Saint Dagobert II

Dagobert II (Latin: Dagober(c)tus; Old English: Dægberht; died 679) was a Merovingian king of the Franks, ruling in Austrasia from 675 or 676 until his death. He is one of the more obscure Merovingians. He has been considered a martyr since at least the ninth century. None of the narrative histories of the Merovingian period give an account of Dagobert's reign, which has been reconstructed from several different sources. Upon the death of his father in 656, he was deprived of the succession and exiled to Ireland to live as a monk. His return to Austrasia was arranged by Wilfrid, bishop of York. He ascended the throne during the civil war caused by the assassination of Childeric II in 675. During his brief reign, he was at war with Neustria, signed a peace treaty with the Lombard Kingdom in Italy and reintroduced gold coinage. The near-contemporary Life of Wilfrid portrays Dagobert as a tyrant who antagonized the bishops and imposed new taxes. He was assassinated by a conspiracy of the highest nobility and was succeeded by his cousin, Theuderic III, king of Neustria, against whom he had previously warred. Dagobert was the son of Sigebert III (ruled 632–51/6) and an unknown woman. It is unlikely that he was a son of Sigebert's only known wife, Chimnechild, who survived him. He was thus the half-brother of Bilichild, Chimnechild's daughter by Sigebert. He was named for his grandfather, Dagobert I (623–639). According to the Book of the History of the Franks, which dates to 727, after Sigebert's death, Grimoald, the mayor of the palace and the most powerful official under the king, arranged for Dagobert to be tonsured and placed in the custody of Dido, bishop of Poitiers. Tonsuring rendered Dagobert unfit for the throne since Merovingian kings always wore their hair long. Dido then sent Dagobert to Ireland. The dating of these events is uncertain. They are usually placed in 656, but a date as early as 651 has also been proposed.