Balt dynasty

Now we are diving into the reign of Theoderic I, and this is when we start getting into some of the more memorable Visigothic kings.

Theoderic I was a member of the Balt dynasty, a relative of Wallia, and he was elected as king after Wallia's death.

Theoderic is a relatively common name among Germanic rulers, so keep in mind that this is Theoderic I, king of the Visigoths.

This guy is different from Theoderic the Great, who became king of the Ostrogoths a few decades later, and who I covered in an earlier episode.

Unfortunately for Crotilda, she died while en route to Paris under unclear circumstances, and the sources report that this death was devastating for her brother Childebert and his family.

Amalric had no heirs, and so the Visigoths were without an obvious candidate for their next king.

It seems that over a century of coups and murders and civil wars, the Balt dynasty kind of hunted themselves into extinction.

And so the Visigoths had to look elsewhere for their next king.