Dagobert I (dăg`ōbûrt), c.612–c.639, Frankish king, son and successor of King Clotaire II. His father was forced to appoint Dagobert king of the East Frankish kingdom of Austrasia at the request of Pepin of Landen Pepin of Landen (Pepin I), d. 639?, mayor of the palace of the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia . With Arnulf, bishop of Metz, he called in King Clotaire II of Neustria to overthrow (613) Queen Brunhilda of Austrasia.
..... Click the link for more information. , mayor of the palace, and Arnulf, bishop of Metz, who effectively ruled in Austrasia. After Clotaire's death (629) Dagobert reunited Aquitaine with Austrasia and Neustria and became king of all the Franks. He was, however, forced by popular demand to give (634) Austrasia its own king in the person of his son, Sigebert III. The last of the Merovingians Merovingians, dynasty of Frankish kings, descended, according to tradition, from Merovech, chief of the Salian Franks , whose son was Childeric I and whose grandson was Clovis I , the founder of the Frankish monarchy.
..... Click the link for more information. to exercise personal rule, he made himself independent of the great nobles, especially of Pepin of Landen. He extended his rule over the Basques and the Bretons. Dagobert's reign was prosperous; he was a patron of learning and the arts. He founded the first great abbey of Saint-Denis, where he is buried.

Dagobert I

(born 605—died Jan. 19, 639, Saint-Denis, France) Last Frankish king of the Merovingian dynasty to rule a politically united realm. He became king of Austrasia in 623 and of the entire Frankish realm in 629. Dagobert secured a treaty with the Byzantine emperor, defeated the Gascons and Bretons, and campaigned against the Slavs in the east. In 631 he sent an army to help the Visigothic usurper in Spain. He moved his capital from Austrasia to Paris, then made his son king of Austrasia in 634. Dagobert also revised Frankish law, patronized the arts, and founded the great abbey of Saint-Denis.