Letter 17

From: Brunhild, Queen of the Franks (Austrasia) To: The Austrasian Court Date: ~588 AD Context: Brunhild issues instructions to the Austrasian court administration on matters of court governance and the management of royal resources. From Queen Brunhild to our faithful servants and administrators, Several matters require immediate attention, and I am writing to ensure that my instructions are clear and that action is taken promptly. On the matter of the royal estates in the eastern territories: the administrators who reported to my late husband have not been conducting themselves adequately since his death. I have received complaints from the inhabitants of those estates that the revenues are being assessed at rates that were not authorized and that the surplus above the authorized rates is not reaching the royal treasury. I want a complete accounting within sixty days. If the accounting reveals what I suspect it will reveal, the administrators responsible will be replaced. On the matter of the disputed inheritance of the late Count Gunderic: the claim of his widow and the claim of his son by a previous marriage are both before me and I have not yet decided. I am writing to ask you to gather the relevant documents — the instruments of the first marriage, the instruments of the second, and any testamentary provisions the count may have made — and to have them ready for my review when I arrive at the palace next month. On the matter of the bishop of Verdun and his complaints about royal interference in ecclesiastical appointments: tell him I will meet with him when I arrive and that I intend to listen carefully to what he has to say. I do not say in advance that his complaints are justified. But I also do not assume they are not. Brunhild, queen