Dagobert I

Dagobert I was born in 603 and ruled as king of the Franks from 629 to 639.

The son of King Clotaire II, Dagobert became king of Austrasia and on the death of his father, the sole king of the Franks. By 632 he had Bourgogne and Aquitaine under his rule, becoming the most powerful of the Merovingian kings and the most respected ruler in the West.

As king, Dagobert I made Paris, France his capital. During his reign, he built the ltes Schloss Castle in Meersburg, Germany which today is the oldest inhabited castle in that country. Devoutly religious, Dagobert was also responsible for the construction of the Saint Denis Basilica at the site of a Benedictine Monastery in Paris.

On Dagobert’s death, his kingdom was divided between his sons. The decentralized territory went into a severe decline from a series of weak, incompetent rulers. Over time, royal power gradually gave way to the noble families (the Old Noblesse) who exercised feudal control over most of the land. The most important of these families would become the Carolingian Dynasty.

He died in 639, and is buried in the Royal tombs at Saint Denis Basilica.