Great-grandson of Clovis, Dagobert I (609-638) is the best known of the Merovingian kings. In 636, he decided to build an abbey church on the site of the modest sanctuary dedicated to Saint Denis, erected by St Genevieve in the 5th century. By continuing her creative work, the king of the Franks brought himself under the protection of St Denis. He also donated several estates and fiefdoms to the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Denis, founded a few years earlier. At his death, his remains were buried near those of Denis. Around 1263, the monks erected an atypical tomb inside the basilica, consisting of a recumbent and a tympanum.