of Southern Gaul, which was constantly striving and partly managed, in the tempestuous fortunes of the Frankish monarchy, to recover its independence. It is easy to comprehend how that these repeated partitions of a mighty inheritance, these domains incessantly changing hands, must have tended to increase the anarchy of the Roman and Barbaric worlds thrown pell-mell one upon another, and fallen a prey, the Roman to the disorganization of a lingering death, the Barbaric to the fermentation of a new existence, striving for development under social conditions wholly different from those of their primitive life."
An opportunity seemed to offer for Aquitaine to establish its independence.
The Merovingian dynasty was represented by an old man and by two children, and the Aquitanians thought that their chance had come to have a king of their own. They summoned from Constantinople one Gundowald, reputed to be of royal Frank blood.
| Clovis I K. of the Franks d. 511 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Childebert I K. of Paris d. 558 | Clothair I K. of Soissons, Orleans, Metz, and finally of Paris d. 561 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charibert K. of Paris d. 567 | Gunthram K. of Orleans d. 593 | Chilperie K. of Soissons d. 584 | Segebert K. of Metz d. 575 | Gundowald murdered 587 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Childebert II K. of Metz d. 596 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gregory of Tours says:—
