The Dark Queens

Brunhild was born a Visigothic princess, destined for a strategically significant marriage to solidify alliances. Her sister-in-law, Fredegund, emerged from significantly humbler beginnings as a palace slave. Despite these contrasting starts, both women wielded power with unmatched tenacity, rising to dominate a landscape where royal succession typically excluded women, and politics was synonymous with bloodshed. Over their reigns, they commanded armies, formulated tax policies, spearheaded infrastructure projects, and dealt with emperors and popes, all while entangled in a ruthless four-decade-long civil war against each other.

After their deaths, Brunhild and Fredegund’s stories were tarnished by hostile chroniclers, their legacies reduced to slander and myth. Through meticulous research and masterful storytelling, Shelley Puhak breathes new life into their sagas. By examining intricate Merovingian sources, including the writings of Gregory of Tours and the Latin poetry of Venantius Fortunatus, Puhak disentangles the complex narratives surrounding these queens.

A renowned writer, Puhak paints a deeply human portrait of these two formidable women driven by ambition, desire, and enduring rivalry to achieve both remarkable triumphs and commit heinous acts. The Dark Queens emerges as an essential corrective to medieval history, rebuffing long-held myths about female power and presenting a richly nuanced view of an era often shrouded in mystery and myth.

"Brings the Merovingian empire to thrilling, bewildering, horrifying life" - Helen Castor

"Restores two half-forgotten and much-mythologised queens to their proper place in medieval history" - Dan Jones

"A story of scheming and savagery to make Game of Thrones look tame" - Sarah Gristwood

"A remarkable piece of detective work, by turns enlightening and shocking" - Amanda Foreman