Ansbert (6th century)


Ansbert was a Frankish Austrasian noble, and a Gallo-Roman senator. He is thought to be the son of Ferreolus, Senator of Narbonne and his wife, Dode. If so, he was the great-grandson of Tonantius Ferreolus, Praetorian Prefect of Gaul and his wife Papianilla.
He might be a semi-legendary figure, a "faux mérovingien". His wife Blithilde was reputed to be a daughter of Charibert I, Merovingian King of Paris, and granddaughter of Chlothar I.

Descendants

The Liber Historiae Francorum, written centuries later, states that he married Blithilde, a daughter of King Hlothar and then continues the line to the Pippinids through his son Arnoald to Arnulf of Metz, one of the progenitors of the Carolingians. William of Malmesbury in his History of the Kings of England, repeats the line, without naming his source. While some versions of the relationship identify "King Hlothar" as the "father of Dagobert" and hence Clothar II, a 9th-century genealogy and some modern reconstructions posit that Ansbertus' wife was a daughter of Clothar I, making her the offspring of his brief relationship with Waldrada. However, Gregory of Tours, writing contemporary to the sons of Clothar I and the main source on the early Merovingians, does not ascribe to Waldrada any children by her brief relationship with Chlothar.
The following children are attributed to Ansbertus and Blithilde: