Clovis II

Clovis II became King of Neustria and Burgundy in 639 after his father Dagobert I died, while his brother Sigebert III took Austrasia five years earlier. His mother Nanthild held the regency until her death in 642, still in her early thirties. What followed was a parade of secular magnates—Aega, then Erchinoald—who whittled the crown's authority down to their advantage. The Burgundian mayor of the palace Flaochad used him as bait to draw his rival Willebad into battle at Autun, where Willebad was killed. Clovis died in 657, having reigned for eighteen years without ever holding the reins.