Deotheria

Most likely, Deoteria was born around 505 , and two reasons are indicated in historical sources to explain this point. On the one hand, by the time of her meeting with Theodebert I (in 532/533), she had to be still relatively young to have a strong enough charm on him. On the other hand, being already married to him (in 534/535), she should have had a teenage daughter from her first marriage, in which she saw her potential rival, and who was probably born around 520/522.

None of the historical sources of that time was told about who the parents of Deotheria were, but it is suggested that she was from a rather poor aristocratic Gallo-Roman family ^[1] .

In the early 530s, hostilities began between the Franks and the Visigoths . The reason for the war was the fact that the Visigoths after the death of Clovis I gradually were able to recapture part of the territories they lost in the war of 507-508 , during which the Franks, under the leadership of the latter, were able to significantly expand their territory to the south of Gaul ^[2] . In 532, the Frankish kings Theodoric I and Hlotar I sent their elder sons Theodebert and Guntar to recover the lost lands. Guntar reached Rodez and, for some unknown reason, turned back. Theodebert, having occupied the city of Lodev , advanced to Beziers himself and captured his district ^[3] . During the siege of the small town of Cabriere (Latin Capraria, literally. “Goat”), Theodebert sent ambassadors demanding that he be surrendered by the locals, otherwise threatening to set fire to all the surroundings, and to capture all the survivors. To avoid a conflict with the Franks, a businesslike and intelligent woman named Deoteria issued a letter to the ambassadors of the Australians, the contents of which are reported by the historian Gregory of Tours: “No one, oh pious gentleman, can resist you. We recognize in you our master. Come and do what your soul desires. ” Entering Cabriere in peace and seeing that the people were obedient to him, Theodobert did no harm there. Deuteria came out to meet him, and, captivated by her beauty, he began to cohabit with her ^[4] , despite the fact that in the same 532 he was embraced by his father for the eldest daughter of the King of the Lombards, Vakho Vizigard ^{[5] [6]} . By the way, Deoteria was already married and by the time of her meeting with Theodobert managed to become a widow (her husband left home and died in the city of Beziers ^[4] ) and had only one daughter from this marriage ^{[7] [8]} .

At the end of 533, Theodebert, in the south of Septimania , where he was at war, received a message that his father was seriously ill, and that if he did not rush to him to catch him alive, his uncles would deprive him of his inheritance and he would never again will be able to return to Australia. With this news, Theodebert put aside all affairs and went to his father, leaving Deotheria with her daughter from her first marriage in Clermont , but Theodoric I died before his son arrived. Hildebert I and Hlotar I rose up against Theodebert, wanting to take away his kingdom, but since Theodorich’s large squad completely switched to Theodebert’s side, who managed to attract them with rich gifts from the royal treasury, both brothers failed ^[9] . Theodebert inherited the state of his father, and also received his share in the division of the Burgundian lands of Godomard II ^[10] . Having entered into inheritance rights, Theodebert sent messengers to Clermont for Deotheria, the latter without hesitation went to Australia, and her daughter followed her. Having received the title of king, Theodebert married Deoteria, who gave him the heir of Theodebald , and later his daughter Bertoaru, about 535 , although she is not mentioned by Gregory of Tours and many modern historians doubt that she was her mother ^[11] .

Around 536, Deoteria, believing that her daughter from her first marriage had already grown up and seeing her as a possible rival, worried that the king would not feel lust for her and took her to his wife, and threw her off the bridge near the city Verdun , put in a closed wagon harnessed by wild bulls. When falling from a height, the wagon fell apart and her daughter drowned in the waves of the Meuse River ^[12] .

However, Deotheria was of noble origin, which caused the wrath of the noble Franks and, to calm them, after seven years, around 540 , Theodebert left her (according to other sources, it happened about 536 immediately after she killed her daughter). This decision of Theodebert was also aided by the fact that Deoteria was guilty of killing her daughter from her first marriage, to which he was partial. After some time, Theodebert married the Vizigard, with whom he did not live long, for she soon died, and he married another woman unknown by name. However, he no longer lived with Deuterium ^[13] .

• Gregory of Tours . History of the Franks = Historia Francorum . - M .: Nauka , 1987 .-- 464 p.
• Procopius of Caesarea . War with the Goths // Procopius of Caesarea. The war with the Goths. About the buildings / Per. S.P. Kondratiev . - M .: Arktos, 1996 .-- 167 p. - ISBN 5-85551-143-X .
• Pavel Deacon . History of the Lombards = Historia Langobardorum . - M .: ABC classic, 2008 .-- 320 p. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-91181-861-6 .
• Lebek S. Origin of the Franks. V — IX centuries / Translation by V. Pavlov. - M .: Scarab, 1993 .-- T. 1 .-- 352 p. - (A new history of medieval France). - 50,000 copies. - ISBN 5-86507-001-0 .

• CLOVIS I 481 / 82-511, THEODERICH I 511-533, CHLODOMER 511-524, CHILDEBERT I 511-558, THEODEBERT I 533-547, THEODEBALD I 547-555 . Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Date of treatment January 13, 2012.
• Deuteria von Frankenkönigin (German) . Genealogie Mittelalter: Mittelalterliche Genealogie im Deutschen Reich bis zum Ende der Staufer. Date of treatment January 13, 2012. Archived May 17, 2012.