WEBVTT - Rival Queens (Part 2)

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim

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<v Speaker 1>and Mild from Aaron Manky listener discretion advised. With the

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<v Speaker 1>king lying dead out in the stable yard, chaos reigned

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<v Speaker 1>inside the villa. Nobles grabbed what valuables they could and fled.

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<v Speaker 1>Servants scrambled as rumors spread about assassins in their midst,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Queen frantically paced in an adviser's chambers, unable

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<v Speaker 1>or unwilling to visit her husband's body. Any shock or

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<v Speaker 1>grief that Queen Fredigound felt on that fateful September night

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<v Speaker 1>in five hundred eighty four was outweighed by her survival instincts.

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<v Speaker 1>Fredegund knew how swiftly the pendulum of power could swing

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<v Speaker 1>in the warring realms of Francia, having experienced higher highs

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<v Speaker 1>and lower lows than just about anyone. If she did

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<v Speaker 1>not act quickly, she and her infant son, whose existence

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<v Speaker 1>she had kept a secret, would both be at the

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<v Speaker 1>mercy of her enemies. By that point, she had already

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<v Speaker 1>lost four boys and could not bear to lose another.

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<v Speaker 1>She had spent years clawing and scheming her way from

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<v Speaker 1>slavery to the pinnacle of the mayor Vingian monarchy, and

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<v Speaker 1>she wasn't about to lose it all. So Fredigund fled

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<v Speaker 1>to a cathedral in Paris and hold up with her baby,

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<v Speaker 1>cornered but still calculating. Historians do not definitively know who

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<v Speaker 1>ordered the hit on Fredgun's husband, but it's not hard

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<v Speaker 1>to make an educated guess. Fredgund herself would have had

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<v Speaker 1>an instant hunch about the orchestrator, because roughly a decade earlier,

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<v Speaker 1>she herself had planned the assassination of a neighboring king

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<v Speaker 1>king who was the husband of a fierce rival. Fredegund

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<v Speaker 1>also knew that whether or not that rival, Queen Brunhild,

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<v Speaker 1>was responsible, Brunhild would certainly seek to capitalize on the

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<v Speaker 1>frenzied aftermath of the killing, because that was exactly how

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<v Speaker 1>Fredagun's rival operated. Sure Enough, as panicky members of Fredagun's

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<v Speaker 1>entourage fled, Brunhild was already waiting to intercept them with

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<v Speaker 1>her own son and their robust army. Similar to Fredegund,

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<v Speaker 1>Brunhild had weathered grave tragedies and engineered stunning victories. She

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<v Speaker 1>too had once even found herself vulnerably confined in Paris

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<v Speaker 1>after suddenly becoming a widow. As Brunhild's forces closed in,

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<v Speaker 1>she was likely unaware that Fredegund had recently given birth.

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<v Speaker 1>She was probably hoping that this conquest would help her

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<v Speaker 1>own teenage son consolidate power over Francia with her expanding

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<v Speaker 1>role as regent. The news that Fredegund had eluded capture

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<v Speaker 1>and entrenched herself in a church would have surely been

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<v Speaker 1>vexing to Brunehild, but probably not surprising. After all, that

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<v Speaker 1>was how Brunehild's rival maneuvered. To some the two queen's

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<v Speaker 1>looming showdown might have seemed like it would finally bring

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<v Speaker 1>an end to their epic war perpetuating conflict, But for

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<v Speaker 1>Brunhild and Fredegund, this would be yet one more blood

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<v Speaker 1>stained piece of their utterly unprecedented puzzle. I'm Dana Schwartz,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is noble blood. Quite a lot happened in

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<v Speaker 1>Brunehild's and Freddigun's storylines prior to where we left them

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<v Speaker 1>at the end of part one, and in quickly recapping

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<v Speaker 1>the highlights, eerie parallels and stark differences in their reigns,

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<v Speaker 1>the narrative practically comes off like a sensational boxing match.

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<v Speaker 1>In the Austrasian corner, there was the early crowd favorite

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<v Speaker 1>brune Hild, the highly touted princess turned queen fighting out

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<v Speaker 1>of Neustria. There's the underdog Fredigund, a survivor who lifted

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<v Speaker 1>herself all the way from forced servitude to the highest

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<v Speaker 1>seat of power available. The early rounds of their battle

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<v Speaker 1>saw fierce sparring, everything from Fredigund possibly influencing her husband

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<v Speaker 1>to murder Brunhild's sister, to Brunhild helping mastermind a clever

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<v Speaker 1>legal claim so that her husband, King Siegbert, could invade

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<v Speaker 1>Fredagun's country. Just when Brunhild's side seemed poised to strike

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<v Speaker 1>a knockout blow, Fredegund came in with a stunningly sneaky

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<v Speaker 1>jab engineering King Siegbert's assassination. This flipped the whole fight

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<v Speaker 1>and left Brunhild on the ropes. Nevertheless, she opted to

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<v Speaker 1>go down swinging, saving her children and getting herself sent

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<v Speaker 1>off to a convent. This is where we pick back up,

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<v Speaker 1>with Brunhild stuck desperately figuring out how to get herself

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<v Speaker 1>back in the game. Fortunately for Brunhild. In that convent

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<v Speaker 1>in Ruan, she reportedly found an ideal co conspirator, Odovera,

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<v Speaker 1>the banished first wife of Chilpric, Fredign's husband. According to

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<v Speaker 1>some accounts, Otdevera had high status among the insular world

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<v Speaker 1>of the nuns. This won her certain priviledges and a

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<v Speaker 1>level of respect from the older bishop in charge, which

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<v Speaker 1>in turn made her a useful ally for Brunhild, especially

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<v Speaker 1>because the two had so much in common. Both Brunhild

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<v Speaker 1>and Odevera had been deposed by Fredigend and Chilpric, suffering

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<v Speaker 1>losses and humiliating ostracisms in the process. On top of

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<v Speaker 1>all the painful and personal reasons, the queens may have

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to seek revenge against the Nustrian monarchs, immense power

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<v Speaker 1>and lucrative assets were hanging in the balance. Brunehild's son

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<v Speaker 1>was in a risky position as the king of Austrasia,

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<v Speaker 1>since he was so young and did not have her

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<v Speaker 1>there as a protective regent for Otdevera. Her own children

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<v Speaker 1>were supposed to inherit lands and titles after Chilprick's death,

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<v Speaker 1>except those agreements were put in jeopardy by all of

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<v Speaker 1>Fredigun's plotting and the birthing of her own heirs. So

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<v Speaker 1>despite their limited resources inside the nunnery, Brunhild and Odevera

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<v Speaker 1>yearned to execute a decisive move. Otdovera's connections evidently allowed

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<v Speaker 1>them to send and receive covert messages, but the all

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<v Speaker 1>important question was whom should they contact. Meanwhile, Fredegund was

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<v Speaker 1>enjoying the dominance that her successful regicide had won. Her

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<v Speaker 1>sources claimed that her husband would defer so significantly to

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<v Speaker 1>Fredegund on court matters that he would sometimes refuse to

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<v Speaker 1>take unilateral action without her approval. As previously mentioned, Fredegund

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<v Speaker 1>seemed particularly keen on using her newfound authority to dole

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<v Speaker 1>out brutal justice. She reportedly regularly sentenced failed assassins, servants,

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<v Speaker 1>and supposedly disloyal subjects to having their hands, noses, and

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<v Speaker 1>ears hacked off. There are also several recorded instances of

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<v Speaker 1>her ordering her enemies to be broken on the rack

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<v Speaker 1>or burned alive. Fredigund also often pursued her own ends

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<v Speaker 1>without input from her husband, by bribing many officials and

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<v Speaker 1>planning further assassinations. She was so effective in her aims

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<v Speaker 1>that many Francs, particularly brune Hild's supporters, increasingly labeled her

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<v Speaker 1>an evil witch, but there appears to be little to

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<v Speaker 1>no evidence that Fredagund even tried to refute those supernatural rumors.

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<v Speaker 1>Presumably she preferred being feared, with word of Fredagund's growing

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<v Speaker 1>influence reaching even their convent. Brunhild and Otdevera knew the

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<v Speaker 1>clock was ticking on their comeback, so their strategic instincts

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<v Speaker 1>hit on the fastest means of gaining power. Marriage. They

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<v Speaker 1>hatched a mutually beneficial plan for Brunhild to contact and

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<v Speaker 1>marry otto Vera's oldest living son, who was Chilprick's son

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<v Speaker 1>and Fredigun's step son. If you're keeping track, bucking norms,

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<v Speaker 1>Brunehild even probably proposed to him. This is not just

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<v Speaker 1>revisionist history. A seventh century scribe stated it that way,

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<v Speaker 1>reframing the bride as the active party in theory that

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<v Speaker 1>match would greatly elevate both vanished queen's positions. Otto Vera's

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<v Speaker 1>son would become even more prominent, and they could then

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<v Speaker 1>claim that he was the rightful heir of Neustria, undermining

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<v Speaker 1>Fredigund and her children and Brunhild would be regent as

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<v Speaker 1>her son ruled Austrasia, and she could be a queen consort.

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<v Speaker 1>If her new husband overthrew his estranged father, she could

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<v Speaker 1>potentially become queen of two thirds of Francia. Brunhild and

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<v Speaker 1>Odevera's son wed in five hundred seventy six in the

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<v Speaker 1>same cathedral where Brunhild's sister had married Chilpric. This wedding

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<v Speaker 1>was much more cobbled together than Brunhild's first, and was

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<v Speaker 1>also somewhat scandalous, since technically a groom marrying his uncle's

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<v Speaker 1>widow was a form of incest frowned upon by the Church.

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<v Speaker 1>But their union was bolstered by several elements. First, Brunhild

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<v Speaker 1>and her new husband were not blood relatives. Second, Otdovera

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<v Speaker 1>had previously gotten the presiding bishop to agree to be

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<v Speaker 1>the groom's godfather, so he likely fancied himself a plumb

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<v Speaker 1>position if his godson became the new king of Neustria.

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<v Speaker 1>And Third, stirring up a bit of scandal was the

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<v Speaker 1>whole point. Brunhild was trying to stoke a rebellion against

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<v Speaker 1>her ex brother in law and new sister in law.

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<v Speaker 1>Sorry for all the complicated inter family dynamics here, but

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<v Speaker 1>the headline is this was a power move, and time

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<v Speaker 1>to get your royal rivalry scorecards out, because both queens

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<v Speaker 1>were fully back in the ring. Unfortunately for Brunhild, her

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<v Speaker 1>new husband's army seems to have been defeated in such

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<v Speaker 1>a quick manner that their downfall comes across as mystifyingly

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<v Speaker 1>vague in most historical accounts. Nevertheless, what was clear was

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<v Speaker 1>that Chilbric easily captured the newlyweds. He forced his wayward

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<v Speaker 1>son to become a priest. Then, apparently tired of all

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<v Speaker 1>these scandals and headaches that Brunhild was causing, the King

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<v Speaker 1>negotiated with her to allow her to return to Austrasia

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<v Speaker 1>if she promised to completely abandon her new husband. Brunhild's

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<v Speaker 1>deal making skills were so honed by this point, though,

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<v Speaker 1>that on top of securing her release, she also bought

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<v Speaker 1>herself some added time to sneakily shore up her alliances.

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<v Speaker 1>Before returning home, she supposedly secretly delivered more accrude treasure

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<v Speaker 1>to that same enterprising bishop in case he could support

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<v Speaker 1>her now disavowed husband in a second effort to overthrow

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<v Speaker 1>his father, and on top of that, Brunhild somehow also

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<v Speaker 1>got Chilbric to agree to return her hostaged daughters to her.

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<v Speaker 1>So miraculously, if you're keeping, in a matter of months,

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<v Speaker 1>Brunhild had managed to escape her convent, return home, richer

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<v Speaker 1>in gold and allies, and reunite her family so she

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<v Speaker 1>could watch over them as regent of Australia. Fredigund may

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<v Speaker 1>have gained the upper hand in the last few rounds

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<v Speaker 1>of their fight, but this one went resoundingly to Brunhild.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the next eight years, both Brunhild and Fredigund both

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<v Speaker 1>proved to be productive rulers. As regent, Brunhild became a

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<v Speaker 1>skilled diplomat, deftly managed the squabbling nobles of her court,

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<v Speaker 1>and heavily invested in infrastructure that included repairing old Roman

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<v Speaker 1>roads and constructing a hospital and beautiful churches. Fredegund was

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<v Speaker 1>noted for her popular tax reforms, as well as for

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<v Speaker 1>sniffing out plots against her, both legitimate and perceived, and

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<v Speaker 1>even for her military acumen. The legendary boldness and creativity

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<v Speaker 1>that Fredigund exhibited especially when her forces were vastly outnumbered.

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<v Speaker 1>Won her the respect of her armies and inspired numerous historians, writers,

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<v Speaker 1>and tacticians, but Fredigund also suffered many tragedies through this period.

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<v Speaker 1>She devastatingly lost four sons in a seven year span,

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<v Speaker 1>mostly due to dysentery, and just after birthing a fifth

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<v Speaker 1>son in secret, her life would once again be turned

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<v Speaker 1>upside down. While staying at a villa outside of Paris

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<v Speaker 1>in five hundred eighty four, her husband Chilpric, returned to

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<v Speaker 1>his stables after a hunt. His party began to disperse,

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<v Speaker 1>and allegedly, as he dismounted himself, an assassin lunged forward

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<v Speaker 1>and stabbed him multiple times. Whether or not brun Hild

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<v Speaker 1>sent the assassin, momentum was massively swinging back into her favor.

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<v Speaker 1>The king bled out on the ground, and his death

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<v Speaker 1>caused such an instant frenzy that no one dared approach

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<v Speaker 1>the body for hours, being either afraid of associating themselves

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<v Speaker 1>with the murder or too preoccupied with planning their next

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<v Speaker 1>strategic moves. Fredigund fell into the latter category, while brun

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<v Speaker 1>Hilled and her Australian forces rapidly approached. Fredigund fled to

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<v Speaker 1>Paris to seek sanctuary in a huge cathedral that was,

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<v Speaker 1>by all accounts as extravagant as most palaces, but it

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<v Speaker 1>essentially amounted to Fredigund as an ornate bunker as she

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<v Speaker 1>once again had to brainstorm how to avoid death or imprisonment. Ultimately,

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<v Speaker 1>she would choose a similar strategy as the one Brunhild

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<v Speaker 1>had used years ago, namely, using persuasive talents as well

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<v Speaker 1>as a large stash of treasure, Fredigund successfully drew Brunhild

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<v Speaker 1>and her son's full attention while also drawing the eye

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<v Speaker 1>of another influential figure, Guntram, King of Burgundy. We haven't

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<v Speaker 1>brought up Guntram and his third Kingdom of Francy up

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<v Speaker 1>much until this point, because, frankishly speaking, his ambitions and

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<v Speaker 1>actions did not seem to be as consistently dramatic or

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<v Speaker 1>earthshaking as his brothers, let alone those of his sisters

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<v Speaker 1>in law. Gontram often fell into the role of peacemaker,

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<v Speaker 1>buffer or underdog supporter in the civil war. Basically, he

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<v Speaker 1>didn't want either neighboring kingdom to become too powerful. Guontram

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<v Speaker 1>also detested the idea of women ruling and thought widowed

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<v Speaker 1>deposed queen's should stay stashed in convents, but when needed,

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<v Speaker 1>Brunhild and Fredegund both found ways to get crafty with him.

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<v Speaker 1>Knowing that Gutram had no surviving heirs, Brunehilde had managed

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<v Speaker 1>to make a deal with him to adopt her son

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<v Speaker 1>as heir to Burgundy in exchange for agreeing to stop

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<v Speaker 1>the Australian's war against Neustria. Once again. She was angling

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<v Speaker 1>to ensure that her line would eventually be able to

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<v Speaker 1>control at least two thirds of Francia. However, Fredegund was

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<v Speaker 1>apparently aware that Gutram had done that, and she had

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<v Speaker 1>also intuited that Gutram was still resentful of Brunhild for

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<v Speaker 1>wielding so much power. So, while stuck in her Paris

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<v Speaker 1>cathedral with limited time and means of communication, Fredegund thought

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<v Speaker 1>carefully on the best tact to take with her potential lifeline.

0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:07.479
<v Speaker 1>She tapped into Gutram's paternal instincts, but rather than asking

0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:11.720
<v Speaker 1>him for any adoption favors, she sent him a message

0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:17.080
<v Speaker 1>appealing for pity since she had a newborn baby. According

0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:21.280
<v Speaker 1>to Bishop Gregory of tour Our most thorough source from

0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:25.840
<v Speaker 1>this time. Fredegund wrote to Gutram quote, let my lord

0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:29.439
<v Speaker 1>come and take charge of his brother's kingdom. I have

0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:33.200
<v Speaker 1>a tiny baby whom I longed to place in his arms.

0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:37.800
<v Speaker 1>At the same time, I shall declare myself his humble servant.

0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:45.800
<v Speaker 1>Fredigun's cleverly timed baby surprise worked. Guntram stepped in and

0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:50.719
<v Speaker 1>he prevented Brunhild and her son from capturing Fredigund and

0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:54.880
<v Speaker 1>her infant son, and Guntram also pushed for an end

0:18:55.240 --> 0:19:00.560
<v Speaker 1>to his fellow Frankish country's civil war. For his troubles,

0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:05.120
<v Speaker 1>he also likely helped himself to some of Fredigun's treasure,

0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:09.920
<v Speaker 1>so major diplomacy points go to Fredegund here, although as

0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:14.000
<v Speaker 1>part of the deal she agreed to step away from

0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:20.439
<v Speaker 1>royal life. But at last there was relative peace, at

0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:25.880
<v Speaker 1>least until Guntram died. Soon, Brunhild and Fredigund went right

0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:32.280
<v Speaker 1>back to leading their queendoms against each other. Fredigund planned

0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:37.159
<v Speaker 1>more assassinations and again grabbed her throne. Serving as regent

0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:42.440
<v Speaker 1>for her son, she oversaw Neustria's army and one decisive

0:19:42.640 --> 0:19:48.720
<v Speaker 1>military victories, despite almost always being outnumbered. At one point

0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:52.320
<v Speaker 1>after one of her generals was felled on the battlefield.

0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:58.680
<v Speaker 1>Fredigund reportedly shocked the enemy by leading the neustran charge herself.

0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:03.200
<v Speaker 1>At the same same time, brune Hild shepherded her son's

0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:08.440
<v Speaker 1>reign so skillfully that she was credited with impacting almost

0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:13.360
<v Speaker 1>all of Austrasia's biggest decisions. The young king is usually

0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:18.840
<v Speaker 1>portrayed as dependent and ineffectual. In five hundred ninety five,

0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:22.840
<v Speaker 1>Brunhild's son died, leaving behind three of his own children.

0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:27.359
<v Speaker 1>Surely there were some tributes to the dead king, but

0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:31.440
<v Speaker 1>the fact that so many chronicles paid so little attention

0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:35.080
<v Speaker 1>to his death goes to show how unremarkable of a

0:20:35.160 --> 0:20:40.520
<v Speaker 1>ruler he probably was. Likewise, Brunhild's reaction to this loss

0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:44.720
<v Speaker 1>comes off as murky. In some accounts. It must have

0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:48.600
<v Speaker 1>been an emotional blow, but having learned the hard way

0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:52.920
<v Speaker 1>that a king's death could rip away a queen's power,

0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:58.280
<v Speaker 1>Brunhild prudently secured her position as regent for two of

0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:03.119
<v Speaker 1>her grandsons. They were nine and ten, and technically the

0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:08.359
<v Speaker 1>new rulers of Austrasia and Burgundy respectively. At that time.

0:21:08.560 --> 0:21:15.200
<v Speaker 1>Fredigun's king son was only eleven, meaning Francia was entirely

0:21:15.359 --> 0:21:20.439
<v Speaker 1>in the hands of child kings, although not really, the

0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:24.560
<v Speaker 1>two queen mothers wielded all of the true power, and

0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:28.400
<v Speaker 1>though both were in their ruling primes, if we were

0:21:28.440 --> 0:21:33.000
<v Speaker 1>to update our royal rivalry score sheets at this point,

0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:39.719
<v Speaker 1>Brunhild probably is winning for presiding over two thirds of Francia. Still,

0:21:39.960 --> 0:21:44.119
<v Speaker 1>anytime Brunhild or Fredigund got the upper hand, the opposing

0:21:44.200 --> 0:21:47.720
<v Speaker 1>queen would pull off a gritty move to save herself

0:21:47.800 --> 0:21:52.760
<v Speaker 1>and her lineage. Astonishingly, considering how powerful and wily they

0:21:52.800 --> 0:21:56.920
<v Speaker 1>each could be, Brunehild and Fredegund were so evenly matched

0:21:56.960 --> 0:22:01.120
<v Speaker 1>that in the end neither was able to directly defeat

0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:04.760
<v Speaker 1>the other and settle the final score. In five hundred

0:22:04.760 --> 0:22:09.359
<v Speaker 1>and ninety seven, Fredagund suddenly died. She was in her fifties,

0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:12.560
<v Speaker 1>She didn't seem to have a specific illness, and it

0:22:12.600 --> 0:22:17.160
<v Speaker 1>didn't appear to be poison. It was a surprisingly quiet

0:22:17.440 --> 0:22:21.439
<v Speaker 1>end for such a fiery person, and at long last,

0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:28.960
<v Speaker 1>her decades spanning quarrel with Brunhild was over. Mostly Brunhild

0:22:29.080 --> 0:22:34.640
<v Speaker 1>may have outlived Fredegund, but eventually Fredigun's line would get

0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:39.400
<v Speaker 1>the final say and brune Hild's death wouldn't be anything

0:22:39.680 --> 0:22:45.000
<v Speaker 1>close to quiet. Fast forward to six hundred and thirteen,

0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:50.560
<v Speaker 1>brune Hild served as regent for her great grandson, meaning

0:22:50.680 --> 0:22:54.840
<v Speaker 1>that she had been regent for three different generations, and

0:22:55.240 --> 0:22:59.679
<v Speaker 1>no surprise, she was helping him wage war against Neustria,

0:23:00.359 --> 0:23:04.800
<v Speaker 1>but many of their side defected and Fredigun's ruling son

0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:09.600
<v Speaker 1>finally captured them. In the spirit of his mother's pensiant

0:23:09.680 --> 0:23:16.640
<v Speaker 1>for creative punishments, he purportedly had Brunhild quartered, that is,

0:23:16.960 --> 0:23:21.080
<v Speaker 1>tied to several horses and pulled apart in a grizzly

0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:25.760
<v Speaker 1>public spectacle. For the first time in fifty two years.

0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:32.680
<v Speaker 1>Francia became united under one ruler, but Frediguon's and Brunhild's

0:23:32.800 --> 0:23:38.560
<v Speaker 1>legacies and long simmering hostilities would continue to haunt the

0:23:38.640 --> 0:23:48.080
<v Speaker 1>realm for centuries. Although many subsequent monarchs and historians obscured

0:23:48.240 --> 0:23:53.080
<v Speaker 1>certain facets of Brunhild's and Fredigun's lives, their reigns remain

0:23:53.440 --> 0:23:57.959
<v Speaker 1>uniquely fascinating and have had meaningful impacts on art and

0:23:58.160 --> 0:24:03.480
<v Speaker 1>popular culture. For example, Fredigun's military genius was on full

0:24:03.560 --> 0:24:06.560
<v Speaker 1>display during the Battle of Drozi in five hundred and

0:24:06.640 --> 0:24:11.800
<v Speaker 1>ninety three, Far outmatched by Australian forces, she disguised her

0:24:11.960 --> 0:24:15.960
<v Speaker 1>army with branches and leaves. This made it appear to

0:24:16.119 --> 0:24:20.520
<v Speaker 1>an enemy century as if the forest were moving, which

0:24:20.640 --> 0:24:26.280
<v Speaker 1>reportedly got this watchman derided as a drunkard. Fredigund also

0:24:26.440 --> 0:24:30.639
<v Speaker 1>had her mounted troops attach bells to their horses to

0:24:30.680 --> 0:24:35.080
<v Speaker 1>make opposing soldiers think they were simply grazing cattle, thus

0:24:35.160 --> 0:24:38.640
<v Speaker 1>allowing her army to sneak up and steal a victory.

0:24:39.520 --> 0:24:44.480
<v Speaker 1>These specific tactics became so famous that scholars claim that

0:24:44.600 --> 0:24:49.480
<v Speaker 1>Shakespeare borrowed and featured them in Macbeth. Brunehild was also

0:24:49.600 --> 0:24:54.720
<v Speaker 1>an inspiration for the slightly differently spelled character Brunehild with

0:24:54.760 --> 0:24:57.680
<v Speaker 1>an E at the end, the lead valkyrie in the

0:24:57.720 --> 0:25:02.720
<v Speaker 1>famous four part cycle of musical dramas composed by Richard

0:25:02.760 --> 0:25:07.200
<v Speaker 1>Wagner called the Ring Cycle. This became such a memorable

0:25:07.359 --> 0:25:11.879
<v Speaker 1>role that brune Hild even affected how vikings are commonly

0:25:12.040 --> 0:25:17.240
<v Speaker 1>visualized today. Many historians assert that by outfitting performers in

0:25:17.640 --> 0:25:22.040
<v Speaker 1>winged and horned helmets, the costume designer of the opera's

0:25:22.160 --> 0:25:28.080
<v Speaker 1>Cycle nineteen seventy six premiere inextricably linked Vikings with that

0:25:28.240 --> 0:25:32.680
<v Speaker 1>headgear in modern depictions, despite there being no actual evidence

0:25:32.720 --> 0:25:37.520
<v Speaker 1>that Viking warriors really wore pointy horns on their helmets.

0:25:38.280 --> 0:25:41.760
<v Speaker 1>For many, the name Brunhild might even first conjure up

0:25:41.760 --> 0:25:45.879
<v Speaker 1>images of bugs Bunny evading Elmer Fudd as he sings

0:25:46.280 --> 0:25:50.159
<v Speaker 1>kill the Abbott in the nineteen fifty seven Looney Tunes

0:25:50.200 --> 0:25:55.080
<v Speaker 1>cartoon What's Opera doc. It's impossible to say what brun

0:25:55.200 --> 0:25:58.480
<v Speaker 1>Hild would have thought about her decades in power being

0:25:58.520 --> 0:26:03.480
<v Speaker 1>distilled into an animated opera parody starring a rabbit in drag.

0:26:03.960 --> 0:26:07.199
<v Speaker 1>But on the other hand, in terms of lasting legacies,

0:26:07.680 --> 0:26:10.560
<v Speaker 1>how many other sixth century rulers can you say have

0:26:10.640 --> 0:26:17.160
<v Speaker 1>been immortalized that way? Analyzing Fredigund and Brunhild also brings

0:26:17.240 --> 0:26:21.040
<v Speaker 1>up intriguing questions about why the two are so often

0:26:21.080 --> 0:26:25.960
<v Speaker 1>framed as adversaries in a heightened personal feud. On a

0:26:26.000 --> 0:26:30.720
<v Speaker 1>basic level, conflict obviously sells, and the two did try

0:26:30.760 --> 0:26:34.160
<v Speaker 1>to kill each other and each other's families quite a bit.

0:26:34.720 --> 0:26:39.520
<v Speaker 1>It's worth asking whether Fredigund and Brunhild's actions, though, would

0:26:39.520 --> 0:26:43.040
<v Speaker 1>be discussed or framed in these same terms if they

0:26:43.080 --> 0:26:49.600
<v Speaker 1>were kings. Was it easier, particularly from many male historians' perspectives,

0:26:49.920 --> 0:26:54.480
<v Speaker 1>to frame their relationship as a vindictive personal feud rather

0:26:54.520 --> 0:26:59.000
<v Speaker 1>than a complicated imperial dispute. To be sure, there was

0:26:59.080 --> 0:27:03.840
<v Speaker 1>ample fuel or personal vendettas, but there were also critical

0:27:04.280 --> 0:27:11.000
<v Speaker 1>economic factors in play, treasuries, titles, lands, all up for grabs. Again,

0:27:11.080 --> 0:27:15.840
<v Speaker 1>Brunhild and Siegert didn't invade Nustria on the official grounds

0:27:15.920 --> 0:27:19.639
<v Speaker 1>that Brunhild's sister was murdered, but technically in order to

0:27:19.800 --> 0:27:25.720
<v Speaker 1>reclaim her extremely valuable land. All of that said, just

0:27:25.840 --> 0:27:30.359
<v Speaker 1>as viewing Fredigund and Brunhild's relationship through too much of

0:27:30.400 --> 0:27:34.000
<v Speaker 1>a personal drama focused lens wouldn't reveal the full picture,

0:27:34.680 --> 0:27:39.359
<v Speaker 1>neither is viewing their interrelated reigns as solely hinging on

0:27:39.480 --> 0:27:45.280
<v Speaker 1>coldly logical chest moves. In sixth century Francia, it was

0:27:45.359 --> 0:27:49.679
<v Speaker 1>difficult for women to exercise various freedoms, much less rule.

0:27:50.200 --> 0:27:55.720
<v Speaker 1>Yet both Brunhild and Fredigund maintained power for many years,

0:27:56.119 --> 0:28:01.000
<v Speaker 1>perhaps partly because both were able to affect actively master

0:28:01.119 --> 0:28:08.040
<v Speaker 1>political strategy and harness deep levels of emotional intelligence. Another

0:28:08.280 --> 0:28:11.560
<v Speaker 1>possible way to look at it is that instead of

0:28:11.600 --> 0:28:15.040
<v Speaker 1>a passionate feud being a narrative that was forced on

0:28:15.119 --> 0:28:18.560
<v Speaker 1>the queen's histories, it could be the other way around.

0:28:19.320 --> 0:28:22.959
<v Speaker 1>Is it possible that having such a worthy adversary in

0:28:23.080 --> 0:28:26.320
<v Speaker 1>some manner forced each other to, for lack of a

0:28:26.359 --> 0:28:31.960
<v Speaker 1>better phrase, up their game, which then catapulted both to

0:28:32.200 --> 0:28:38.120
<v Speaker 1>new history impacting heights. Brunehild and Fredigund are each undoubtedly

0:28:38.280 --> 0:28:43.640
<v Speaker 1>worthy of extensive individual study, but nevertheless, discussing the two

0:28:43.720 --> 0:28:47.080
<v Speaker 1>as a pair doesn't have to be productive and can

0:28:47.120 --> 0:28:52.680
<v Speaker 1>actually be tremendously informative and also interesting. Even today, it's

0:28:52.800 --> 0:28:58.400
<v Speaker 1>pretty tricky to find examples of two competing female rulers

0:28:58.680 --> 0:29:03.120
<v Speaker 1>who simultaneous hold the amount of power that Brunhild and

0:29:03.320 --> 0:29:08.400
<v Speaker 1>Fredegund did. Even with all the violence, upheaval and lingering

0:29:08.520 --> 0:29:12.640
<v Speaker 1>questions of the two queen's reigns, one thing is for sure,

0:29:13.160 --> 0:29:20.080
<v Speaker 1>their epic rivalry was unrivaled. That's the second part of

0:29:20.120 --> 0:29:24.400
<v Speaker 1>the fascinating story of Brunhild and Fredigund. But stick around

0:29:24.480 --> 0:29:28.280
<v Speaker 1>after a brief sponsor break to learn an additional method

0:29:28.320 --> 0:29:39.400
<v Speaker 1>of trying to quantify our queen's power. Attempting to keep

0:29:39.480 --> 0:29:42.800
<v Speaker 1>score on a rivalry that lasted over forty years may

0:29:42.840 --> 0:29:48.720
<v Speaker 1>seem silly, but quantifying certain complicated subjects like individuals overall

0:29:48.800 --> 0:29:52.880
<v Speaker 1>statuses in life was actually common practice for a time.

0:29:53.560 --> 0:29:58.760
<v Speaker 1>Frankish law dictated that every citizen was given a monetary

0:29:58.880 --> 0:30:02.720
<v Speaker 1>value called of airgeld, and if a heinous crime was

0:30:02.760 --> 0:30:07.280
<v Speaker 1>committed against that person, their family could legally claim that

0:30:07.480 --> 0:30:12.080
<v Speaker 1>amount as compensation. It was essentially a kind of life

0:30:12.120 --> 0:30:17.000
<v Speaker 1>insurance policy. Women's verigelds were typically higher than men's and

0:30:17.240 --> 0:30:20.960
<v Speaker 1>very dependent on their ages and abilities to have children.

0:30:21.480 --> 0:30:26.040
<v Speaker 1>They usually ranged from around two hundred to six hundred

0:30:26.160 --> 0:30:32.000
<v Speaker 1>gold coins. For female rulers, the calculus was on another scale.

0:30:32.520 --> 0:30:35.120
<v Speaker 1>The killing of a queen could lead to a fine

0:30:35.240 --> 0:30:40.520
<v Speaker 1>as sky high as fifty thousand gold coins, and, while

0:30:40.640 --> 0:30:45.360
<v Speaker 1>not always the case, for some aging queens, their perceived

0:30:45.480 --> 0:30:49.280
<v Speaker 1>worth did not simply depend on whether they could birth heirs,

0:30:49.760 --> 0:30:52.520
<v Speaker 1>but on how much value they could provide in terms

0:30:52.600 --> 0:30:57.800
<v Speaker 1>of their royal networking and ruling expertise. There don't appear

0:30:57.880 --> 0:31:03.720
<v Speaker 1>to be surviving records guarding specific values assigned to Brunhild

0:31:03.920 --> 0:31:09.160
<v Speaker 1>or Fredgund, but given their accumulated experience in ruling Francia,

0:31:09.600 --> 0:31:12.800
<v Speaker 1>as they each stayed in power for longer than almost

0:31:12.840 --> 0:31:16.040
<v Speaker 1>every Roman emperor and king who came before them. The

0:31:16.120 --> 0:31:20.040
<v Speaker 1>two queen's exploits surely put them at the top of

0:31:20.160 --> 0:31:33.040
<v Speaker 1>the all time franking order. Noble Blood is a production

0:31:33.240 --> 0:31:37.680
<v Speaker 1>of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manke. Noble

0:31:37.680 --> 0:31:41.680
<v Speaker 1>Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing

0:31:41.720 --> 0:31:46.240
<v Speaker 1>and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannaswick, Courtney Sender, Amy Hit

0:31:46.440 --> 0:31:50.440
<v Speaker 1>and Julia Melaney. The show is edited and produced by

0:31:50.520 --> 0:31:56.120
<v Speaker 1>Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima il KLi and executive

0:31:56.160 --> 0:32:00.400
<v Speaker 1>producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more

0:32:00.480 --> 0:32:05.880
<v Speaker 1>podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

0:32:06.000 --> 0:32:07.880
<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.