Editing Hermanafrid (section)

==Biography==
Between 507 and 511 Hermanfrid married [[Amalaberga]], daughter of [[Amalafrida]] who was the daughter of [[Theodemir (Ostrogothic king)|Theodemir]]. Amalberga was the niece of [[Theodoric the Great]],<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1163/18756719-12340175 | doi=10.1163/18756719-12340175 | title=Kinship in the Diplomacy of Theoderic the Great | date=2020 | last1=Bespalchikova | first1=Yana | journal=Amsterdamer Beiträge zur Älteren Germanistik | volume=80 | issue=1–2 | pages=66–75 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> who received a number of "silver-white" horses from Hermanfrid.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tF4TAAAAYAAJ&dq=Hermanafrid&pg=PA155 |page=155 |title=Germanic Origins: A Study in Primitive Culture |last1=Gummere |first1=Francis Barton |date=1892 }}</ref> 
It is unclear when Hermanfrid became king, but he is called king (''rex thoringorum'') in a letter by Theodoric dated to 507. He first shared the rule with his brothers Baderic and Bertachar, but later killed Bertachar in a battle in 529, leaving the young [[Radegund]] an orphan.

According to [[Gregory of Tours]], Amalaberga now stirred up Hermanfrid against his remaining brother. Once she laid out only half the table for a meal, and when questioned about the reason, she told him "A king who owns only of half of his kingdom deserved to have half of his table bare." Thus roused, Hermanfrid made a pact with the king of [[Metz]], [[Theuderic I]], to march against Baderic. Baderic was overcome by the [[Franks]] and beheaded, but Hermanfrid refused to fulfill his obligations to Theuderic, which led to enmity between the two kings.<ref name=Wood>{{cite book |last=Wood |first=Ian N. |year=1994 |title=The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450&ndash;751 |publisher=Longman|page=50}}</ref>

In 531 or 532, Theuderic, his son [[Theudebert I]], and his brother King [[Clotaire I]] of [[Soissons]] attacked the Thuringii. The Franks won a [[Battle of the Unstrut River (531)|battle near the river Unstrut]] and took the royal seat at Scithingi (modern [[Burgscheidungen]]). Hermanfrid managed to flee, but the Franks captured his niece Radegund (see [[Venantius Fortunatus]], ''De excidio Thoringae'') and his nephews.<ref name=Wood/>

Theuderic gave Hermanfrid safe conduct, ordered him to come to [[Zülpich]], and gave him many gifts. While Hermanfrid talked with Theuderic, somebody pushed him from the town walls of Zülpich and he died.<ref>{{PD-notice|1={{Cite book |page=114 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PDkNAAAAIAAJ&dq=chlothar+ii+king+of+the+franks&pg=PA522 | title=The Dark Ages, 476-918 | last1=Oman | first1=Charles | date=1908 }}}}</ref> Gregory mentions that certain people had ventured to suggest that Theuderic ''might'' have had something to do with it.

Radegund was then forced to marry King Clotaire, while Hermanfrid's wife Amalaberga fled to the [[Ostrogoth]]s with her children [[Amalafrid]] and [[Rodelinda (6th century)|Rodelinda]]. She was later captured by the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] general [[Belisarius]] and sent to [[Constantinople]], where Amalafrid later became an imperial general and Rodelinda was married to the Lombard king [[Auduin]].

The Thuringian kingdom ended with Hermanfrid. The area east of the [[Saale]] River was taken over by [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] tribes, north Thuringia by the Saxons.

The fall of the Thuringian dynasty became the subject of numerous epic treatments, the best known of which is in the ''[[Rerum gestarum saxonicarum libri tres]]'' by [[Widukind of Corvey]], a Saxon foundation [[mythology|myth]] written in 967. [[Rudolph of Fulda]] tells a related story. In this version, it is the [[Saxons]] under Duke [[Hadugato]], as allies of the Franks, who win the great battle on the Unstrut.