Theuderic II, King of Burgundy & Austrasia

Theuderic (or Theodoric) (587-613). He was King of Orléans (Burgundy) (596) and Metz (Austrasia) (612). He succeeded his father in 596 as King of Burgundy, with his capital at Orléans. In 597, he and his brother Theudebert joined forces to attack their cousin Chlothar, who had taken Paris. They were defeated, but attacked again, successfully, in 600. Theuderic received part of Chlothar's kingdom, namely the region between the Loire and the Seine to the Atlantic and the border with the Bretons. In 602 Theuderic and his brother conquered the Gascons, but in 605 Theuderic attacked Theudebert at the urging of their grandmother Brunehaut. The brothers made peace after the murder of Protadius, a favorite of Brunehaut's and the instigator of the war.

In 607 he made an advantagious alliance with the Visigoths in Spain, marrying that king's daughter Ermenberga. However, his grandmother Brunehaut and his sister turned him against her. He sent her back to Spain the following year, but kept her property. Widerich, her angry father, made an alliance with Theuderic's cousin Chlothar of Soissons, Theuderic's brother Theudebert of Metz, and Agilulf of Lombardy to join forces, overthrow Theuderic and divide his kingdom, but the plan came to nothing.

In 610 his brother Theudebert invaded Alsace, which was part of Theuderic's kingdom. The brothers met to discuss peace, but Theudebert's forces were so much greater that Theuderic was intimidated into surrendering Alsace, the Santois, the Thurgau and Campanensis. After this, the chronicler says, Theuderic gave constant attention to planning how he would crush Theudebert. He apparently came to believe his grandmother's story that Theudebert was not his brother, but was the son of a gardener. Morever, the Alemanni, Theudebert's allies, continued to harrass Theuderic's kingdom. Therefore, in 611 Theuderic made a pact with his cousin Chlothar that if Chlothar would stand aside while Theuderic attacked Theudebert, if Theuderic was the victor he would give Chlothar the duchy of Dentelin, which the brothers had taken from Chlothar in 600. Chlothar agreed, and in 612 Theuderic mustered an army and attacked his brother. He won two great victories. Theudebert fled, but was captured and brought before Theuderic at Cologne, where he was stripped of his royal vestments. He was taken in chains to Châlon, and Theuderic then took control of the Austrasian kingdom.

After defeating his brother, Theuderic turned his attention to Chlothar. He contested Chlothar's possession of Dentelin. In 613 he sent an army to recover the duchy. However, Theuderic died of from dysentery at Metz and the army returned home. Theuderic was succeeded in both kingdoms by his son Siegbert II. However, Siegbert was soon assassinated by Chlothar, who became king of the united Franks.

• Theodoric II at Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, visited Aug. 23, 2013.