Merovingians in Kent?

[mark harry]

What is the latest thinking on the alleged
Merovingian connection to the kings of Kent and/or
Wessex? A recent reply to one of my Verifying RFC
posts mentioned Emma of Austrasia as marrying Eadbald
of Kent. Ian Wood in "The Merovingian "Kingdoms pages
120-1, and 137-8 though has Emma as the daughter of
Erchinoald, Mayor of the Palace. Who is right here?
and how strong is thr alleged connection to the later
kings (Egbert and his successors) of Wessex?

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[Paul K. Davis]

duns...@yahoo.com (mark harry) wrote in message news:<2002040705442...@web11703.mail.yahoo.com>...

> What is the latest thinking on the alleged
> Merovingian connection to the kings of Kent and/or
> Wessex? A recent reply to one of my Verifying RFC
> posts mentioned Emma of Austrasia as marrying Eadbald
> of Kent. Ian Wood in "The Merovingian "Kingdoms pages
> 120-1, and 137-8 though has Emma as the daughter of
> Erchinoald, Mayor of the Palace. Who is right here?
> and how strong is thr alleged connection to the later
> kings (Egbert and his successors) of Wessex?

Briefly, and working off the top of my head, the descent of later
Kentish kings from Merovingians is solid. At least one of the two
marriages is stated in Gregory of Tours, I believe. The descent of
kings of Wessex from kings of Kent is, however, a hypothesis, based on
Eahlmund, the father of Ecgbert, having been a subking of Kent, and
Ecgbert being a name from the Kentish dynasty, rather than the Wessex
dynasty.
If no one else posts first, I'll check references next weekend when
I have more time.

- PKD [Paul K Davis - paulk...@earthlink.net]

[W.J. Scholl]

Gregory of Tours wrote in his Historiae (book IV) that king Charibert and
his wife Ingobert had a daughter who married 'a man from Kent' and (book IX)
that she (=Ingobert) left one daughter, married in Kent, with the son of a
king.
Bede in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (book I) speaking of king
Ethelbert I: he had already heard of the Christian religion, having a
Christian wife of the Frankish royal house named Bertha, whom he had
received from her parents on condition that she would have freedom to hold
and practise her faith unhindered with Bishop Liudhard, whom they had sent
as her helper in the faith.
In book II on the year 616: King Ethelbert died on the twenty-fourth of
February. twenty-one years after embracing the Faith, and was buried in
Saint Martin's Porch in the Church of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul,
where Bertha his queen also rests. ... and speaking of his son Eadbald: ..
he took his father's (second) wife as his own.

Hope this is some help.
Wim Scholl
"Paul K. Davis" <paulk...@earthlink.net> schreef in bericht
news:d9c642f3.0204...@posting.google.com...

[Euan Wallace]

King Ethelbert is not forgotten in Kent, there was still a pub named after
him in Reculver a few years ago.

Jean.

"W.J. Scholl" <wsc...@chello.nl> wrote in message
news:_V%r8.18407$nk5.2...@amsnews02.chello.com...