ABSTRACT
The Frankish king Dagobert was the inspiration for a revival of the French epic around the middle of the 14th century for reasons that have not always been understood, although they are clearer when viewed in the context of the reign of Charles V. Dagobert already figures in the opening lines of the 13th-century octosyllabic Octavien, but his role becomes more important in the 14th-century Alexandrine version, which dates from the troubled times after the French defeat at Poitiers, when Edward III of England and Charles the Bad of Navarre were both claiming rights to the French throne. Dagobert left a reputation for personally supervising royal officials throughout his lands and personally giving judgments in legal cases. From his position as the source of justice, he saw to the promulgation of the Lex Ribuaria for the Austrasians, and perhaps he played a role in the codification of the laws of the Alemanni and the Bavarians.
