Samo sat alone before his campfire, considering the battle to take place and how best to prosecute his attack against the mighty Franks.

Unlike his father, who had to rely on luck, illness and a homicidal mother for the throne, Dagobert had a more conventional ascension.

Chlothar II loved to hunt, and that's what he did while others ruled his Kingdom - right up to death. His reign led in a legacy of decline.

A Roman beheading. A stag hunt. A slighted guest. How these came together to make Paris' Basilica of St Denis the resting spot of royalty...

People assume that being king was a glorious, entertaining, easy way of life. Glorious? Absolutely. Entertaining? Sometimes. Easy? Never.

Chlothar II needed a new place to sit, a throne befitting his station as the new King of the Franks. But where to find a good craftsman?

On 5 Nov 1831, thieves broke into the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and stole more than 2,000 pieces; one man would hunt them down...

King Chlothar II struck the jackpot in almost every conceivable way in his life, and it culminated with him becoming King of All the Franks.

Brunhilda had lived a royal life; now, in this year of 613, she found herself about to die as a captive.

Theuderic II had had enough of death and war for a while. In the past decade, he had taken his army to the field time and time again...

Theudebert II's time as king started poorly and never got better. It ended with him in a cell, watching his royal hair fall to the floor.

Brunhilda was in a bind. In 596, the Queen Mother was torn between letting her son rule as king while maintaining her own grip on power.

We’re going to move between all three of our main subjects, Fredegunda, Brunhilda and Guntram; by the end, one of them will be leaving...

This week we cover the Gundovald Affair, how Guntram, Brunhilda and Childebert are getting on and we look at why you never mess with Freddy!

Guntram had a problem with women. And his family. And basically everyone else...

Fredegunda appears to have been a self-made woman, "beautiful, dexterous, ambitious, and bold."

Brunhilda had everything. And it all went away in the blink of an eye...

When we’re done we’ll know who was in play, how they’ll affect the Merovingian narrative, and also where they're located.

When we’re done we’ll know who was in play, how they’ll affect the Merovingian narrative, and also where they're located.

He could hear her inside, imploring Chlothar for mercy. He listened to none of her pleas. “Burn it,” he ordered.