Theudebert I

Theudebert I (–548) was a Merovingian king of Austrasia, one of the principal Frankish kingdoms, from 534 to his death.

He was the son and successor of Theuderic I, and both shared the ambition of elevating Frankish power through territorial expansion. Before taking the throne, he repelled Danish naval raids and campaigned against the Visigoths in the south. Upon the death of his father, he secured his succession against his two uncles. After coming to an understanding, they formed an alliance together to conquer Burgundy in 534. Later, he exploited the Gothic War (535–552) between the Ostrogoths and Byzantines to invade northern Italy and gain control over Liguria and Venetia regions.

Theudebert asserted his independence from the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in their correspondence, boasting of his hegemony stretching from the North Sea to the Danube River and into Pannonia. He became the first king to challenge Roman convention by issuing gold coins that featured his own portrait instead of that of the emperor. Domestically, contemporaries like Gregory of Tours remembered him as a pious, benevolent ruler who patronized the Gallic Church. Theudebert died in late 547 or 548 after a hunting accident involving a wild bull and was succeeded by his son, Theudebald.