exercised supervision of the church in his kingdom, saw to the appointment of bishops of
good quality, and supported missionary efforts among the Frisians. Dagobert gave lavish
endowments to the church of Saint-Denis (which he founded ca. 624 and where he was
bur-ied), which promoted its role as the center of the royal cult. He maintained Frankish
control over the Bretons, Gascons, and Bavarians and campaigned successfully against
the Visigoths. He failed, however, in his expeditions against the Wends, who were
threatening Thuringia, and the Basques remained an unchecked menace to Aquitaine.
When Dagobert died in 638/39, he was succeeded by his sons, the nine-year-old
Sigibert III in Austrasia and portions of Aquitaine and the five-year-old Clovis II in the
other regions. The young kings were under the tutelage, and thus the domination, of the
nobles of their kingdoms, especially the mayors of the palace, and the decline of the
Merovingian monarchy under the “do-nothing kings” (les rois fainéants) began.
Steven Fanning
[See also: DAGOBERT, PSEUDOCYCLE OF; DENIS; MEROVINGIAN
DYNASTY]
Bachrach, Bernard S., trans. Liber historiæ Francorum. Lawrence: Coronado, 1973.
Wallace-Hadrill, J.M., trans. The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with Its Continuations.
London: Nelson, 1960.
James, Edward. The Franks. Oxford: Blackwell, 1988.
Wallace-Hadrill, John Michael. The Long-Haired Kings, and Other Studies in Frankish History.
London: Methuen, 1962, pp. 206–31.
Wood, Ian. The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450–751. London: Longman, 1994.
D’AILLY, PIERRE
(1350–1420). D’Ailly studied at the Collège de Navarre in Paris and received the master
of arts degree in 1368. He lectured at the Sorbonne on Peter Lombard’s Sententiae in
1375 and promoted Ockham’s teaching. In 1381, he became doctor of theology and
canon in Noyon. He was rector of the college from 1384 to 1389 and befriended Jean
Gerson, his most celebrated pupil. In 1389, he was made chancellor of the University of
Paris. From 1389 to 1395, he became influential in Charles VI’s court as the king’s
confessor and almoner. Appointed bishop of Le Puy in 1395, he never entered the see; in
1397, he was made archbishop of Cambrai. He attended the Council of Pisa in 1409 but
supported the newly elected Alexander V unenthusiastically. Alexander’s successor, the
antipope John XXIII, utilized D’Ailly at the Council of Rome in 1411 and named him
cardinal in 1412. The following year, he was appointed papal legate to Emperor
Sigismund, subsequently playing a prominent role in the Council of Constance (1414–
17). He presided over the first session without a pope in residence and supported the
primacy of the general council over the pope. As president of the commission of faith, he
examined John Hus and witnessed his condemnation in 1415. Martin V, elected by the
council as the sole legitimate pope, appointed D’Ailly as legate to Avignon. He died there
in 1420.
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