Dagobert III (699-715) was Merovingian king of the
FranksThe Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul...
(711-715).
Dagobert III (699-715) was Merovingian king of the
FranksThe Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul...
(711-715).
He was a son of
Childebert IIIChildebert III, called the Just , son of Theuderic III and Clotilda and sole king of the Franks , he was seemingly but a puppet of the mayor of the palace, Pepin of Heristal, though his placita show him making judicial decisions of his own will, even against the Arnulfing clan...
and Edonne. He succeeded his father as the head of the three Frankish kingdoms—
NeustriaThe territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
and
AustrasiaAustrasia formed the north-eastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...
, unified since Pippin's victory at
TertryTertry may refer to*The Battle of Tertry or*Tertry, Somme, a commune in the Somme département in the Picardie region of France....
in 687, and the
Kingdom of BurgundyBurgundy is a region of Western Europe which has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy, and a third Kingdom of Burgundy was very nearly created....
—in 711, at the age of twelve. Real power, however, still remained with the
Mayor of the PalaceMayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....
,
Pippin of HerstalPepin of Herstal was the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia from 680 to his death and of Neustria and Burgundy from 687 to 695...
, who died in 714. Pippin's death occasioned open conflict between his heirs and the Neustrian nobles who elected the mayors of the palace.
While attention was focused on combatting the
FrisiansThe Frisians are an ethnic group of Germanic people living in coastal parts of The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
in the north, areas of southern Gaul began to secede during Dagobert's brief time:
SavaricSavaric was the Bishop of Auxerre from 710 until his death. A member of high nobility, he was a warrior who held a bishopric. He was the father of Eucherius, Bishop of Orleans....
, the fighting bishop of Auxerre, in 714 and 715 subjugated
OrléansOrléans is a commune in north-central France, about southwest of Paris. It is the capital of the Loiret department and of the Centre region.The commune is located on the Loire River where the river curves south towards the Massif Central....
,
NeversNevers is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.It is the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. Nevers is located SSE of Paris.-History:...
,
AvallonAvallon is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.-Geography:Avallon is located south-southeast of Auxerre, served by a branch of the Paris-Lyon railway...
, and
TonnerreTonnerre is a town and commune of the Yonne département in France.-Demographics:At the 1999 census, the population was .
On 1 January 2004, the estimate was .-References:* -External links:*...
on his own account, and Eudo in Toulouse and
AntenorAntenor was the Patrician of Provence in the last years of the seventh and first years of the eighth century. He was independent of Arnulfing authority and the representative of the Merovingian sovereign in Provence at a time when Arnulfing power was eclipsing the royal.Antenor's influence in...
in
ProvenceProvence is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
were essentially independent magnates.