Individual Details

Sigebert III FRANCI De Austrasia

(Abt 629 - Abt 656)

He has been described as the first roi fainéant—do-nothing king—of the Merovingian dynasty. On the death of his father, Sigebert ruled Austrasia independently and free from any subjection to Neustria. Under the tutelage of St. Pepin of Landen and other saints of the time, the young king grew into pious adulthood.
He tried in vain to add Thuringia to his kingdom, but was defeated by Duke Radulph in 640. Though only ten years of age, he was the leader of his army. The Chronicle of Fredegar records that the rout left him weeping in his saddle. The downfall of the Merovingian dynasty was a result of child rule, for both Sigebert and his younger half-brother, who ruled in Neustria, were prepubescent children who could not fight on the field and whose regents had their own interests at heart.

Events

BirthAbt 629
DeathAbt 656

Families

SpouseImmachilde ( - )
ChildBerswinde FRANCI (650 - )
ChildDagobert II FRANCI (651 - 679)
FatherDagobert (Chlothar) FRANCI (602 - 637)
MotherNantilde VON FRANKS (614 - 642)
SiblingClovis II FRANCI (634 - 656)