Balthild of Francia: Anglo-Saxon Slave, Merovingian Queen, and Abolitionist Saint

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Isabel Moreira (Distinguised Professor of History, Distinguised Professor of History, University of Utah)

Balthild of Francia

Anglo-Saxon Slave, Merovingian Queen, and Abolitionist Saint

Isabel Moreira (Distinguised Professor of History, Distinguised Professor of History, University of Utah)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
31 March 2025

Classical history & classical civilisation; Early history: c 500 to c 1450&1500; Politics & government

Series: Women in Antiquity

This book tells the remarkable life of Balthild of Francia (c. 633-80), a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon slave who became a queen of France. Described in contemporary sources as beautiful and intelligent, she rose to power through her marriage to the short-lived King Clovis II. As regent for her young son, she promoted social and political reforms in Francia that included the rescue and rehousing of Christian slaves who, like Balthild herself, had been caught up in the human-trafficking practices of the mid-seventh century. Implicated in the violent politics of the era, Balthild spent the remainder of her life in the convent of Chelles where a unique cache of surviving relics and personal items, including her hair, were protected and dispersed as relics over the following centuries. In the nineteenth century, Balthild's anti-slave trade policies were recalled for new audiences when she was adopted as an icon for the cause of the abolition of the slave trade and installed as one of the twenty illustrious women whose statues are situated in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.

Although critical to her age, because of the remote time period and the specialized nature of the sources, Balthild is little known today. This book will correct this oversight by shining a light on a fascinating and courageous figure whose legacy long outlived the era to which she belonged.

By: Isabel Moreira (Distinguised Professor of History Distinguised Professor of History University of Utah)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 1.040kg
ISBN: 9780197518663
ISBN 10: 0197518664
Series: Women in Antiquity
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 31 March 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Isabel Moreira is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Utah, co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of the Merovingian World, and author of Heaven's Purge: Purgatory in Late Antiquity.