Clothar I, King of the Franks, divided the land for each of his sons:

Austrasia went to Sibigert, who married the Spanish Brunhilde
North Gaul, or Neustrasia, went to Chilberic, the evil
Bergundy went to Guntram, the good
Aquitaine went to Charibert 

Bishop Gregory of Tours kept a chronicle of the times.
About Guntram he wrote:
“No one had anything against him except a few murderers.”

About Chilberic:
“The Nero and the Herod of our times”

What Happened:
In 567 A.D. Sigibert married the beautiful, talented Spanish princess, Brunhilde.

Chilberic wasn’t happy with this marriage, and made arrangements to marry Brunhilde’s sister, Galswintha. He quickly tired of her, and had her strangled within months. Two days later, he married his evil concubine, Fredegrund.

Enraged, Sigibert declared long and bloody war on Chilberic. This continued until Sigibert's assassination by Fredegrund in 575 A.D.

Austrasia was captured, and Brunhilde went into exile. She married Meroveck, the son of Chilberic. Enraged, Chilberic killed his son in 578 A.D. Brunhilde, stayed under Guntram’s protection until one of her grandsons rebelled, tied her to a horse and dragged her to her death in 613 A.D.

One of Clothar's four wives, Queen Radegrund, eventually founded a convent in Poitier, and spent the rest of her life serving the poor and sick of the area. There she encountered Venantius Fortunatus, a wandering Italian poet. He moved from court to court, composing poetry for his keepers. His interactions with Radegrund converted him completely, and from then on he turned his poetic attention entirely to God. He was ordained as a priest, and spent the rest of his life as a chaplain at the convent. He wrote Pange lingua gloriosi ( which later inspired Sir Thomas Aquinas to write the one known commonly among Catholics). Also, Vexilla Regis prodeunt, in honor of receiving a relic of the true cross of Christ:

“Abroad the royal banners fly, and the bear the gleaming cross on high,
That cross where on life suffered death, and gives us life with dying breath.”

Radegrund was canonized as a Saint after her death in 586 A.D.

Setting the Scene for this Series:

People: Celts, Vikings (Norsemen), Muslims, Magyars, Gaulo-Romans (Byzantine Empire)

Three major historians agree on three common pieces of foundation in the history of Europe:

Christopher Dawson
The Making of Europe
“An Introduction to the History of European Unity”
I. Roman Empire
II. Catholic Church
III. The Classic Tradition and Christianity
IV. Barbarians
V. Barbarian Invasions and the Fall of Empire in the West

Joseph Strayer
The Making of Europe
I. Roman Empire
II. Catholic Church
III. Germanic Migrations
IV. End of Mediterranean Unity
V. World of Charlemagne

Brian Tierney
Western Europe in the Middle Ages (300-1475)
I. Roman Empire
II. Christian Church
III. Barbarians