Krusch, Bruno, ed. “Chronicarum quae dicuntur Fredegarii Scholastici Libri IV cum
continuationibus.” In Monumenta Germaniae Historica, scriptores rerum Merovingicarum.
Hanover: Hahn, 1888, Vol. 2, pp. 1–193.
Wallace-Hadrill, J.M., ed. and trans. The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with Its
Continuations. London: Nelson, 1960.
FREDEGUNDE
(d. 597). The most famous of the wives of the Merovingian king Chilperic I, Fredegunde
was the mother of Clotar II. The extremely hostile accounts of her by Gregory of Tours
and in the Liber historiae Francorum have left her with the reputation of being an
embodiment of evil, a scheming murderess whose wiles led Chilperic I to commit his
worst excesses.
Apparently of low birth, Fredegunde became one of the wives of Chilperic and then
rose to the position of queen and chief wife by eliminating her rivals, especially by the
murder of Galswintha, which precipitated a long feud with Chilperic’s brother Sigibert
and his wife, Brunhilde, Galswintha’s sister. Fredegunde is blamed for the subsequent
assassination of Sigibert, as well as for the torture, murder, and attempted murder of real
or perceived opponents, including sons of Chilperic by other wives, Brunhilde and her
son Childeric II, as well as bishops, counts, and dukes. After Chilperic’s assassination in
584, Fredegunde preserved the kingdom for her son Clotar II during his minority. Despite
her evil reputation, Fredegunde was a dominant and capable politician.
Steven Fanning
[See also: BRUNHILDE; CHILPERIC I; MEROVINGIAN DYNASTY]
Gregory of Tours. History of the Franks, trans. Lewis Thorpe. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974.
James, Edward. The Franks. Oxford: Blackwell, 1988.
Wood, Ian. The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450–751. London: Longman, 1994.
FREDUS
. In Frankish law, the fredus was the portion of a fine that was paid to the king, either
directly or through his representative, or to those who held immunities. This was a
payment for the intervention of the government in the resolution of a dispute, not a
penalty or a fine. It usually was one-third of the compensation paid to the injured party,
though at times it was a fixed sum. In the later Merovingian period, the fredus was
primarily a source of revenue for the crown. In the Carolingian period, it was often
absorbed into the bannum, a royal order to do or not to do something on pain of fine.
Steven Fanning
[See also: BAN/BANALITÉ]
Rivers, Theodore John, trans. Laws of the Salian and Ripuarian Franks. New York: AMS, 1986.
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