Thugs and Miracles

This week we’re going to run through four kings in short order. Up until this point we have been able to see most of the rois fainéants for what they were: well-meaning young kings who, by dint of having taken power at an exceptionally young age, were rarely out of their majority for long enough to make a large historical difference. A combination of bad health and bad luck led to most of them failing to live out their 20s; Chlotha...

This week we’re finishing the trilogy that began back in Episode Nine when Grimoald rode out into a field following the death of King Sigisbert III, collected up two boys - his son, Childebert, and the Crown Prince, Dagobert II - then sent the latter into exile while placing the former onto the throne of Austrasia. This coup almost worked; however, unlike horseshoes and hand grenades, where “almost” is good enough, well… as we’ve s...

This week we’re continuing the saga of the first attempted coup d’état that we’ve seen in our history so far. Sure, the Kings and Queens in our story have tried to overthrow one another pretty much non-stop since we’ve started, and there has also been a sizable list of people who have tried to invade. What makes this situation different is the fact that the coup is starting at the point where the monarchy should be the most protect...

This week, we're posting a recording of an interview we did with David A. Bradbury of 20 Minute History just a little while back. David’s show, now between Seasons 1 and 2, is a really enjoyable, very well researched history podcast that I honestly can’t recommend highly enough. We get into the topics and personalities he covers on the show, his approach to history, and quite a bit more, so rather than me describing that to you...

For a king to rise, one had to die... and another needed to be buried so deeply that no one would be able to find him...

This week we’re taking a look, among others, at the older brother of the pair of Dagobert I’s sons, Sigibert III. Now, I don’t normally do this because I don’t like to present too many names in an episode, but with the way today’s episode unfolds I feel it’s going to be easiest to give you a quick Cast of Characte...

This week we’re switching our attention away from Dagobert I and toward his sons, Clovis II and Sigibert III. Of these two Kings, Sigibert was actually the older, having been sired from a relationship between Dagobert and his concubine Ragnatrude. Clovis was actually a “legitimate” child, having been born to Dagobert’s wife Nanthilde after Dagobert returned to their marital bed after having taken a long enough break from it to sire...

This week, we’re going to look at the path to Heaven and Hell, as described in the Middle Ages, and in particular as depicted in the story of one man’s journey. The notion of this path has been the source of a constant stream of writing, with many of our modern ideas springing wholly formed, à la Athena, from medieval visions. Probably the best known example of these writings come to us from Dante Alighieri, who wrote powerfully ab...

This week we’re going to take a look at the end of Dagobert and the legacy he left. Going through all of the literature written about this king, one thing stands out time and time again: he is referred to as the last great Merovingian King, the last to expand the Kingdom and truly wield power before the dawn of les rois fainéants, the “do-nothing kings.” If I didn’t know better, and I were willing to take these assessments at face ...

“Overly addicted to debauchery, he had like Solomon, three queens and a multitude of concubines. His Queens were Nantilde, Vulfégonde and Berchilde. I would be bored to insert in this chronicle the names of his concubines, such as they were in great numbers. His heart became corrupted, and his thoughts strayed from God.”

This week we’re going to take a look at what Dagobert did when he was the ultimate power in Francia. One particul...

This week we’re going to take a look at Dagobert’s rise to power. Unlike his father, who, as we described last week, had to rely on luck, illness and his homicidal mother to take care of the seven siblings that had stood between him and the throne, Dagobert had a much more conventional route. However, this isn’t to say that he too didn’t share in a bit of luck and intrigue to take his place as the King of All the Franks, and as we’...

This week we’re going to finish 2020 the way it absolutely deserves to be finished: with the death of a King! And not just any king, but the guy who has been ruling Francia in some shape or fashion for 44 years. Seriously, he’s been a part of our narrative since Episode 17 of Season 1, 12 episodes in total! For frame of reference, Clovis, the guy who really started us off, was around for about five!

Given that length of time in our ...

Hey everyone, I just wanted to take a moment to give an update on the show. I apologize for having gone dark for a little while, and I can’t blame anyone for being a little peeved with the absence. Anyway, I’m still alive (and thanks to everyone who reached out and asked exactly that!) and I still plan to continue the show. To be completely honest, I just simply got overwhelmed with what has been an incredibly busy period of time f...

Before we get going too far, I want to lead with two pieces of information. First, the podcast I mentioned on the show (and have mentioned on several shows previously) is Written In Blood History by Stephen DiJulius; you can find his show at https://writteninbloodhistory.com/ and you can find Stephen on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SDijulius/. The second note I have is that T+M is now available on Amazon Podcasts! Anyone look...

This week we’re picking up where we left off last season, with the arrival of Chlothar II onto the throne of the unified Franks in 613. As we can tell from the first part of our story, the deal he cut to get the throne probably sounded amazing. After all, in 612, Chlothar II was the ruler of the smallest kingdom in Francia and little threat, economically or militarily, to overthrow either of his larger rivals, much less both of the...

Chlothar II needed a new place to sit, a throne befitting his station as the new King of the Franks. He already had a throne that was to his liking in his original palace in Neustria, but now that he had won the crowns of Austrasia and Burgundy, he wanted to commission a piece that would, in no uncertain terms, tell the world that he was the new sovereign of both of these kingdoms as well.

Unfortunately, Chlothar’s desires, while s...

Welcome back! I’m Benjamin Bernier… and we’re supposed to be on break, right? Well, yes, we are, but I’ll be honest: this show is never far from my mind. While we’ve been on hiatus and had a short amount of time to catch our breath and pull ourselves away from the overall narrative, we’ve had the chance to talk over some of the things we’d like to do a bit more of, and episodes such as this are a big part of that. So far we’ve done...

This week we’re going to take a look at Chlothar II and the first part of his reign pre-dating 613. He really was – and this is just my opinion here – the luckiest guy I have ever heard of. I mean, he was basically born a king. His dad died four months into his life, so there was never a moment in time that he would be able to remember where he wasn’t in charge. And then he has this wicked, crazy, intelligent mom stage-mom who does...

Just a quick warning before you listen to the next episode: there’s going to be quite a bit of discussion about torture and executions which I can’t get around talking about simply because it is the crux of the episode. So, if that type of thing is not your thing, well, now would be a good time to tune out. I just wanted to give you the warning before we get started. Thank you very much, and we hope you enjoy the episode!

This week...

This week our focus is on Theuderic II and the constantly tightening spiral that Brunhilda finds herself in as she grows older. Theuderic himself is an interesting case to look at, insofar as how he dealt with his grandmother vice the way that his brother dealt with her. Remember, Theudebert ultimately kicked Brunhilda out of his Kingdom and tried to make his way in the world without her; this led to her turning against him in a so...