Aregund, wife of Clotaire I
Encyclopedia
Clotaire I
Chlothar I , called the Old , King of the Franks, was one of the four sons of Clovis. He was born circa 497, in Soissons .-Life:...
, king of the Franks, and the mother of Chilperic I
Chilperic I
Chilperic I was the king of Neustria from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund....
of Neustria
Neustria
The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
. She was the sister of Ingund, one of Clotaire's other wives. She lived during the sixth century.
Her sepulchre
Sepulchre
The rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel are a group of hundreds of rock-cut tombs constructed in Israel in ancient times. They were cut into the rock, sometimes with elaborate facades and multiple burial chambers. Some are free-standing, but most are caves. Each tomb typically belonged to a...
, among dozens of others, was discovered in 1959 in the Saint Denis Basilica
Saint Denis Basilica
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy...
by archaeologist Michel Fleury. It contained remarkably well-preserved clothing items and jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
, which were used to identify her.
In an episode of the television series, Digging for the Truth
Digging for the Truth
Digging for the Truth is a History Channel documentary television series. The first three seasons of the show focused on host Josh Bernstein, who journeyed on various explorations of historical icons and mysteries. Bernstein is the president and CEO of BOSS and has a degree in anthropology and...
, aired in May 2006, host Josh Bernstein
Josh Bernstein
Josh Bernstein is an American explorer, author, survival expert, and TV host best known as the host of Digging for the Truth. He now appears as the host of the Discovery Channel's Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein....
arranged a DNA test
Genetic fingerprinting
DNA profiling is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person's DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person's identifier...
of a sample of her remains to see if it showed any Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern characteristics. It did not. This was meant to disprove the notion put forwards by the Da Vinci Code that the Merovingians were descended from Jesus, though Aregund was merely married into the dynasty, not a blood descendant- so presumably the results of this test are irrelevant. Some also claim that, based on studies, the burial could not have been done around the time of Aregund's death. Rather it likely dates from decades after Aregund's time, thus the remains could be of an entirely different person.