Susan Hernandez is a second-year MA student studying late-antique/early-medieval Gaul under Matthew Gillis. Her research focuses primarily on the sixth-century Frankish queens Radegund, Fredegund, and Brunhilde. Drawing on the religious, cultural, and political aspects of the Merovingian dynasty, she will show how these prominent women of the early Middle Ages gained and held on to their power, as well as, how society viewed their reigns.

Research Interests: Early medieval Europe, Merovingian World, cultural history, women and power, religion