Theodelind, queen of the Lombards
Overview
Biography
The daughter of the Duke of Bavaria, whose maternal line went back further than either of her husbands’ in Lombard history, Theodelind gave hereditary sanction to the rule of both, Authari (+590) and Agilulf (+616). Agilulf may have become king by marriage to Theodelind, the queen-widow, though Stafford suggests that Lombard claimants married widowed queens more to gain support and neutralize opponents than to receive the royal dignity.(1) Theodelind had originally been betrothed to Brunhild’s son Childebert, a marriage the queen opposed and stopped. Theodelind, a Roman Catholic, did not convert her Arian husband, Agilulf, though he did allow his son to be baptized. Paul the Deacon, in his History of the Lombards, says that the king was moved by her pleading to hold the Catholic faith (4.6), which seems to be at best an exaggeration.(2) Katherine Fischer Drew does, however, credit Theodelind with introducing Roman Catholicism to the Lombards, which slowly replaced their Arianism.(3) Paul speaks of Gregory sending books to the queen (HL 4.5) and admonishing her in his letters to persuade the king to make peace with the church (HL 4.8). After the death of Agilulf, Theodelind was regent for her young son, Adaloald, during which time according to Paul the Deacon (HL 4.41) churches were restored and gifts bestowed on holy places.