Did you know that today we remember a Frankish king who went head-to-head with one of the most famous rulers of the Visigothic Kingdom?
Saint Guntram was a 6th-century Merovingian King of Burgundy. Though he is remembered today for his eventual piety, care for the plague-stricken, and repentance for his early ruthless deeds, his reign was deeply entangled in the brutal geopolitics of Late antiquity Europe.
Guntram’s greatest geopolitical ambition was expanding into Septimania, a wealthy region in southern Gaul controlled by the Visigoths. This put him on a direct collision course with King Reccared.
When King Reccared famously converted from Arianism to Catholicism he hoped for peace with his Catholic Frankish neighbors. However, Guntram fiercely rejected the olive branch, dismissing Reccared’s conversión.
Guntram launched massive military campaigns to conquer Septimania. Despite his superior numbers, the Frankish forces were decisively crushed by Reccared’s brilliant generals, securing the Visigothic borders.
Guntram is still revered as a model of deep repentance and charity. He is particularly venerated in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, where he founded the Abbey of Saint-Marcel, the place of his burial.
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Alfonso García Sánchez
