Saint Sigebert III

Sigebert III (c. 630–656) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian roi fainéant, or "do-nothing king", with the mayor of the palace in fact ruling the kingdom throughout his reign. Nevertheless, Sigebert lived a pious Christian life and was later sanctified, being remembered as Saint Sigebert of Austrasia in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Sigebert was born in 630 as the eldest son of Dagobert I, King of the Franks, and his concubine Ragnetrude. The king recalled and made peace with Saint Amand, who was previously banished for criticizing the king's vices, and asked him to baptize his new-born son. The ceremony was performed at Orléans and Charibert II, Dagobert's half-brother who was King of Aquitaine at the time, was the god-father. Dagobert assigned the education of Sigebert to Pepin of Landen, who was the mayor of the palace in Austrasia under his father Chlotar II, until 629. Pepin took the young Sigebert and moved with him to his domains in Aquitane, where they stayed the next three years. In 633, a revolt of the nobles forced Dagobert to make the three-year old Sigebert king of Austrasia, similar to how his father Chlotar II had made him king of Austrasia in 623. However, he refused to give the power to Pepin of Landen by making him mayor of the palace for the child-king. Instead he had put Sigebert under the tutelage of Adalgisel as mayor of the palace and the Bishop of Cologne Saint Cunibert as regent, while keeping Pepin in Neustria as hostage. In 634 Dagobert's second son, Clovis II, was born, and the king forced the nobles to accept him as the next king of Neustria and Burgundy, setting up a new division of the empire. On the death of Dagobert in 639, the two Frankish kingdoms became independent once again under Sigebert III and Clovis II.