the factors...
Classic Tales from the Vault
23 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is a collection of three stories that Gregory of Tours tells in his Histories. They cover a broad range of topics like war,...
The Tricky World of Tax
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week its all about tax and the economy, as we discuss the changes from the late Roman Empire into its successor kingdoms in the wes...
Til Death Do Us Part
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about marriage, specifically political marriages in the Merovingian era. The Merovingians had a mixed track record w...
Thank God for the Bishops
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we take a detailed look at the flaws in Merovingian politics that so often led to conflict and violence, and the hard work ...
The Treaty of Andelot
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode we cover some of the events that have been happening in the realm, continuing many of the themes discussed in recent epi...
Watch Out Boys
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about Fredegund and Brunhild, and the vastly different ways their actions in centralizing power into their own hands...
A Feeble Army
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we continue our Visigothic theme by discussing Guntram's invasion of Visigothic Septimania. Spoiler alert: it does not...
Politics as Usual
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we take a tangent into the Visigothic kingdom as part of our larger exploration of the family of Brunhild and the politics ...
Settling Scores
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we see Guntram, and later the clergy, readjusting to the post-Gundovald political realities. We'll see Guntram continu...
Three Days as King
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode covers three days of King Guntram's life, as he visits his city of Orléans for the Feast of Saint Martin. While there...
Justice for the Common People?
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we talk about the common folk, or at least as common as possible while still attracting Gregory's attention. That means p...
Q&A
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this special episode Connor and I sit down and go through some questions about the Merovingians and the period as a whole. We hope yo...
A Framework For Being King
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about legal reform and how the most recent Merovingians had been changing the way the monarchy worked. We'll di...
A View of the Future
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we discuss whether or not Gundovald's rebellion ever had a chance at success, as well as the fate of the conspirators ...
The Fall of Gundovald
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week, as the title suggests, we'll be talking about the fall of the usurper king Gundovald. We will also discuss the meeting b...
The Last Sons of Chlothar
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode covers the lead up to the confrontation between Guntram and Gundovald. We'll observe them both tie up some loose ends ...
Queen of the Realm
05 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is about Queen Fredegund and King Guntram's attempts to her and the political situation in Neustria. Unfortunately for...
King of the Hill
15 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about those trying to sow discord or strife to weaken King Guntram and his stranglehold on Merovingian power. We&apo...
With Great Power Comes Great Problems
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we take a look at the problems facing Guntram, the new dominant king in the Merovingian kingdoms. Paranoia of assassination, s...
A Scramble to Survive
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is an in depth look at the aftermath of King Chilperic's assassination. We'll see who benefits the most, will it ...
The Death of King Chilperic
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about the last days of King Chilperic. One of the most important and best documented Merovingian kings, his life and...
Shifting Pieces
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we cover a range of topics. We take a look at the interwoven politics of Visigothic Spain and the Frankish kingdoms, we discus...
A Quick Return to Peace
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we clean up the mess the kings left last week. Three kings, no victors, we cover the peace agreements between the kings and th...
Infighting is the Best Kind of Fighting
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week is all about the aftermath of the return of Gundovald and the immediate civil war that broke out. Not between the three existi...
From Across the Seas
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week is all about Gundovald, the usurper king. We're going to discuss his origins, revealing the power of Merovingian heritage...
Feints and Jabs
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textExactly how is the conflict between Guntram and Chilperic going? This week we catch up with the two senior Merovingians and see how thei...
Building A Fortune
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week is all about gaining and holding the most important asset, land. With a look at Merovingian inheritance we'll begin to un...
Love Thy Neighbour
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week is all about religion, specifically how the practice and purview of the bishops was changing through the middle Merovingian pe...
Changing Warfare
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we discuss how warfare was changing in the middle Merovingian period. How did the Merovingian kings go from fearsome conqueror...
Noble Men, Ignoble Methods
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week is all about nobles. Returning to our discussion of the rising power of the nobles in the kingdoms, we'll look at three e...
Let's Talk About It
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we take a closer look at Merovingian diplomacy. How were agreements reached? Who took control of negotiations? What form di...
The Trial of Gregory
18 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode is all about the events of the Trial of Bishop Gregory of Tours. It was certainly a dramatic trial with unexpected twists a...
To Frame A Bishop
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textHow does one go about condemning one of the kingdom's most influential religious figures? This week we examine the myriad of traps ...
A Contested City
04 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week it's all about the brewing conflict between Gregory and the Count of Tours, Leudast. Old aristocracy versus new nobility,...
But Now I Have No Sons
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode, as the title suggests, we cover the abrupt rise and fall of Clovis, last son of King Chilperic. What happens when a young,...
A Scourge From God?
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we take a look at the harder but human side of history with natural disaster disease and personal loss hitting the Merovingian...
What Makes an Effective Ruler?
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we talk a little about taxes, as unpopular then as they are now, and a lot about what makes an effective ruler. Were Chilpe...
A Violent Pause
16 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEvil bishops, warring nobles, and an attempt at restarting Frankish expansion. This week things may have reached a stalemate between Gun...
Changes in the Realm
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textAs Chilperic has been dealing with his rebellions, things have been changing in the wider realm. This week we go through some of the sto...
The Trial of Praetextatus
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we finish up the last of our series of deep dives into those who opposed Chilperic immediately after the death of Sigibert. Th...
Walking on the Knife's Edge
26 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we begin examining the life of Guntram Boso, a noble who was trying to balance himself between the interests of the different ...
Loose Ends
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textTo celebrate our twentieth episode this week we are covering some topics that have slipped through the cracks or we've been too bus...
A Messy Family
12 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week is all about Merovech, second son of Chilperic, and his struggles against his father. Continuing the cycle of Merovingian fami...
Aftermath
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we deal with the aftermath of Sigibert's untimely death. What will happen to his wife? His son? And how will Chilperic se...
Chilperic vs Sigibert
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThe time for the final showdown has come and with the realm spiraling into chaos one of the rival kings has to come out on top
Into the Chaos Spiral
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textNow that we know about the external threats to the realm, let's examine what is going on on the local and internal levels. Just how...
Bishops and Battles
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThere is a dual focus this episode. First we examine what we learnt about Gregory last week, seeing how he uses contrast to try and teac...
The Narrator
08 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we take an in depth look at Gregory of Tours. Who was he? What was his life like? How did he write? We'll answer these qu...
How To Start A Blood Feud
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textMurder, greed and lust. These are the ingredients that spark the blood feud between the queens Fredegund and Brunhild. This week we&apos...
The New Generation
24 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThe four new kings are here and settling into their seats. But what will they be like? We'll find out this week as we examine the e...
Right Back Where We Started
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we dive into the first civil war between the sons of Ingund and Aregund, after the death of their father King Chlothar. We wil...
Family Matters
10 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textHow is Chlothar rewarded for reuniting his father's kingdom? Peace and prosperity for his last few years? This week we meet the wiv...
The Saintly Queens
03 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we take a break from the wars and plots of the Merovingian kings and instead focus on two of the most significant Merovingi...
One King to Rule Them All
27 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we deal with the last years of the sons of Clovis. They've conquered, schemed, murdered and waited impatiently for their ...
To Scheme Or Not To Scheme
20 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode dives into the difficult and sometimes murderous relationship between the sons of Clovis. Between the constant backstabbing...
The Kingly Brothers
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis episode we meet the four new Merovingian kings, the sons of Clovis, Theuderic, Chlodomer, Childebert, and Chlothar. We discuss the ...
Clovis, the Snake
06 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we look at the other, nastier side of Clovis. His brutality, his manipulations, lies, and his insatiable lust for power and we...
Clovis, First and Greatest
27 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we go through the official narrative about Clovis, the first major king of the Merovingian dynasty. We'll track Clovis as...
Meet the Rivals
19 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis week we explore those that stood in the way of the Frankish domination of Gaul. The Burgundians to the east and the Visigoths to th...
Who the Hell are the Merovingians?
12 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWho are the Merovingians and where did they come from? This episode takes a look at the origins of the dynasty and their people, the Fra...
Where Did Rome Go?
05 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textAn introduction to the Merovingian Dynasty, beginning with a brief look at the fall of the Roman Empire in the west, setting the stage f...