Chlothar II,[a] sometimes called "the Young" (French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629)[2] was king of the Franks, ruling Neustria (584–629),[3] Burgundy (613–629) and Austrasia (613–623).

The son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fredegund, he started his reign as an infant under the regency of his mother, who was in an uneasy alliance with Chlothar's uncle King Guntram of Burgundy, who died in 592.

He continued his mother's feud with Queen Brunhilda with equal viciousness and bloodshed, finally achieving her execution by dismemberment in 613, after winning the battle that enabled Chlothar to unite Francia under his rule.

His reign was long by contemporary standards, but saw the continuing erosion of royal power to the French nobility and the church against a backdrop of feuding among the Merovingians.

The Edict of Paris in 614, concerned with several aspects of appointments to offices and the administration of the kingdom, has been interpreted in different ways by modern historians.

In 617 he made the mayor of the Palace a role held for life, an important step in the progress of this office from being first the manager of the royal household to the effective head of government, and eventually the monarch, under Pepin the Short in 751.

He was generally an ally of the church and, perhaps inspired by the example of his uncle Guntram, his reign seems to lack outrageous acts of murder, the execution of Brunhilda excepted.

In the year 550, Clothar I, the last survivor of four brothers reunited the Frankish kingdom, and added Burgundian territory (Burgundia) by conquest.

In 560, Sigebert and Chilperic married two sisters, daughters of the Visigoth king of Spain Athanagild; princesses Brunhilda, and Galswintha respectively.

"After this action his brothers thought that the queen mentioned above had been killed at his command..."[4] Chilperic agreed, at first, to pay a sum of money to end the feud, but not soon after decided to embark on a series of military operations against Sigebert.

Moreover, Fredegund strove to ensure her position, since she was from lower origins, by eliminating the sons that Chilperic had with his previous wife Audovera: Merovech and Clovis.

[7] Princess Rigunth, on the way to Spain to marry Prince Reccared, was captured by Duke Didier of Toulouse and was linked in conspiracy with Gondovald, who stole all that remained of her dowry, so that she was forced to abandon the marriage.

[9] Fredegund managed to keep most of the treasury of the state as well as key political figures, such as the generals Ansoald and Audon, although many, such as chamberlain Eberul, abandoned her.

She took her son to Vitry and sent a message to Guntram, King of Burgundy, asking him to adopt the child and offer his protection to him in return for exercising his authority over Neustria until the boy came of age.

[7] Guntram convened a meeting of Greater Neustria, in which the court recognized Clothar as the son of Chilperic, although there were some doubts about his paternal identity.

Guntram, attempting to restore order in the affairs of Neustria, likely against the advice of Fredegund and, perhaps, to show his authority, replaced key figures in the episcopal see of the church and moved its location.

[11] Bishop Promotus of Châteaudun, whose diocese was demoted after the parish council of Paris in 573, saw this as a violation of canon law; after the death of Sigebert I, he demanded to return from exile, and was thus restored much of his personal property.

But they were arrested and Guntram severed relations with Neustria, approaching Brunhilda and Childebert II, with whom he concluded the pact of Andelot: agreeing that upon the death of one of the two kings, the other would inherit his kingdom.

[7] In 593, although only as a symbolic presence since he was only nine years old, Clothar II appeared at the head of his army, which routed the Austrasian Duke Wintrio who was invading Neustria, in the Battle of Droizy.

They defeated him at Dormelles (near Montereau), forcing him to sign a treaty that reduced his kingdom to the regions of Beauvais, Amiens and Rouen, with the remainder split between the two brothers.

[12] Around the same time, Theuderic, seeking a marriage to the Spanish Visigoth princess Ermenberge, daughter of King Witteric, created new political tensions.

Theudebert won initial victories in 610, which led Theuderic to approach Clothar, promising to return northern Neustria to him for his aid.

During the royal feud, however, the role grew in importance as more of a steward of lands to care more directly than the king could and was placed in the hands of aristocracy.

One of the most notable figures in this role was Warnachaire, mayor of the palace of Burgundy in 613, who was one of the leaders responsible for capturing Brunhild, and held the position until his death in 626.

[17][18] The ban effectively placed all literacy in the Merovingian monarchy squarely under ecclesiastical control and also greatly pleased the nobles, from whose ranks the bishops were ordinarily exclusively drawn.

This was a political move as repayment for the support of Bishop Arnulf of Metz and Pepin I, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, the two leading Austrasian nobles, who were effectively granted semi-autonomy.