Editing Chlothar II (section)

{{Short description|Frankish king (584–629)}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Chlothar II
| title        = King of the Franks
| more         = Frankish Kingdom
| image        = Clothaire II 584 628.jpg
| image_size   = 225
| caption      = Coin of Chlothar II
| succession   = King of Neustria/Soissons
| reign        = 584–629
| predecessor  = [[Chilperic I]]
| successor    = [[Dagobert I]] (in Neustria)<br>[[Charibert II]] in Aquitaine
| succession1  = King of Burgundy
| reign1       = 613–629
| predecessor1 = [[Sigibert II]]
| successor1   = [[Dagobert I]]
| succession2  = King of Austrasia
| reign2       = 613–623
| predecessor2 = [[Sigibert II]]
| successor2   = [[Dagobert I]]
| birth_date   = May/June 584<ref name=brit>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chlotar-II Chlotar II]. ''[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]''.</ref>
| death_date   = 18 October 629 ( aged 45 )
| house        = [[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]]
| signature    = Souscription de Clotaire II.jpg
| father       = [[Chilperic I]]
| mother       = [[Fredegund]]
| issue        = [[Charibert II]]<br/>[[Dagobert I]]
| spouses      = {{Plainlist|
*Haldetrude
*[[Bertrude]]
*[[Sichilde]]
}}
}}

'''Chlothar II''',{{efn|Also spelled ''Chlotar'', ''Clothar'', ''Clotaire'', or ''Chlotochar''}} sometimes called '''"the Young"''' ([[French language|French]]: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chlotar II {{!}} Merovingian king {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chlotar-II |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> was [[king of the Franks]], ruling [[Neustria]] (584–629),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Terry |first=Charles Sanford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lw9HAAAAIAAJ&dq=Chlothar+II+king+of+neustria&pg=PA241 |title=A Short History of Europe: From the Fall of the Roman Empire to the Fall of the Eastern Empire |date=1911 |publisher=G. Routledge & Sons, Ltd. |pages=241 |language=en}}</ref> [[Kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundy]] (613–629) and [[Austrasia]] (613–623).

The son of [[Chilperic I]] and his third wife, [[Fredegund]], he started his reign as an infant under the regency of his mother, who was in an uneasy alliance with Chlothar's uncle King [[Guntram]] of Burgundy, who died in 592. Chlothar took power upon the death of his mother in 597; though rich, his realm was one of the smallest portions of [[Francia]]. He continued his mother's feud with Queen [[Brunhilda of Austrasia|Brunhilda]] with equal viciousness and bloodshed, finally achieving her execution by [[dismemberment]] in 613, after winning the battle that enabled Chlothar to unite Francia under his rule. Like his father, he built up his territories by seizing lands after the deaths of other kings.

His reign was long by contemporary standards, but saw the continuing erosion of royal power to the French nobility and the church against a backdrop of feuding among the [[Merovingians]]. The [[Edict of Paris]] in 614, concerned with several aspects of appointments to offices and the administration of the kingdom, has been interpreted in different ways by modern historians. In 617 he made the [[mayor of the Palace]] a role held for life, an important step in the progress of this office from being first the manager of the royal household to the effective head of government, and eventually the monarch, under [[Pepin the Short]] in 751. Chlothar was forced to cede rule over [[Austrasia]] to his young son [[Dagobert I]] in 623.

Unusually for a Merovingian monarch, he practised [[monogamy]], though early deaths meant that he had three wives. He was generally an ally of the church and, perhaps inspired by the example of his uncle [[Guntram]], his reign seems to lack outrageous acts of murder, the execution of Brunhilda excepted.