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CHilperick having reigned Nin•• yeares at Soissons, and seein•• himselfe raised from a meane t•• a higher degree of his fortune, by th•• death of his Brother Sigisbert, depar¦ted from Tournay to Paris: where ha¦ving beene received as lawfull King
Anno Domini 577. dispatched his sonne Merovaeus with an Army for the redu∣cing of the Countries and Cities scitua∣ted upon the River Loire; but he instead of that service, went directly to Rouen, where by the advice of the Arch-bishop Praetextatus, he married Brunehault, the Widow of the foresaid Sigisbert. Whereupon his father was enraged, and after having dispersed the forces of the said slaine Sigisbert, which came and assaulted him neare Soissons, he shut up Merovaeus in a Monastery at Mans, and afterwards sent his other sonne into Guienne, for the recovery of whatsoe∣ver had beene in Sigisberts possession: from whence he was repelled by Patrice Mumole, King Gontrans Lieutenant. In the meane time Merovaeus, who was somewhat nettled, and had betaken himselfe to Brunehault, is constrained to flye into Austrasie; from whence be∣ing also expelled, was put to death, and Praetextatus confined to perpetuall Ex∣ile. After this Chilperick enforced
Waroch, Count of lower Bretagne, to acknowledge vassallage unto him, An. Dom. 584. On the other side, Childe∣bert, who laboured to recover Marsiles which his brother Gontran detained from him, made peace with his Uncle Chilperic, who on his behalfe, with all his forces fell upon Guienne, tooke Ly∣mosin, Perigueux, and Agenois; and as he was very desirous to follow his for∣tune upon Bourges, he was stayed by the Army of Gontran, with whom he made peace. Not long after Chilperic percei∣ving too amorous passages of his Wife Fredegund with Landry, Mayre of his Palace, to take away the occasion of his resentment, they caused him that night to bee murthered, as hee returned from Hunting, in the Moneth of Sep∣tember, in the 23. yeare of his Reigne, leaving one sonne, named Clotharius, foure Moneths old. Whilst the Daugh∣ter of Chilperic was in her journey to be marryed to the second sonne of the Visi∣goths, she was stripped, ransacked, and
robbed of her treasure and jewells, and sent backe againe. An. Dom. 586. He ly∣eth interred at St. German de prez.
The occasion of his murther was the discovering of Fredegunds affection to Landry, for thinking to give his Wife a morning-salutation, hee came booted into her Chamber before hee went to Hunting, and finding her kembing her haire, which lay spread over her face, drew neare without speaking, and with his riding-wand in jest touch'd the hin∣der part of herhead; she taking the King for Landry, who had free accesse for se∣cret visits, said; In my judgment Landry, a good Knight should alwayes strike before, and not behind: whereupon perceiving that it was the King, who by those words had discovered her minde, while the King was gone a Hunting, plotting the death of Fredegund and Landry, they contrived his death, and by mur∣therers by them hired, the King ac∣companied onely with his Page was kil∣led as he return'd from the Chace.