Gregory of Tours and the Paternity of Chlothar II: Strategies of Legitimation in the Merovingian Kingdoms

Taking the succession of the young Chlothar II as a case study, this article investigates the methods of legitimation and delegitimation available to a king’s supporters and detractors in the Merovingian kingdoms. Through a close reading of the Histories of Gregory of Tours, which is the principal source for these events, this study suggests that Gregory himself attempted to undermine Chlothar’s position by raising doubts about the boy’s paternity and by calling attention to the transparent efforts of his mother, Queen Fredegund, to establish her son’s legitimacy (as well as her own marital fidelity). These efforts included the appropriation of certain customs such as the naming, baptism, and baptismal sponsorship of heirs. The example of Chlothar II’s contested succession illustrates how elites within Merovingian society established or removed a king from the throne by arguing over membership to the ruling family—a process that left the family itself secure. Insights are then made into the political theory and system that enabled such stability, including the role of female agency therein.