Kings of France  Merovingian Dynasty Vaught-Jasper-Trusty-Molloy, Genealogy Tree   The Merovingian Dynasty was a Frankish dynasty considered the first French royal house. It was the first major political authority which rose out of the ashes of the dying Roman Empire in Europe. It was named for Merovech (fl. c. 450), whose son Childeric I (d. 482?) ruled a tribe of Salian Franks from his capital at Tournai. His son, Clovis I, united nearly all of Gaul in the late 5th century except Burgundy and present-day Provence. On his death the realm was divided among his sons, but by 558 it was united under his last surviving son, Chlotar I. The pattern of dividing and then reuniting the realm continued for generations. After the reign of Dagobert I (623?639), the authority of the Merovingian kings declined, and real power gradually came to rest in the hands of the mayors of the palace. In 751 the last Merovingian king, Childeric III, was deposed by Pippin III, the first of the Carolingian dynasty. - Encyclopedia Britannica Life in the Sixth Century Germanic tribesmen living close to the North Sea tended to have fairly large timber houses supported by four rows of posts that divided the house into three rooms. The family lived in the centre room, while a smaller room on one side was used for storage and a larger room on the other side was used to house the animals whose body heat helped warm the living quarters. From this arrangement comes the story that "the people lived in the barn" or that "the cattle lived in the house." Further inland, people tended to inhabit dwellings that were supported by upright posts but without interior supports. These dwellings varied in size from 20 feet X 12 feet up to perhaps 25 feet square. Long, narrow buildings about 12 feet X 25 feet housed the cattle while smaller structures 12 feet square were used for storage. Some of these smaller storage buildings were partially underground. The main crops were barley, wheat, oats, peas and beans. Crop rotation was practiced, and fields were improved by adding limestone and manure. Depleted soil was abandoned and new land brought into use using the slash and burn technique. Simple scratch ploughs pulled by oxen were most common, and they didn't actually turn the soil. Grain was left attached to the hay and was roasted slightly to preserve it. Grain was separated from the hay as needed and ground using simple hand grindstones. Once ground, flour was used to prepare porridge and flat bread. Grain was also used to make beer. Cattle were very important and were an indicator of wealth. Pigs, sheep, goats, horses, chickens and geese were also kept. Every portion of the animals was used either for food or for the production of clothing, shelter and utensils. Wild animals were hunted and killed for sport and to eliminate nuisance animals. Wild animals are thought to have made up less than 5% of the total animals used. Iron was produced using small, crude but effective charcoal furnaces made of earth. These ovens held about a litre of ore, and only 200 grams of iron could be made at a time from the very best ore. This iron was worked into very high quality steel, far superior to the equipment of the Roman troops. However, the Germanic tribes were iron poor, and weapons such as long swords were rare. Each individual household was dominated by the father who held authority over all the members. A number of households, sometimes as many as fifty, were grouped into a family clan-like organization. A number of clans formed a tribe which was sometimes overseen by a "king" who was really a tribal chieftain. The "king" was usually chosen from one family that was most closely identified with the ethnic, cultural and historical traditions of the tribe - that is, from a "royal family." Some tribes had several kings, one to preside over meetings, one for religious ceremonies and one for military command. Other tribes didn't have a king at all. In order to survive and prosper, a tribe had become almost completely militarized; that is, the tribe had to become an army. This is what appears to have happened with the Salian Franks whose Merovingian Kings dominated the region from the fifth century onwards. The Decline of the Merovingian Kings From the middle of the seventh century on, their power declined and the real authority rested to an ever increasing extent with the Mayors of the Palace. The king became a figurehead distinguished by his beard, long hair, crown and throne. When King Theuderic IV died in 737, he was not replaced. Charles Martel ruled instead as Mayor of the Palace. Charles Martel died in 741 and was succeeded by his sons Pépin the Short and Carloman. The brothers Pépin and Carloman instituted another king, Childeric III in 743, largely to ease the concern of other Frankish leaders about their growing power. Carloman withdrew from politics in 747 and retired to the monastery of Monte Casino. In 751, Childeric III also wisely decided to retire to a monastery and Pépin the Short had himself proclaimed king in November 751, thus officially ending the Merovingian Dynasty.

Mberovbee  (r.447-56)  Mberovbee (c-411-456) (French Mérovée) was a chief of the Salian Franks from 448-456. He is considered a semi-legendary individual, as not much information survived about him. Gregory of Tours records him but it is not clear if he was the son of Clodian or a leader who assumed power on Clodian's death. Some researchers have noted that Mberovbee, the Frankish chieftain, may have been the namesake of a certain god or demigod honored by the Franks prior to their conversion to Christianity, a being described as part human, part bull and part sea-creature. Mberovbee is the father of Childeric I who succeeded him.  Mberovbee King of France is the 54th great grandfather of the Molloys.

Childeric I (r.458-82) About 463, in conjunction with the Roman General Aegidius, he fought against the Visigoths, who hoped to extend their dominion along the banks of the Loire River; after the death of Aegidius he assisted Count Paul in attempting to check an invasion of the Saxons. Paul having perished in the struggle, Childeric delivered Angers from some Saxons, followed them to the islands at the mouth of the Loire, and massacred them there. He also stopped a band of the Alamanni who wished to invade Italy. These are all the facts known about him. The stories of his expulsion by the Franks; of his stay of eight years in Thuringia with King Basin and his wife Basine; of his return when a faithful servant advised him that he could safely do so by sending to him half of a piece of gold which he had broken with him; and of the arrival at Tournai of Queen Basine, whom he married, are entirely legendary. After the fall of the Western Empire in 476 there is no doubt that Childeric regarded himself as freed from his engagements towards Rome. He died in 481 and was buried at Tournai, leaving a son Clovis, afterwards king of the Franks. His tomb was discovered in 1653, when numerous precious objects, arms, jewels, coins and a ring with a figure of the king, were found. Childeric I King of France is the 53rd great grandfather of the Molloys.

Clovis I (r.482-511) Clovis I (or Chlodowech, modern French "Louis") (c.466 - November 27, 511 at Paris), a member of the Merovingian dynasty, succeeded his father Childeric I in 481 as King of the Salic Franks, a Germanic people occupying the area west of the lower Rhine, with their own center around Tournai and Cambrai, along the modern frontier between France and Belgium, in an area known as Toxandria. Non-contemporary coin with obverse legend "Clovis Roy de France" In 486, with the help of Ragnachar, Clovis defeated Syagrius, the last Roman official in northern Gaul, whose rule covered the area around Soissons, in present-day Picardie. This victory extended Frankish rule to most of the area north of the Loire. After this, Clovis secured an alliance with the Ostrogoths, through the marriage of his sister Audofleda to their king, Theodoric the Great. He followed this victory with another in 491 over a small group of Thuringians east of his territories, then later, with the help of the other Frankish sub-kings, defeated the Alamanni in the Battle of Tolbiac. He had previously married the Burgundian princess Clotilde (493), and following his victory at Tolbiac he converted in 496 to her Catholic faith. This was a significant change from the other Germanic kings, like the Visigoths and Vandals, who embraced the rival Arian beliefs. The conversion of Clovis to Roman Catholic Christianity, the religion of the majority of his subjects, strengthened the bonds between his Roman subjects and their Germanic conquerors. However, Bernard Bachrach has argued that this conversion from his Frankish pagan beliefs alienated many of the other Frankish sub-kings, and weakened his military position over the next few years. He fought a battle in Dijon in the year 500, but did not successfully subdue the Burgundian kingdom. It appears that he somehow gained the support of the Armoricans in the following years, for they assisted him in his defeat of the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse at Vouillé (507), a victory that confined the Visigoths to Spain, adding most of Aquitaine to his kingdom. He then established Paris as his capital, and established an abbey dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul on the south bank of the Seine. All that remains of this great abbey (later named in honour of Paris' patron saint, Geneviève, it was demolished in 1802) is the Tour Clovis, a Romanesque tower which now lies within the grounds of the prestigious Lycèe Henri IV, just east of The Panthéon. Following the Battle of Vouillé, according to Gregory of Tours, the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I, granted Clovis the title of consul. Since Clovis' name does not appear in the consular lists, it is likely he was granted a suffect consulship. Gregory also records Clovis' systematic campaigns following his victory at Vouillé to elimate the other Frankish reguli or sub-kings: these included Sigibert of Cologne and his son Chloderic; Chararic another king of the Salian Franks; Ragnachar of Cambrai, his brother Ricchar, and their brother Rigomer of LeMans. Shortly before his death, Clovis called a synod of Gallic bishops to meet at Orleans to reform the church and create a strong link between the crown and the Catholic episcopate. Clovis I died in 511 and is interred Saint Denis Basilica, Paris, France, whereas his father had been buried with the older Merovingian kings at Tournai. Upon his death, his realm was divided among his four sons, (Theuderic, Chlodomer, Childebert, Chlothar) creating the new political units of the Kingdoms of Reims, Orléans, Paris and Soissons, inaugurating a period of disunity which was to last with brief interruptions until the end (751) of his Merovingian dynasty. Popular tradition, based on French royal tradition, holds that the Franks were the founders of the French nation, and that Clovis was therefore the first King of France. Clovis I "The Great" King France is the 52nd great grandfather of the Molloys.

Childebert I (r.511-58) Childebert I   Childebert I was born about 496 at Rheims, in the Marne, département, of France and died in 558. He was a Frankish king, and a member of the Merovingian dynasty, one of the four sons of Clovis. - In the partition of his father's realm in 511 he received as his share the town of Paris, and the country to the north as far as the river Somme, and to the west as far as the English Channel, with the Armorican peninsula. In 524, after the murder of Chlodomer's children, Childebert annexed the cities of Chartres and Orléans. He took part in the various expeditions against the kingdom of Burgundy, and in 534 received as his share of the spoils of that kingdom the towns of Macon, Geneva and Lyons. When Witiges, the king of the Ostrogoths, ceded Provence to the Franks in 535, the possession of Arles and Marseilles was guaranteed to Childebert by his brothers. Childebert also made a series of expeditions against the Visigoths of Spain; in 542 he took possession of Pampeluna with the help of his brother Clotaire I, and besieged Saragossa, but was forced to retreat. From this expedition he brought back to Paris a precious relic, the tunic of St Vincent, in honour of which he built at the gates of Paris the famous monastery of St Vincent, known later as St Germain-des-Prés, France. He died without issue in 558, and was buried in the abbey he had founded, where his tomb has been discovered. See "Nouveaux documents sur le tombeau de Childebert a Saint-Germain-des-Prés" in the Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaires (1887).         Childebert King of Paris is the 51st great grand uncle of the Molloys. Their common ancestors are Clovis I "The Great" King France and Clotilde Queen of France.

Clothaire I (r.558-62) Clotaire I (d. 561), a king of the Franks, was one of the four sons of Clovis. He was born about 495 in Soissons in the Aisne, département, Picardie, France. On the death of his father in 511 he received as his share of the kingdom the town of Soissons, which he made his capital, the cities of Laon, Noyon, Cambrai and Maastricht, and the lower course of the Meuse. But he was very ambitious, and sought to extend his domain. He was the chief instigator of the murder of his brother Clodomer's children in 524, and his share of the spoils consisted of the cities of Tours and Poitiers. He took part in the various expeditions against Burgundy, and after the destruction of that kingdom in 534 obtained Grenoble, Die and some of the neighbouring cities. When Provence was ceded to the Franks by the Ostrogoths, he received the cities of Orange, Carpentras and Gap. In 531 he marched against the Thuringii with his brother Theuderich (Thierry) I, and in 542 with his brother Childebert I against the Visigoths of Spain. On the death of his great-nephew Theodebald in 555, Clotaire annexed his territories; and on Childebert's death in 558 he became king of all Gaul. He also ruled over the greater part of Germany, made expeditions into Saxony, and for some time exacted from the Saxons an annual tribute of 500 cows. The end of his reign was troubled by internal dissensions, his son Chram rising against him on several occasions. Following Chram into Brittany, where the rebel had taken refuge, Clotaire shut him up with his wife and children in a cottage, to which he set fire. Overwhelmed with remorse, he went to Tours to implore forgiveness at the tomb of St Martin, and died shortly afterwards. Clotaire I "The Old" King of France is the 51st great grandfather of the Molloys.

Charibert (r.562-66) On Clotaire's death in 561, his estates were divided among his sons, Charibert receiving Paris as his capital, together with Rouen, Tours, Poitiers, Limoges, Bordeaux and Toulouse. Besides his wife, Ingoberga, with whom he had a daughter, Berthe, or Aldeberge, (539-640), he had unions with Merofleda, a wool-carder's daughter, and Theodogilda, the daughter of a neatherd (cowherd). Charibert was scarcely more than "king at Paris" when he married his daughter Bertha to Aethelbert, the pagan king of Kent, who probably came to his throne in A.D. 560. She took with her Bishop Liudhard as her private confessor. According to Bede, Aethelbert's supremacy in 597 stretched over all the petty English kingdoms as far as the Humber, at any rate sufficient to guarantee the safety of Augustine when in 597 the mission of Augustine landed in Thanet. The Christian mission was received at first with some hesitation by the king, who gave Augustine a dwelling-place in Canterbury, and the Christian conversion, first of Kent, then of other Anglo-Saxons proceded from there, thanks to Charibert's daughter. Though Charibert was eloquent and learned in the law, he was one of the most dissolute of the Merovingian kings, his early death in 567 being brought on by his excesses. At his death his brothers Guntram, Sigebert I, and Chilperic I shared his realm. Childebert King of Paris is the 51st great grand uncle of the Molloys. Their common ancestors are Clovis I "The Great" King France and Clotilde Queen of France.

Sigebert I (r.566-75) Sigebert I (535-575) was a Frankish King, one of the sons of Clotaire I and Ingund. He successfully pursued a civil war against his half brother, Chilperic I. When Clotaire I died in 561, his kingdom was divided, in accordance with Frankish custom, among his four sons; Sigebert became king of the northeastern portion, known as Austrasia, to which he added further territory on the death of his brother, Charibert, in 567 or 568. Incursions by the Avars, a fierce nomadic tribe related to the Huns, caused him to move his capital from Reims to Metz. He repelled their attacks twice, in 562 and c. 568. About 567 he married Brunhild, daughter of the Visigothic king Athanagild, whose other daughter, Galswintha, married Chilperic. When Chilperic had Galswintha murdered in order to marry Fredegund, Sigebert sought revenge. The two brothers had already fought each other, but their hostility now elevated into a long and bitter war that was continued by the descendants of both. Sigebert defeated Chilperic and conquered most of his kingdom. Chilperic then hid in Tournai. But at Sigebert's moment of triumph, when he had just been declared king by Chilperic's subjects at Vitry, he was struck down by two assassins working for Fredegund. Sigebert I (535-575) was one of the sons of Clotaire I and Ingund. He successfully pursued a civil war against his half brother, Chilperic I. When Clotaire I died in 561, his kingdom was divided, in accordance with Frankish custom, among his four sons; Sigebert became king of the northeastern portion, known as Austrasia, to which he added further territory on the death of his brother, Charibert, in 567 or 568. Incursions by the Avars, a fierce nomadic tribe related to the Huns, caused him to move his capital from Reims to Metz. He repelled their attacks twice, in 562 and c. 568. About 567 he married Brunhild, daughter of the Visigothic king Athanagild, whose other daughter, Galswintha, married Chilperic. When Chilperic had Galswintha murdered in order to marry Fredegund, Sigebert sought revenge. The two brothers had already fought each other, but their hostility now elevated into a long and bitter war that was continued by the descendants of both. Sigebert defeated Chilperic and conquered most of his kingdom. Chilperic then hid in Tournai. But at Sigebert's moment of triumph, when he had just been declared king by Chilperic's subjects at Vitry, he was struck down by two assassins working for Fredegund. Sigebert I King of Metz is the 50th great grand uncle of the Molloys. Their common ancestors are Clotaire I "The Old" King of France.

Chilperic I (r.575-84) Chilpéric I was born c.539 and died in September of 584). He was one of the sons of Clotaire I, a king of the Franks. Immediately after the death of his father in 561 he endeavoured to take possession of the whole kingdom, seized the treasure amassed in the royal town of Berny and entered Paris. His brothers, however, compelled him to divide the kingdom with them, and Soissons, together with Amiens, Arras, Cambrai, Thérouanne, Tournai and Boulogne fell to Chilperic's share, but on the death of Charibert in 567 his estates were augmented. When his brother Sigebert I married Brunhild, Chilperic also wished to make a brilliant marriage. He had already repudiated his first wife, Audovera, and had taken as his concubine a serving-woman called Fredegund. He accordingly dismissed Fredegond, and married Brunhilda's sister, Galswintha. But he soon tired of his new partner, and one morning Galswintha was found strangled in her bed. A few days afterwards Chilperic married Fredegund. This murder was the cause of long and bloody wars, interspersed with truces, between Chilperic and Sigebert. In 575 Sigebert was assassinated by Fredegond at the very moment when he had Chilperic at his mercy. Chilperic retrieved his position, took from Austrasia Tours and Poitiers and some places in Aquitaine, and fostered discord in the kingdom of the east during the minority of Childebert II. One day, however, while returning from the chase to the town of Chelles, Chilperic was stabbed to death. Chilperic may be regarded as the type of Merovingian sovereigns. He was exceedingly anxious to extend the royal authority. He levied numerous imposts, and his fiscal measures provoked a great sedition at Limoges in 579. He wished to bring about the subjection of the church, and to this end sold bishoprics to the highest bidder, annulled the wills made in favour of the bishoprics and abbeys, and sought to impose upon his subjects a rationalistic conception of the Trinity. He pretended to some literary culture, and was the author of some halting verse. He even added letters to the Latin alphabet, and wished to have the manuscripts rewritten with the new characters. The wresting of Tours from Austrasia and the seizure of ecclesiastical property provoked the bitter hatred of Gregory of Tours, by whom Chilperic was stigmatized as the Nero and the Herod of his time. Chilpéric I died in September of 584 at Chelles, Île-de-France, France. Chilpberic I King of France is the 50th great grand uncle of the Molloys.

Clotaire II (r.584-628) b. May/June 584 d. 628 or October 18, 629 Titles: King of the Franks (Roi des Francs) Reign: September/October 584 - 628 or October 18, 629 Regent: September/October 584 - late 590s [minority] Frédegonde (b. c. 545 - d. 596/597), mother of Clotaire II End of reign: 628 or October 18, 629, deceased Name/byname: Clotaire (in English: Chlotar) the Young or the Great/French: le Jeune, le Grand The son of Chilpéric I and Frédegonde, young Clotaire succeeded to the throne of his father's kingdom when his was assassinated in 584. Queen Frédegonde became regent and tutor of the four-month old king. Though Clotaire's cousin Childebert II tried to conquer the kingdom of Chilpéric's heir and approached Paris with his army, their uncle, king Gontran of Burgundy, supported the young king and his mother, whose extradition was demanded by Childebert. Gontran assured Clotaire's accession and became the guardian of his kingdom. After Gontran's death, in 593 or 594, Clotaire again fought against Childebert II near Soissons. When Childebert died in 595, Clotaire's armies conquered part of the territory of the kingdom of Austrasia, but in 599 or 600 the new lands and other territories were lost to the Austrasia-Burgundy alliance. However, the discontent among the Austrasian nobility with the Queen Brunehaut (Brunhild), who tried to install the son of Thierry II as king of Austrasia in 613/614, allowed Clotaire to annex Austrasia. Clotaire enjoyed peace in his kingdom after 613/614 and established his son, Dagobert I, as king of Austrasia in 623. As the elder son of Clotaire, Mérovée was taken prisoner by the Burgundians and killed in 603/604, Dagobert succeeded to the thrones of Neustria and Austrasia after Clotaire's death in 628/629. Sources. Text: R. P. Anselme, Histoire de la maison royale de France et des grands officiers de la Couronne, Paris: Estienne Loyson, 1674; Image: A medal by Jean Dassier (Medaille Histoire chronologique des rois de France: en 70 jetons). Clotaire II "the Young" King of France & Neustria and the Molloys are 1st cousins 51 times removed.

Dagobert I (r.628-37) Dagobert I (603-639) ruled as king of the Franks from 629 to 639. The son of King Clotaire II, Dagobert became king of Austrasia and on the death of his father, the sole king of the Franks. By 632 he had Bourgogne and Aquitaine under his rule, becoming the most powerful of the Merovingian kings and the most respected ruler in the West. He married five times. As king, Dagobert I made Paris his capital. During his reign, he built the Altes Schloss Castle in Meersburg, Germany which today is the oldest inhabited castle in that country. Devoutly religious, Dagobert was also responsible for the construction of the Saint Denis Basilica at the site of a Benedictine Monastery in Paris. On Dagobert's death, his kingdom was divided between his sons. The decentralized territory went into a severe decline from a series of weak, incompetent rulers. Over time, royal power gradually gave way to the noble families (the Old Noblesse) who exercised feudal control over most of the land. The most important of these families would become the Carolingian dynasty. Dagobert was the first of the French kings to be buried in the Royal tombs at Saint Denis Basilica. King Dagobert was immortalized by the song The good king Dagobert. Dagobert Tomb         Dagobert I King of France and the Molloys are 2nd cousins 50 times removed.

Clovis II (r.638-60) b. 634 (1) d. c. 660 (654 or 656/657 or 662) Titles: King of the Franks (Roi des Francs) Reign: January 638/639 - c. 660 Regent: January 638/639 - 642/647/653 [minority] Nantilde (Nantechilde) (b. ? - d. 642/647/653), mother of Clovis II End of reign: c. 660, deceased The son of Dagobert I and Nantilde (Nantechilde), Clovis succeeded to the throne of his father under the regency of his mother in 638 or 639. Clovis' reign was dominated by the mayors of the palace, first Æga (Ega) and then Erchinoald. It was probably Clovis, who ordered execution of Grimoald, who tried to install his son, Childebert, as king in Austrasia. Clovis died c. 660 (2) and was succeeded by his son Clotaire III .Buried in the Saint Denis Basilique. Notes: (1) Vie de S. Wandrile Abbé; (2) Gestes des François: 654; Appendix to Fredegarius' chronicle, Gestes du roi Dagobert I, chronicle of Beze: 662; other sources: 656/657. Sources: Text: La Grande Encyclopédie, inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts, par une société de savants et de gens de lettres (1886-1902); The Britannica Encyclopædia, Multimedia Edition, ©1994-1998; R. P. Anselme, Histoire de la maison royale de France et des grands officiers de la Couronne, Paris: Estienne Loyson, 1674; Image: Recueil des rois de France. Clovis II King of france and the Molloys are 3rd cousins 49 times removed.

Clothaire III (r.655-73) b. c. 655 d. March 10/11, 673 (1) Title: King of the Franks (Roi des Francs) Reign: c. 660 - March 10/11, 673 Regent: c. 660 - 664/665 [minority] Batilde (Saint Batilde) (b. c. 630 - d. Jan. 30, 685), mother of Clotaire III End of reign: March 10/11, 673, deceased The elder son of Clovis II and Batilde, Clotaire III was a minor when his father died and left him a successor to the thrones of Neustria and Burgundy. Clotaire ruled under the regency of his mother Batilde (canonized in mid-9th century) until she retired to monastery in 664/665 (2). From that time Ebroïn, mayor of the palace, dominated the Frankish politics. Clotaire died without issue (3). Notes: (1) Fredegarius: late 675/early 676; (2) Father Labbe: 671; (3) Vie de Saint Wandrile: Clotaire lived 19 years and reigned 14. Sources: Text: R. P. Anselme, Histoire de la maison royale de France et des grands officiers de la Couronne, Paris: Estienne Loyson, 1674; Image: Recueil des rois de France. Clotaire III King of France and Burgundy and the Molloys are 4th cousins 48 times removed.

Childeric II (r.660-75) b. c. 650 d. September/October/November 675, near Chelles Titles: King of the Franks (Roi des Francs) Reign: c. 660 - September/October/November 675 End of reign: September/October/November 675, deceased The second son of Clovis II, Childéric apparently became king of Austrasia when the local nobility deposed the usurper Childebert and his father Grimoald c. 660 (662?). Probably by that time the Austrasians appealed for a king of Merovingian blood from the Neustrians and Childéric was installed as king under tutelage of Imnichilde, the mother of Dagobert II, whose right to the throne Childebert had usurped, and of Wulfoald, mayor of the palace. When Childéric's older brother Clotaire III died in 673, the Neustrian mayor of the palace, Ebroïn, tried to install Childéric's younger brother, Thierry III, as Clotaire's successor. But the Neustrian magnates, whom Ebroïn had not consulted about the succession, appealed to Wulfoald and Childéric II and swiftly deposed Thierry III. Childéric thus became master of Neustria and Burgundy as well as of Austrasia. Childéric was the last Merovingian to attempt to exercise authority, but he lacked political ability. A party hostile to Austrasian rule developed in Neustria, and Childéric was assassinated along with his wife and son. Sources. Text: The Britannica Encyclopædia, Multimedia Edition, ©1994-1998; R. P. Anselme, Histoire de la maison royale de France et des grands officiers de la Couronne, Paris: Estienne Loyson, 1674; Image: A medal by Jean Dassier (Medaille Histoire chronologique des rois de France: en 70 jetons). Childeric II King of France and the Molloys are 4th cousins 48 times removed.

(St) Dagobert II (r.674-78) ?

Thierry III (r.678-91) When king Clotaire III died in 673, mayor of the palace Ebroïn made his brother Thierry king of Neustria and Burgundy on his own initiative without consulting an assembly of the nobles, who rose against them, tonsured both Thierry and Ebroïn, and invited Thierry's older brother Childéric, who ruled in Austrasia. After the murder of Childéric II (675) the party of Leodegar (Léger), the bishop of Autun, gained the upper hand in Neustria and appointed Leudesius, son of Erchinoald, mayor of the palace. Thierry III was brought out from his monastic retreat in Saint Denis and set up as king once more. Ebroïn, freed by his friends from the prison in Luxeuil, returned to Neustria and set up a certain Clovis as king, but soon he defeated Leudesius and other opponents, and recognized Thierry III as king. Ebroïn successfully campaigned against the Austrasians and defeated their mayor of the palace, Pépin d'Héristal, at Lucofao, near Laon, in 680. His cruelty and oppression were such, however, that he was assassinated by a Frankish nobleman. Thierry also defeated two Austrasian dukes, Martin and Pepin, in 681, but the battle at Tertry (687) brought supremacy over the Frankish kingdom to Pépin d'Héristal. Notes: (1) His epitaph says that he died in 694 after 14 years of reign, i.e. 680-694, though it might have not been made by his contemporaries. Sources. Text: R. P. Anselme, Histoire de la maison royale de France et des grands officiers de la Couronne, Paris: Estienne Loyson, 1674. Thierry III (Theodoric III) King of Franee and the Molloys are 4th cousins 48 times removed.

Clovis III (r.691-95) In his fight against the party of Leodegar and Leudesius, who supported king Thierry III, mayor of the palace Ebroïn proclaimed young Clovis king of Neustria and Burgundy. Apparently, Ebroïn claimed that the boy was the son of Clovis II. Despite the victory of Ebroïn over his enemies (676), he allowed Thierry III to keep the throne and governed in his name. The fate of young Clovis is unknown. Sources: Text: R. P. Anselme, Histoire de la maison royale de France et des grands officiers de la Couronne, Paris: Estienne Loyson, 1674. Clovis III King of France and the Molloys are 5th cousins 47 times removed.

Childebert III (r.695-711) Childebert was the son of Grimoald, the mayor of the palace of king Sigebert III. He was probably adopted by Sigebert III and proclaimed king of Austrasia by Grimoald upon Sigebert's death (c. 660). Dagobert II, Sigebert's son and heir, was sent off to an Irish monastery. The Austrasian nobility revolted against Grimoald and his king, who was not of the blood royal. Grimoald and probably Childebert were finally seized and turned over to the king of Neustria, Clovis II, who had them killed (656/657 or c. 662). An Austrasian king list gives Charibert five years, so Charibert may have survived his father's death as Clovis II died soon after Grimoald's execution, and his son Clotaire III was a minor. Sources: Text: La Grande Encyclopédie, inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts, par une société de savants et de gens de lettres (1886-1902); The Britannica Encyclopædia, Multimedia Edition, ©1994-1998; R. P. Anselme, Histoire de la maison royale de France et des grands officiers de la Couronne, Paris: Estienne Loyson, 1674. Childebert III "the Just" King of France and the Molloys are 5th cousins 47 times removed.

Dagobert III (r.711-16) In 711, Dagobert III succeeded to act as the next Merovingian puppet king, dominated by the Austrasian Mayor Charles Martel. Dagobert III King of France and the Molloys are 6th cousins 46 times removed.

Chilperic II (r.716-21) Chilperic II (d. 720), king of the Franks, was the son of Childeric II. He became king of Neustria in 715, on which occasion he changed his name from Daniel to Chilperic. At first he was a tool in the hands of Ragenfrid, the Mayor of the Palace. Charles Martel, however, overthrew Ragenfrid, accepted Chilperic as king of Neustria, and, on the death of Clotaire IV, set him over the whole kingdom. The young king died soon afterwards Third son of Gundioc, King of the Burgundians. After succeeding his father with his three brothers, he was killed by his brother Gundobad, along with his wife, and his two daughters were driven into exile. Chilperic II King off NeustriaA and the Molloys are 5th cousins 47 times removed.

Theuderic IV (r.721-37) Theuderic IV was another puppet Merovingian king during the reign of the Austrasian Mayor Charles Martel. Thierry IV (Theodoric IV) King of France and the Molloys are 7th cousins 45 times removed.

Childeric III (r.743-51) Childeric III (died about 751), king of the Franks, was the last king of the Merovingian dynasty. The throne had been vacant for seven years when the mayors of the palace, Carloman and Pippin the Short, decided in 743 to recognize Childeric as king. We cannot say whose son he was, or how he was related to the Merovingian family. He took no part in public business, which was directed, as before, by the mayors of the palace. When in 747 Carloman retired into a monastery, Pippin resolved to take the royal crown for himself; taking the decisive step in 751 after having received the celebrated answer of Pope Zacharias that it were better to name king him who possessed the power than him who possessed it not. Childeric was dethroned and placed in the monastery of St Omer; his son, Theuderich, was imprisoned at Saint-Wandrifie. See W Junghans, Die Geschichte der fränkischen Konige Childerich und Clodovech (Göttingen, 1857); JJ Chiflet, Anastasis Childerici I Francorum regis (Antwerp, 1655); JBD Cochet, Le Tombeau de Childeric I, roi des Francs (Paris, 1859); and E Lavisse, Histoire de France, tome ii. (Paris, 1903). In 751, Childeric III also wisely decided to retire to a monastery and Pépin the Short had himself proclaimed king in November 751, thus officially ending the Merovingian Dynasty. Childeric III "the Lazy" King of France and the Molloys are 6th cousins 46 times removed.