Audofleda

Who was Audofleda?

Audofleda was a Gothic queen. She was the sister of Clovis I, King of the Franks. She married Theoderic the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, around 493 AD. Theoderic sent an embassy to Clovis to request the marriage. This political move allied Theoderic with the Franks, and by marrying his daughters off to the kings of the Burgundians, the Vandals, and the Visigoths, he allied himself with every major 'Barbarian' kingdom in the West. Theoderic and Audofleda had one daughter, Amalasuntha, who was married to Eutharic and had one daughter and one son; Amalasuntha then ruled as Regent/Queen of the Ostrogoths from 526-34.

Audofleda was a pagan prior to her marriage, and was baptised at the time of her wedding by an Arian bishop.