#reginae

Yes, Merovingian kings were polygamous and the best examples for that are: 

Chlothacar I (6 wives)

Charibert I (3 wives)

Theodorich II (perhaps at least 4 different concubines but all unnamed)

Chlothacar II (2 wives)

Dagobert I (3 wives and according to Fredegar a large amount of concubines)

But the difference between the title of “royal spouse” and “concubine” is a long debate in the field, and the first part of my argumentary in my thesis actually. Until the early-2000, it was established that the Merovingian wives were divided into three different marriages and so three different ranks:

Muntehe (i.e. the official wife)

Friedelehe (i.e. the concubine)

Raubehe (i.e. the slave-concubine)

So in regard of these theories, it was established than only one wife could have been the official wife and held the title of regina. But the way of determining whether of them was the official wife depended only of which one gave birth to the successor, and we all know that a prestigious wife can also be either barren or simply sonless. I pass over all the misogynistic theories, there are a too much amount of them, but long story short in early-2000 the system was destroyed in historiography and since that exact moment, no one had actually propose a better way of explaining Merovingian matrimonial and familial matters. That is my objectif to propose a theory in this thesis.