Bertachar

Template:Short description Bertachar (or Berthachar) was a king of Thuringia from about 510 until about 525, co-ruling with his brothers Hermanfrid and Baderic.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Bertachar was probably not a Thuringian himself.Template:Sfn Frankish sources, such as Venantius Fortunatus, make the three brothers sons of King Bisinus. They are sometimes considered as sons of Bisinus' wife Menia,Template:Sfn or else as sons of Basina, who is called a wife of Bisinus by the Frankish historian Gregory of Tours.Template:Sfn Many scholars, however, reject Bisinus' marriage to Basina as ahistorical, leaving Menia as his only known wife.Template:Sfn

Bertachar's rule probably began between 507 and 511. He was murdered by his brother Hermanfrid, who later murdered Baderic to become sole ruler of Thuringia.Template:Sfn This assassination may have taken place as early as 525.Template:Sfn

Bertachar had at least one daughter and, depending on the source, one or several sons. His sons are unnamed.Template:Sfn His daughter, Radegund, married the Frankish king Chlothar I and founded Holy Cross Abbey in Poitiers. She is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. Two hagiographies of her were produced by her friends Baudovinia and Venantius Fortunatus.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Fortunatus specifies that she was "from the Thuringian region", a daughter of King Bertachar and a granddaughter of King Bisinus.

Sources

Primary sources

• Venantius Honoricus Clementianus Fortunatus, Vita Sanctae Radegundis, ed. Bruno Krusch. MGH SS rer. Merov. 2 (Hanover, 1888), 364–377.

Secondary sources

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