Clovis II

Clovis II (634 – 27 November 657 or 658) succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639 as King of Neustria and Burgundy. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642. This death allowed him to fall under the influence of the secular magnates, who reduced the royal power in their own favour; first Aega, and then Erchinoald.

Clovis' wife, Balthild, whose Anglo-Saxon origins are now considered doubtful, was sold into slavery in Gaul. She had been owned by Clovis' mayor of the palace, Erchinoald, who gave her to him to garner royal favour. She bore him three sons who all became kings after his death. The eldest, Chlothar, succeeded him and his second eldest, Childeric, was placed on the Austrasian throne by Ebroin while Clovis was still alive. The youngest, Theuderic, succeeded Childeric in Neustria and eventually became the sole king of the Franks.

Clovis was a minor for almost the whole of his reign. He is sometimes regarded as king of Austrasia during the interval 656–57 when Childebert the Adopted had usurped the throne. He is often regarded as an early roi fainéant. Medieval monks deemed him insane and attribute "the stupidity of his descendants" to that cause. Noted Belgian historian Henri Pirenne stated that Clovis "died insane."

Clovis II was buried in Saint Denis Basilica, Paris.