DAGOBERT II, KING OF AUSTRASIA, ST.

Martyr; b. c. 652; d. Stenay, Dec. 23, 679. An infant at the death of his father, Sigebert III (656), Dagobert was exiled to Ireland by the palace mayor Grimoald and replaced by Grimoald's son, Childebert. After Childeric II's murder (675), some Austrasians, helped by wilfrid of york, repatriated Dagobert and proclaimed him king (spring of 676). Opposed by Ebroïn, the Neustrian palace mayor, and too energetic for his magnates' liking, Dagobert was murdered and buried at Stenay (near Verdun). The violent nature of his death earned him the title of martyr and a limited cult in Lorraine.

Feast: Dec. 23.

Bibliography: Liber historiae Francorum, ch. 43, ed. b. krusch, Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 2:316. e. stephanus, Vita Wilfridi Eboracensis 25, 28, 33, ed. b. krusch and w. levison, ibid. 6: 219–221, 227–228. l. levillain, "Encore la succession d'Austrasie au VII^e siècle," Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes 106 (1946) 296–306. j. m. wallace-hadrill, The Long-Haired Kings and Other Studies in Frankish History (New York 1962) 234–235, 238. r. bordes, Les Mérovingiens à Rennes-le-Château, mythes ou réalités (Rennes-le-Château, France 1984). r. folz, "Tradition hagiographique et culte de saint Dagobert, roi des Francs," Moyen-âge 69, 4th ser., 18 (1963) 17–35. l. vazart, Dagobert II et le mystère de la cité royale de Stenay (Paris 1983). r. aigrain, Catholicisme 3:421–423. l. dupraz, Le Royaume des Francs et l'ascension politique des maires du palais au déclin du VII^e siècle … (Fribourg 1948).

[w. goffart]