Aeghyna
Encyclopedia
Aighyna, Aeghyna, Aegyna, Aigino, or Aichina, probably a Saxon
, was the duke of Gascony
(Vasconia
) from 626 or 627 to his death in 638. He succeeded Genial
. The chief source for his reign is Fredegar
.
He probably hailed from the Bessin
, which contained many Saxon colonies at the time. He was mentioned as a Saxon dux
in 626. He repressed the intrigues of the bishops Palladius and Sidocus of Eauze
, exiling them for inciting Basque revolts, and even ordered the assassination of one of Charibert II
's councillors in the palace at Clichy
.
In 635, he took part in the great Frankish expedition against the Basques, which involved ten Burgundian
duces and ten columns. Aeghyna was reinstated after this. He was certainly the duke of the Basques
(Vascones) in 636, when he is recorded as conducting the Basque chiefs (seniores) who submitted to Dagobert I
at Clichy. Though he is certainly not of Basque stock, whether he acted as a tribal leader with only tenuous ties to the Frankish monarchy or as the Frankish client duke of a vassal people is unknown.
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
, was the duke of Gascony
Duke of Gascony
The Duchy of Vasconia , later known as Gascony, was a Merovingian creation: a frontier duchy on the Garonne, in the border with the rebel Basque tribes...
(Vasconia
Duchy of Vasconia
The Duchy of Vasconia , or Wasconia, was originally a Frankish march formed by 602 to keep the Basques in check. It comprised the former Roman province of Novempopulania and, at least in some periods, also the lands south of the Pyrenees centred on Pamplona.In the ninth century, civil war within...
) from 626 or 627 to his death in 638. He succeeded Genial
Genial
Genial, Genialis, or Genealis was the Duke of Gascony in the early seventh century. He is attested in the Chronicle of Fredegar....
. The chief source for his reign is Fredegar
Chronicle of Fredegar
The Chronicle of Fredegar is a chronicle that is a primary source of events in Frankish Gaul from 584 to around 641. Later authors continued the history to the coronation of Charlemagne and his brother Carloman on 9 October 768....
.
He probably hailed from the Bessin
Bessin
The Bessin is an area in Normandy, France, corresponding to the territory of the Bajocasse tribe of Gaul who also gave their name to the city of Bayeux, central town of the Bessin.-History:The territory was annexed by the Duchy of Normandy in 924....
, which contained many Saxon colonies at the time. He was mentioned as a Saxon dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
in 626. He repressed the intrigues of the bishops Palladius and Sidocus of Eauze
Eauze
Éauze is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.-History:Éauze takes its names from the Gaulish Aquitani tribe of the Elusates....
, exiling them for inciting Basque revolts, and even ordered the assassination of one of Charibert II
Charibert II
Charibert II , a son of Clotaire II and his junior wife Sichilde, was briefly King of Aquitaine from 629 to his death, with his capital at Toulouse. We have no direct statement about when Charibert was born exact that he was "a few years younger" than his half-brother Dagobert...
's councillors in the palace at Clichy
Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine
-Administration:The canton covers a part of the commune; the other is in the northern part of Levallois-Perret-Twinnings: Heidenheim, Germany, since 1959 Sankt Pölten, Austria, since 1968 Santo Tirso, Portugal, since 1991 Rubí, Spain, since 2005 Southwark, United Kingdom, since 2005Clichy has also...
.
In 635, he took part in the great Frankish expedition against the Basques, which involved ten Burgundian
Burgundians
The Burgundians were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe...
duces and ten columns. Aeghyna was reinstated after this. He was certainly the duke of the Basques
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
(Vascones) in 636, when he is recorded as conducting the Basque chiefs (seniores) who submitted to Dagobert I
Dagobert I
Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...
at Clichy. Though he is certainly not of Basque stock, whether he acted as a tribal leader with only tenuous ties to the Frankish monarchy or as the Frankish client duke of a vassal people is unknown.
Sources
- Collins, Roger. The Basques. Blackwell Publishing: London, 1990.
- Wallace-Hadrill, J. M.John Michael Wallace-HadrillJohn Michael Wallace-Hadrill CBE was Professor of Mediaeval History at the University of Manchester , a Senior Research Fellow of Merton College in the University of Oxford , Chichele Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford and a Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford...
, translator. The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations. Greenwood Press: Connecticut, 1960. - Lewis, Archibald R. "The Dukes in the Regnum Francorum, A.D. 550-751." Speculum, Vol. 51, No. 3. (Jul., 1976), pp. 381–410.
- Auñamendi Encyclopedia: Ducado de Vasconia.
- Monlezun, Jean Justin. Histoire de la Gascogne. 1846.
- Higounet, Charles. Bordeaux pendant le haut moyen age. Bordeaux, 1963.