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The fictional Da
Vinci Code and its sourcebook, Holy Blood, Holy Grail,
claim the Merovingian dynasty of France was made up of direct descendents of
Jesus Christ.
Holy or
not - and I have my doubts - they were an interesting and war-like family.
All photos
were taken in 2006 at Versailles in a long hall off the chapel
devoted to French heroes. Louis Philippe (king 1830 - 1847)
commissioned the sculptures from Jean-Bernard or Duseigneur.
 please
click on the photos to enlarge them
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assorted
Merovingian rulers |
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 Dagobert I |
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- Members of the
Germanic tribe, the Salian Franks
- Also know as the
“long-haired kings”
- Their kingdoms were
known as Neustria (today’s Normandy), Austrasia (northwest France and
northeast Germany) and Burgundy (central and eastern France)
- They grew more
corrupt and lazy as their almost four hundred years of rule continued,
finally literally handing over power to the next family who claimed it.
That newer dynasty, the Carolingians,
included Charlemagne, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800. His family
was, in turn, were replaced by the Capetians, whose Philip the Fair, the father of Isabelle, the She Wolf of France, was the
king who destroyed the Knights Templar.
Philip, or Philippe IV, was cursed by the head of the Templars (who was being
tortured), and his three sons were the last kings of that family.
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Charles Martel,
first Carolingian king |
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Charlemagne,
founder of Germany and France |
Carloman,
brother of Charlemagne |
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Huges (Hugh)
Capet, founder of the Capetian dynasty |
Related page: Judith,
Princess of the Franks
and granddaughter of Charlemagne
Some of the most
noteworthy
Merovingian rulers were:
Merovich / Meovée / Merowe / Meroveus
- Traditional founder
of the dynasty
- King of Tournai
(modern Belgium)
Clovis
- Grandson of
Merovich
- Died 511
- Unified much of Gaul
(France) via wars and a whole lot of plotting
- Chose Paris as his capital
- Converted to Catholic
Christianity as opposed to Arianism under the influence of his wife, Clotilda, and with regard for the political benefits of the support of the
Church in Rome
- Left the country to
be divided among his four sons – a definite mistake resulting in death and
destruction
- His name can be
translated as Louis," the most popular name for French kings
Chlotar (Clotaire) I
- Son of Clovis
- Carried off
Radegunda, the niece of the king of Thuringia
- Murdered
his relatives to reunite the country in 558
Guntram
- Son
Chlotar I
- King of
Burgundy
- First of
his family to be canonized by the Catholic Church
Charibert
I
Chilperic I
- Bad poet
- Murdered
his wife, the sister of Brunhilda of Austrasia, at the instigation of his
mistress and / next wife Fredegunde.
- Murdered,
possibly at Brunhilda’s orders
Chlotar (Clotaire) II
- Son of
Chileric I and Fredegunde
- Came to
the throne because his mother had his step siblings murdered
- Fredegunde held power until her death in 597
- Executed
the elderly Queen Brunhilda (see above),
the de facto ruler of
Austrasia and Burgundy, by having her tortured on the rack for several days and then quartered
(ripped apart by horses)
Dagobert I
- Son of
Chlotar II
- Reunified
the Salian Frank kingdoms
- Extended
his rule to Aquitaine (west and
southwest France)
Childeric III
- Known as the Idiot or the Phantom
King
- 14th and last Merovingian king
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