Hole Bygdebok Bind 3 side 39

Hole Bygdebok Bind 3 side 39

Hole Bygdebok Bind 3 side 39

Hole Bygdebok Bind 3 side 39

Hole Bygdebok Bind 3 side 39

Hole Bygdebok Bind 3 side 39

Hole Bygdebok Bind 4 side 878 - 880 + 352+951

• Forbehold: muligvis andet forældrepar

• gjorde 1304 Testamente og da indsatte sin SønJohan Kalf, Degn i Lund, og hans Brødre samt sin Broder Hr. Peder af Eljarød til Exekutorer, stadfæstede 1309 med sin Søn Jakob Kalf den Gave, hendes Søn Degnen havde givet fattige Skolediciple i Lund, beseglet af Hr. Peder Nielsen af Eljarød, gav 1310 denne sin Broder Fuldmagt at Tilskjøde Gods til St. Laurentii Kirke i Lund

• af Taasinge, var 1313 den første af dommerne over de oprørske i Jylland, men vistnok død kort efter.

• beseglede 1342 et vidne af Varde sysselting.

• er ikke i DAA 1914, men optræder i et delvist skifte af arven efter Peder Vendelboe fra 25. marts 1347.
  
  Det hedder videre: DD III, 2 nr. 338 sammenholdt med DD IV, 11 nr. 566-567, Antoniewietz s. 35ff. Peders brødre kaldes ”fratres couterini”, hvilket i DRB oversættes ”halvbrødre”. Ordret betyder det imidlertid brødre med/af samme mor, og da disse ifølge brevet ligesom Peder skal have andel i borgen Skjern, må meningen være at skelne disse fra nogle arvinger, som var børn af Peder Vendelbo i et tidligere ægteskab, fx (nogle af) de omtalte døtre. Når Niels Eriksen af Linde af den såkaldte Saltensee af Linde-slægt optræder som udsteder af brevet indicerer det nok, at han var enken og den som umyndig nævnte Peders (og hans brødres) formynder, hvilket atter indicerer, at fru Arine tilhørte denne slægt.
  Erik Nielsen Saltensee har da sikkert været hendes bror.

• gav 1386 sammen med Iver Christiernsen Gods til Franciskanerne i Odense og kaldes da: „de Saurorum familia", skødede 1389 atter sammen med Iver Christiernsen Lales jord i Flemløse til Henrik Walsrode, kaldet Altena, hvilken jord var dem tilfaldet med deres hustruer Ingeborg Nielsdatter og Elisabeth Nielsdatter, besegler med Murtinden.

• Hendes våben var et vognhjul.

• Købmand i Odense.

• Kan være den Margrethe Erlandsdatter, der ifølge Lunds gavebog
  skænkede Skt. Laurentius 2 mark sølv. Oplysningen passer imidlertid dårligt kronologisk. Lunds Gavebogs dødsnotits er dateret til første tredjedel af 13. århundrede. Den angiver, at hun "døde af god alderdom", mens hendes brødre alle døde sent i 13. århundrede.

• til Gudumlund, Bogensholm og Ottersbøl

• tilskødede 1391 Fin Aagesen (Ulfeldt) sit gods Bremholm (Tullebølle S., Langeland), som han havde købt af Laurens Mus, besegler da med murtinden, var 1404 medudsteder af et vidne af Langelands landsting.

• Var af slægten som førte et Mandehoved.
  
  Nævnes tidligst 1406 (Fru Ide af Asdal), derefter 1408 (Ide Luders dotter) og var 1425 gift med Hr. Lyder Kabel til Fuglsang, der 1426 kundgjorde, at hun havde skænket sit Gods Gudumslund til Viborg Bispedømme for Sjælegave.

• studerede i Paris og opholdt sig mange Aar i Frankrig, hvor han var 1179, 1192 Biskop i Roskilde, var 1198 med sin Broder Torbern Høvedsmand for den Hær, der sendtes til Venden, hvor de bleve slagne og han fangen af Markgrev Otte, men han undslap Aaret efter, Kongens Kansler, deltog 1208 i Lena Slaget.

Drogo (June 17, 801 – December 8, 855), also known as Dreux or Drogon, was an illegitimate son of Frankish emperor Charlemagne by the concubine Regina.

Drogo was born on June 17, 801 at Aachen, Gaul (Aix-La-Chappelle). The Annales Weissemburgenses record Drogo’s birth as "802 aut 803 15 Kal Iul".

Aachen was the winter palace of the Carolingian empire located in the north-east section of Gaul, close to the Saxon lands. This area is now in Nordrehein-Westfalen, Germany.

Einhard names "Drogonem et Hugum" as sons of Charlemagne by his concubine "Reginam". Drogo’s mother, Regina, was one of four concubines taken by Charlemagne in 800 after the death of his Alemannian wife who had borne him no children.

Drogo had many half-brothers and sisters (through his father, Charlemagne) but only one full brother, Hugh, (802-844) who was the younger. He and his brother Hugh, and their half-brother Thierry, were brought up in the palace of their half-brother Louis the Pious (Emperor Louis I) after their father died.

In the collection of Einhard’s Charters, there is one written in 815 by Louis the Pious in which he grants a village (Mulinheim, later Seligenstadt) situated on the banks of the Main River to Einhard and his wife. This property was once owned by a Count Drogo. Is it possible this may have been the later Drogo, Bishop of Metz? Is it possible that even though he would only have been 14 at the time, he may have been moving up the political ladder and thus not needing this small property which could go to another courtier?

Drogo's brother, Hugh, was ordained and served as the abbot of Charroux, St-Quentin, Lobbes, St-Bertin and Noaille. He later served as archchancellor to Louis the Pious from 834 to 840 and became archchaplain to Charles the Bald (son of Louis the Pious) in 841 after the battle of Fontenoy (841). Hugh was killed in battle at Angoulême in June, 844. The Annales Fuldenses record that "Hugo abbas, patruus Karoli et Rihboto abbas, Rhaban quoque signifer" was killed "844 VII Id Jun" in the battle in which "Pippini duces" (Pippin's generals) defeated the army of Charles the Bald "le Chauve" King of the Franks.

As one of the few children to outlive his father, Drogo's prospects for political power were very favourable. Only one older son of Charlemagne remained, and was eager to ensure his few opponents were placated.

Career

Forced out of the royal court when Louis the Pious became Emperor in 814, Drogo and Hugh were forcibly tonsured and "put under free custody into monasteries".

Drogo became a cleric in 818 and abbot of Luxeuil in 820.

In 822, as a deeply religious man, Louis performed penance (for causing the death of Bernard of Italy and other issues), at his palace of Attigny near Vouziers in the Ardennes, before Pope Paschal I, and a council of ecclesiastics and nobles of the realm that had been convened for the reconciliation of Louis with his three sons. Also in attendance were his three younger half-brothers, Drogo, who he soon installed as Bishop of Metz in 823 (the previous bishop was Gondulphus of Metz, 819 to 822), Hugo, who he soon made Abbot of St-Quentin, and Theodoric.

Drogo became less significant at court and as a court figure by 829 – he had no formal position and did not become a player again until the 830s.

Throughout the 830s Louis the Pious was busy with the rebellions of his sons and assorted counts, dukes, abbots, bishops and archbishops. This was a period when loyalty and oaths were of paramount importance so it is probable that Drogo’s loyalty to Louis the Pious would have been greatly appreciated.

Drogo became Archbishop of Metz in 834 and remained in this position for the duration of his life. Louis was re-installed as Emperor at Metz in 835 after his temporary deposition in 833-834. Drogo wielded much influence in the last years of Louis the Pious’ reign (see Eleanor Duckett, Rituals of Power, in list of sources). According to the Astronomer, Drogo was Louis the Pious’ daily confessor. It was Drogo who finally persuaded Louis to forgive his rebellious sons.

Drogo was also the most prominent figure at Louis the Pious’ deathbed. On his deathbed, Louis asked Drogo to send the royal regalia (crown and sword) to his son Lothar thus indicating the transfer of power. Drogo took charge of his remains and had them transported from the island in the Rhine where he died. The Annales Fuldenses record that "Druogonem archicapellum et Adalbertum comitem" (Arch-chaplain Drogo and Count Adalbert) were sent to the east bank of the Rhine in 840 to take the body to Metz where Drogo presided over the funeral rites. The Sepulchre of Louis the Pious in St. Arnulf in Metz has often been considered as representative of the family tradition.Arnulf of Metz, mayor of the palace in Austrasia, is supposed to be the progenitor of the Carolingians (Arnulflings). But in fact, Saint-Arnulf of Metz was primarily a burial place for the women of the Carolingian family. Before or after Louis the Pious, no Carolingian king was buried there. One could instead see this sepulchre as a sign of archbishop Drogo's ambition of elevating his city of Metz by making it the cradle of the Carolingian family. In all probability he wished to establish Saint- Arnoul, whose patron saint was a family ancestor, as the royal mausoleum of the Carolingians (see K.U. Jaschke, Die Karolingergenealogien aus Metz, in list of sources).

In 844, when Sergius was elected Pope Sergius II, Emperor Lothar sent his son Louis to Rome accompanied by Drogo who had recently been raised from bishop to archbishop of Metz. Sergius appointed Drogo his Vicar apostolic for the Frankish lands of France and Germany. Drogo also served as Vicar to Pope Leo IV and Benedict III in France.

In Oct. 844, the three sons of Louis the Pious (brothers Lothar, Louis the German and Charles the Bald) met at Thionville to attempt to unite the three portions of the kingdom in peace. Drogo presided over the assembly and offered his support to Lothar. His control over the assembly came to nothing as the attempt was referred for future action and eventually Drogo ceased to preside.

Drogo supported Louis the Pious in 839-40 during the Third Civil War between Louis’ and his sons. Once Louis died, he supported Lothar then changed sides to support Charles in 841, then changed back to support Lothar.

Drogo remained extremely loyal to his half- brother, Louis the Pious and amassed great power under him. Drogo was also one of the greatest patrons of the arts in the 9th century. His influence began to wane after Louis' death, and his influence fell even more after the death of his only full brother Hugh in 844. Still, he managed to ensure the production of the Drogo Sacramentary, which is named for him. The Drogo Sacramentary was written and painted around 845-855 for his personal use, as bishop of Metz. The manuscript, which is on vellum, is the work of several artists employed by the imperial court. The sacramentary would have been used in Metz’s Carolingian cathedral and constitutes a precious record of the liturgical practices of the time and the accoutrements used in the liturgy. This manuscript is one of the monuments of Carolingian book illumination and contains all the prayers which would have been spoken by Drogo, as the officiating priest, during the course of the year. It has become a monument to his name and one of the treasures of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

Metz was an important bishopric: Charles the Bald was crowned in the Basilica, and both Drogo and Louis the Pious are buried there. In 843 Metz became the capital of the kingdom of Lotharingia, and several diets and councils were held there. Drogo's position enabled him to be one of the great patrons of 9th-century arts. He embellished his cathedral in Metz with works which rank among the highlights of Carolingian art in beauty and preciousness. In 852 he translated the relics of St. Celeste of Metz (see Clement of Metz) at Marmoutier, together with those of Saint Author (see Abbé Petin, Dictionnaire hagiographique in list of sources).

There is a particularly interesting entry in the Annales Bertiniani: anno 839 "Dominicae nativitatis festum hilariter, a Drogone fratre suo et Metensis urbis episcopo decentissime susceptus, in eadem civitate caelebravit". A possible Christmas wish from the bishop?

Death

Drogo died Dec. 8, 855 after falling into the River Oignon, at Himeriacum, Bourgogne, while fishing. He is interred at the Abbey Church of St. Arnulf in Metz. A list of bishops of Metz records "domnus Drogo archiepiscopus et sacri palate summus capellanus, filius Karoli imperatoris" (Drogo lord archbishop and sacred palace chief chaplain, son of Emperor Charles) as 40th bishop, holding the position for 32 years, 5 months and 7 days. After his death, he was succeeded as bishop of Metz by Adventius (858 to 875).

Queen Judith (795/797 or 805 – 19 April 843), also known as Judith of Bavaria, was the daughter of Count Welf and Saxon noblewoman, Hedwig, Duchess of Bavaria (780–826). She was the second wife of King Louis the Pious, which brought her the title of Empress of the Franks. Marriage to Louis marked the beginning of her rise as an influential figure in the Carolingian court. She had two children with Louis, a daughter Gisela and a son, Charles the Bald. The birth of her son led to a major dispute over the imperial succession, and tensions between her and Charles' half-brothers from Louis' first marriage. She would eventually fall from grace when Charles' wife, the new empress Ermentrude of Orléans, rose to power. She was buried in 846 in Tours.

Fra Danmarks Adels Aarbog 1914 side 385 ff. (opdateret).

I. Led - [Saltensee af Linde] 

• Slægtebøgerne synes at mene, at denne gamle Slægt er den oprindelige Indehaver af Navnet Saltensee, der som bekendt alt forekommer i den gamle Vise om Riberhus's Indtagelse ved de Fredløse, men de have næppe Ret; thi dels have denne Slægts Medlemmer, saavidt vides, ingensinde selv brugt Navnet Saltensee, men tværtimod af og til ført et helt andet Tilnavn Braat, Bratze se eller Brase, og dels synes Slægten at være af ren jydsk Herkomst og ikke at være indvandret Syd fra, hvad Navnet Saltensee skulde lade formode. 
  Dens Vaaben var et ved et tretindet Mursnit i Sølv og Rødt delt Skjold, paa Hjelmen et rødt og et Sølv-Vesselhorn, ganske samme Vaaben som den i D.A.A. XXII. omtalte Slægt Munk af Kovstrup, som derfor maa antages at have fælles Oprindelse med disse saakaldte Saltensee'er. Ogsaa en Slægt Bryning førte dette Vaaben. Mærkeligt er det, at Fru Edel Jens Kaas's i Fru Kirsten Kaas's Anetavle kaldes „Fru Edel Ibs som kaldes Wlffishoren". 
  Slægten uddøde ved Aar 1500.

Fra Danmarks Adels Aarbog 1935:II:109 ff 

I. Led - [Vendelbo] 

Hr. Peder (Pedersen?) Vendelbo var fra først af ligesom Saxe Pedersen i Christoffer II's tjeneste og var 1317 dennes marskal, udsendtes mod sin oprørske embedsforgænger Ludvig Albertsen (Eberstein), der havde sat sig fast på Hammershus, som det i 1325 lykkedes Peder Vendelbo at indtage, men da kongen året efter blev fordrevet, mistede han sit embede og gik over til Kong Valdemar, var i 1328 (»Hr. Pæther Wendelbo fordum Danerkongens Marskalk«) dennes råd, da han dette år fik tildømt en gård Kragelund (Vindblæs sogn), en gård i Haderup og Aamølle (Gjerlev herred), blev ved kong Christoffers tilbagevenden i 1329 dennes drost, var 1333 på Viborg ting, blev, efter at Valdemar Atterdag havde grundet kongedømmet, drost hos ham, og nævnes 1341 (17. januar) som sådan (»Petrus dictus Wændelbo dapifer«), dog kun kort; afgået året efter, da han (24 december) betegnes som »quondam regis Danorum dapifer«, men vedblev at indtage en høj og betroet stilling hos kongen.
Fik 1343 af Andreas Pedersen af Grandeslef tilskødet Karæthorp og Karæthorp Fang (Korrup) i Hellum herred, pantsatte samme år halvdelen af Gjern herred til Iven Rostrup, betegnes 1344 af kongen som »Justitiarius noster«, pantsatte 1345 (17. juni), da han nævnes sidste gang, sin gård i »Langhgu« til Jens Aagesen. 
Hans arvinger nævnes 1346 (25. april). I 1347 (25. marts) erklærer hans enke Arine, hendes søn Peder (Petrus Pætherfz dictus Wendelbo) og Niels Eriksen (Saltensee) af Linde, at ville holde væbneren Mikkel Pedersøn skadesløs for det tab, der måtte ramme ham for den forpligtelse, han har indgået sammen med dem overfor den danske konges drost Erik Nielsøn (Gyldenstierne) og Peder Povlsøn, nemlig at alt gods i Middelsom herred, Grensten sogn, som tilfaldt de førstnævnte tilligemed hr. Peder Vendelbos øvrige arvinger skal overgå til Niels Eriksen som arv fra hustruen efter dennes fader hr. Peder Vendelbo. Ligeledes skal Mikkel Pedersen holdes skadesløs for den forpligtelse, han har indgået, at alt gods i Fjends herred, som tilfaldt alle Peder Vendelbos arvinger, skal overgå til Peder Povlsen som arv fra hustruen efter dennes fader hr. Peder Vendelbo. Endelig bestemmes det, at Bo Falk og Ludvig Albertsen (Eberstein) skal have del i borgen Skjerne, og at denne ikke må afhændes til nogen uden de nævnte Erik Nielsens og Peder Pedersens samtykke, men at den med jordtilliggende skal overgå til sidst anførte og hans 4 kødelige brødre.Hr. Peder (Pedersen?) Vendelbo var fra først af ligesom Saxe Pedersen i Christoffer II's tjeneste og var 1317 dennes marskal, udsendtes mod sin oprørske embedsforgænger Ludvig Albertsen (Eberstein), der havde sat sig fast på Hammershus, som det i 1325 lykkedes Peder Vendelbo at indtage, men da kongen året efter blev fordrevet, mistede han sit embede og gik over til Kong Valdemar, var i 1328 (»Hr. Pæther Wendelbo fordum Danerkongens Marskalk«) dennes råd, da han dette år fik tildømt en gård Kragelund (Vindblæs sogn), en gård i Haderup og Aamølle (Gjerlev herred), blev ved kong Christoffers tilbagevenden i 1329 dennes drost, var 1333 på Viborg ting, blev, efter at Valdemar Atterdag havde grundet kongedømmet, drost hos ham, og nævnes 1341 (17. januar) som sådan (»Petrus dictus Wændelbo dapifer«), dog kun kort; afgået året efter, da han (24 december) betegnes som »quondam regis Danorum dapifer«, men vedblev at indtage en høj og betroet stilling hos kongen.

Fik 1343 af Andreas Pedersen af Grandeslef tilskødet Karæthorp og Karæthorp Fang (Korrup) i Hellum herred, pantsatte samme år halvdelen af Gjern herred til Iven Rostrup, betegnes 1344 af kongen som »Justitiarius noster«, pantsatte 1345 (17. juni), da han nævnes sidste gang, sin gård i »Langhgu« til Jens Aagesen. 
Hans arvinger nævnes 1346 (25. april). I 1347 (25. marts) erklærer hans enke Arine, hendes søn Peder (Petrus Pætherfz dictus Wendelbo) og Niels Eriksen (Saltensee) af Linde, at ville holde væbneren Mikkel Pedersøn skadesløs for det tab, der måtte ramme ham for den forpligtelse, han har indgået sammen med dem overfor den danske konges drost Erik Nielsøn (Gyldenstierne) og Peder Povlsøn, nemlig at alt gods i Middelsom herred, Grensten sogn, som tilfaldt de førstnævnte tilligemed hr. Peder Vendelbos øvrige arvinger skal overgå til Niels Eriksen som arv fra hustruen efter dennes fader hr. Peder Vendelbo. Ligeledes skal Mikkel Pedersen holdes skadesløs for den forpligtelse, han har indgået, at alt gods i Fjends herred, som tilfaldt alle Peder Vendelbos arvinger, skal overgå til Peder Povlsen som arv fra hustruen efter dennes fader hr. Peder Vendelbo. Endelig bestemmes det, at Bo Falk og Ludvig Albertsen (Eberstein) skal have del i borgen Skjerne, og at denne ikke må afhændes til nogen uden de nævnte Erik Nielsens og Peder Pedersens samtykke, men at den med jordtilliggende skal overgå til sidst anførte og hans 4 kødelige brødre.

gav 1459 arv efter sin morbroder Johannes Rudbek i sjælegave til domkirken i Lund, kaldes 1463 "en god frue i Skåne", da hun trættede med kapitlet i Ribe om arven efter Anders Skeel. Levede endnu 4. feb. 1504 da hun gjorde testamente.

købte 1363 af Peder Jensen dennes andel i Odsgaard i Middelsom herred, medbeseglede 1367 et af hr. Peder Munk af Holbek udstedt skøde, deltog 1369-70, som medlem af kong Valdemars råd, i fredsforhandlingerne med Hansestæderne og var da høvedsmand på Skanderborghus. Var 1373 medlover for Lydike Arildsen, da denne overdrog kong Valdemar sin til Grenne Jensen pantsatte gård Diernæs i Hundborg herred, medbeseglede 1376 den af Kong Oluf udstedte håndfæstning og året efter den på Danehoffet i Nyborg vedtagne landefred.
Nævnes derefter 1381, da Mogens Jensen til ham afstod gård og gods Trudsholm i Gjerlev herred, for at han skulle udløse ham og hans Staldbrødre af det Fangenskab, hvori de var, og beholde det indtil han var fyldestgjort. Fremviste 1387 sine brevskaber på Trudsholm på Landstinget i Viborg, hvor ingen gjorde indsigelse mod hans ret, fik 1393 af Ingvar Petersen Tranekær i pant dennes gods i Vinkel sogn (Fjends herred), havde 1394 den befæstede borg Lunholm i Skagens landdistrikt inde, som han havde arvet med sin hustru Helene. 
Deltog i fredsmødet på Lindholm og blev, efter at Erik af Pommern var blevet valgt til konge i 1396, af dronning Margrethe valgt til landshøvedsmand og »rettere« i Jylland og var da den ældste i rigsrådet; købte 1397 Brøndumgaard af Anders Globs enke Lene, forekommer, sidste gang 1400 (12. juli), da han var til stede på rettertinget, men var død 1401 (16. juli), da Elnæ Bugges datter, hr. Christiern Wendelboes efterleverske og Hans van Podebusk, ridder, som en af hr. Christierns døtre til husfrue havde, og Predbjørn Podebusk, ridder, og Axel Jakobsøn, som hr. Christierns to døtre nu til husfruer havde, "antvordede Dronning Margrethe gården Karthorp", som de tilligemed Aalborg havde i pant af kong Valdemar. samme år (29. august) medbeseglede hun (Dn. Elena relicta Dn. Vendelbo) det af hr. Johan Skarpenberg til hr. Predbjørn Podebusk udstedte afkaldsbrev på den førstnævntes gods i Utterslev i Lolland

Ælfthryth of Wessex (877 – 7 June 929), also known as Elftrudis (Elftrude, Elfrida), was an English princess and a countess consort of Flanders.

She was the youngest child of Alfred the Great, the Saxon King of England and his wife Ealhswith. She had four or five siblings, including King Edward the Elder and Ethelfleda.

Ælfthryth married Baldwin II (died 918), Count of Flanders.

They had the following issue:

• Arnulf I of Flanders (c. 890–964); married Adela of Vermandois
• Adalulf, Count of Boulogne (c. 890–933)
• Ealswid
• Ermentrud

Ælfthryth was an ancestor of Matilda of Flanders, who married William the Conqueror, first monarch from the House of Normandy, which means that following the Norman conquest of England and the death of William I all the monarchs of England were also descendants of the House of Wessex.

Æthelred "Mucel", Ealdorman of the Gaini, was an Anglo-Saxon noble from Mercia.

Æthelred, witnessed several charters between 867 and 895 AD, and he is probably identical with the Ealdorman Mucel who witnessed Mercian charters between 836 and 866 AD, He may have been the son of another Ealdorman Mucel who witnessed Mercian charters from 814 to the 840s.

Family

Æthelred was father of Ealhswith the wife of Alfred the great, and Æthelwulf who would rule Æthelred's Gaini himself between 895 and 901 AD, their mother Eadburh (Æthelred's wife) is claimed to be a descendant of King Coenwulf of Mercia and his wife Elfrida in a charter of the year 868 AD, Asser (King Alfred's biographer) also saying that "Edburga of the royal line of Mercia…was a venerable lady and after the decease of her husband, she remained many years a widow, even till her own death", whether this is true or not no one will ever know but Æthelred's granddaughter Æthelflæd (Ealhswith's daughter) was treated as a queen of Mercia; she was only Lady of the Mercian's but a true warrior queen.

Æthelwulf, also spelled Aethelwulf or Ethelwulf; Old English: Æþelwulf, meaning "Noble Wolf", was King of Wessex from 839 until his death in 858. He was the third child of KingEgbert of Wessex.^[1] He conquered the kingdom of Kent on behalf of his father in 825, and was sometime later made King of Kent ^[2] as a sub-king to Egbert. He succeeded his father as King of Wessex on Egbert's death in 839, at which time his kingdom stretched from the county of Kent in the east to Devon in the west. At the same time his eldest son Æthelstan became sub-king of Kent as a subordinate ruler.

Rule

Historians give conflicting assessments of Æthelwulf. According to Richard Humble, Æthelwulf had a worrying style of Kingship. He had come to the throne of Wessex by inheritance. He proved to be intensely religious, cursed with little political sense, and with too many able and ambitious sons.^[3] ToFrank Stenton, "Æthelwulf seems to have been a religious and unambitious man, for whom engagement in war and politics was an unwelcome consequence of rank."^[4] However, Janet Nelson thought that his reign has been under-appreciated in modern scholarship, and that he laid the foundations for Alfred's success, finding new as well as traditional answers, and coping more effectively with Scandinavian attacks than most contemporary rulers.^[1] In Simon Keynes's view, "it was he, more than any other, who secured the political fortune of his people in the 9th century, and who opened up channels of communication which led through the Frankish realms and across the Alps to Rome.

Martial career

The most notable and commonly used primary source is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which refers to Æthelwulf's presence at some important battles. In 840, he fought at Carhampton against 35 ship companies of Danes, whose raids had increased considerably. His most notable victory came in 851 at "Acleah", possibly Ockley in Surrey or Oakley in Berkshire. Here, Æthelwulf and his son Æthelbald fought against the heathen, and according to theChronicle it was "the greatest slaughter of heathen host ever made." Around 853, Æthelwulf and his son-in-law, Burgred, King of Mercia, defeated Cyngen ap Cadell of Wales and made the Welsh subject to him. The Chronicle depicts more battles throughout the years, mostly against invading pirates and Danes. This was an era in European history when nations were being invaded by many different groups; there were Saracens in the south, Magyars in the east, Moors in the west, andVikings in the north.^[6] Before Æthelwulf's death, raiders had wintered on the Isle of Sheppey and pillaged at will in East Anglia. Over the course of the next 20 years the struggles of his sons were to be "ceaseless, heroic, and largely futile."

Familiy life

One of the first of Æthelwulf's acts as king was to split the kingdom. He gave the eastern half, including Kent, Essex, Surrey, and Sussex, to his eldest son Æthelstan (not to be confused with the later Athelstan the Glorious). Æthelwulf kept the ancient, western side of Wessex (Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, and Devon) for himself.

Æthelwulf and his first wife, Osburh, had five sons and a daughter. After Æthelstan came Æthelbald, Æthelbert, Æthelred, and Alfred. Each of his sons, with the exception of Æthelstan, succeeded to the throne. Alfred, the youngest, has been praised as one of the greatest kings to ever reign in Britain. Æthelwulf's only daughter, Æthelswith, was married as a child to King Burgred of Mercia.

Pilgrimage

Religion was always an important part of Æthelwulf's life. As early as the first year of his reign he planned a pilgrimage to Rome. Due to the ongoing and increasing raids he felt the need to appeal to the Christian God for help against an enemy "so agile, and numerous, and profane."^[3]

In 853, Æthelwulf sent his son Alfred, a child of about four years, to Rome. In 855, about a year after the death of his wife Osburga, Æthelwulf followed Alfred to Rome, where he was generous with his wealth. He distributed gold to the clergy of St. Peter's and offered them chalices of the purest gold and silver-gilt candelabra of Saxon work.^[9] During the return journey in 856 he married Judith, a Frankish princess and a great-granddaughter of Charlemagne. She was about 12 years old, the daughter of Charles the Bald, King of the West Franks.

Upon their return to England in 856 Æthelwulf met with an acute crisis. His eldest surviving son Æthelbald (Athelstan had since died) had devised a conspiracy with the Ealdorman of Somerset and the Bishop of Sherborne to oppose Æthelwulf's resumption of the kingship on his return. While Æthelwulf was able to muster enough support to fight a civil war or to banish Æthelbald and his fellow conspirators, he instead chose to yield western Wessex to his son, while he himself retained central and eastern Wessex. The absence of coins in Æthelbald's name suggests that West Saxon coinage was in Æthelwulf's name until his death. He ruled there until his death on 13 January 858.

That the king should have consented to treat with his rebellious son, to refer the compromise to a meeting of Saxon nobles, to moderate the pugnacity of his own supporters, and to resign the rule over the more important half of his dominions – all this testifies to the fact that Æthelwulf’s Christian spirit did not exhaust itself in the giving of lavish charities to the Church, but availed to reconcile him to the sacrifice of prestige and power in the cause of national peace.^[10]

The restoration of Æthelwulf included a special concession on behalf of Saxon queens. The West Saxons previously did not allow the queen to sit next to the king. In fact they were referred to not as a queen but merely as the "wife of the king." This restriction was lifted for Queen Judith, probably because she was a high-ranking European princess.

He was buried first at Steyning and later re-interred in the Old Minster in Winchester. His bones now rest in one of several "mortuary chests" in Winchester Cathedral.

Adélaïde of Paris (or Aélis) (c. 850/853 – 10 November 901) was the second wife of Louis the Stammerer, King of Western Francia, and was the mother of Princess Ermentrude and King Charles the Simple.

Life

Adelaide was the daughter of the count palatine Adalard of Paris. Her great-grandfather was Bégon, Count of Paris. Her great-grandmother, Alpaïs, wife of Bégon, was the illegitimate daughter of Louis the Pious by an unnamed mistress.

Adelaide was chosen by Charles the Bald, King of Western Francia, to marry his son and heir, Louis the Stammerer, despite the fact that Louis had secretly married Ansgarde of Burgundy against the wishes of his father. Although Louis and Ansgarde already had two children, Louis and Carloman, Charles prevailed upon Pope John VIII, to dissolve the union. This accomplished, Charles married his son to Adelaide in February 875.

However, the marriage was called into question because of the close blood-kinship of the pair. When on 7 September 878 the pope crowned Louis (who had succeeded his father in the previous year), the pope refused to crown Adelaide.^[1]

When Louis the Stammerer died in Compiegne on 10 April 879, Adelaide was pregnant, giving birth on 17 September 879, to Charles the Simple.^[2] The birth of this child led to a dispute between Adelaide and Ansgarde. Ansgarde and her sons accused Adelaide of adultery; Adelaide in turn disputed the right of Ansgarde's sons to inherit. Eventually, Adelaide succeeded in winning the case; but despite this, Ansgarde's sons Louis and Carloman remained kings until their deaths without heirs in 882 and 884 respectively, with the crown then being contested between Odo, Count of Paris and Charles the Fat.

Charles eventually succeeded to his father's throne in 898; his mother assisted in crowning him. She died in Laon on 10 November 901 and was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Corneille, Compiègne, Picardy

Adèle of France^[a] known also as Adela the Holy or Adela of Messines; (1009 – 8 January 1079, Messines), she was the Countess of Normandy (January 1027–August 1027),Countess of Flanders (1035–1067)

Life

Adèle was the second daughter of Robert II (the Pious), and Constance of Arles.^[1] In January 1027 she married Richard III, Duke of Normandy.^[2] The marriage was short-lived for on 6 August of that same year Richard III suddenly died.^[2] Adela then married Baldwin V, Count of Flanders in 1028.^[3]

Adèle's influence lay mainly through her family connections. On the death of her brother, Henry I of France, the guardianship of his seven-year-old son Philip I fell jointly on his widow, Ann of Kiev, and on his brother-in-law, Adela's husband, so that from 1060 to 1067, they were Regents of France.^[4]

In 1071, Adela's third son, Robert the Frisian, planned to invade Flanders even though at that time the Count of Flanders was Adela's grandson, Arnulf III. When she heard about Robert's plans, she asked Philip I to stop him. Philip sent soldiers to support Arnulf including a contingent of ten Norman knights led by William FitzOsborn. Robert's forces attacked Arnulf's numerically superior army at Cassel before it could organize, and Arnulf was killed along with William FitzOsborn. Robert's overwhelming victory led to Philip making peace with Robert and investing him as Count of Flanders. A year later, Philip married Robert's stepdaughter, Bertha of Holland, and in 1074, Philip restored the seigneurie of Corbie to the crown.

Adèle had a strong interest in Baldwin V’s church reforms and was behind her husband’s founding of several collegiate churches. Directly or indirectly, she was responsible for establishing the Colleges of Aire (1049), Lille (1050) and Harelbeke (1064) as well as the abbeys of Messines (1057) and Ename (1063). After Baldwin’s death in 1067, she went to Rome, took the nun’s veil from the hands of Pope Alexander II and retired to the Benedictine convent of Messines, near Ypres. There she later died and was buried at the convent. Honoured as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, her commemoration day is 8 September.

Family

Her first marriage was in 1027 to Richard III, Duke of Normandy (died 1027). They had no children.

Her second marriage was in 1028 to Baldwin V, Count of Flanders (died 1067).^[3] Their children were:

• Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders (c. 1030–1070).^[3]
• Matilda of Flanders (c. 1032–1083). In c. 1053 she married William, Duke of Normandy, the future King of England and had issue.^[3]
• Robert I, Count of Flanders (c. 1035–1093).

Adalhard II (c. 840 – 2 Jan (?) 890) was Count of Metz and Mozelgau. He was probably the son of Adalard the Seneschal.

Adalard is mentioned in documents from between the years 872 and 890 as Count in Metz and Mozelgau. Also in the years 878 to 890 he is referred to as the lay abbot of Echternach. On the basis of onomastics, and because before him this monastery was owned by Adalard the Seneschal, it is assumed that Adalard II is his son.

Marriage and children

His wife's name is listed as Adalarda in sources not mentioned. On the basis of onomastic data the historian Edward Glavichka believes that his wife Adalarda was the daughter of Matfrida II, count of Ayfelgau. Their children were:

• Stephen (d. aft. 900), Count of Chamonix and Bidgau
• Gerhard (Gerard) I (c. 870/875 – 22 Jun 910), count of Metz from 890.
• Matfried (d. 19 Aug c. 930), Count of Metz
• Richert (Richer) (d. 23 Jul 945), abbot of Prüm 899, Bishop of Liège 920

Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou^[a] (c. 940 –1026) was the countess by marriage of Gévaudan and Forez, of Toulouse, of Provence, and of Burgundy; and queen consort of Aquitaine. She was the regent of Gevaudan during the minority of her sons in the 960s, and the regent of Provence during the minority of her stepson from 994 until 999.

Life

She was the daughter of Fulk II, Count of Anjou and Gerberga and sister of Geoffrey Greymantle.^[1] She successfully increased Angevin fortunes being married a total of five times.^[2]Her family had become upwardly mobile to the point that, as a member of just the third generation from Ingelger, Adelaide-Blanche had married into the highest ranks of the older nobility of western Francia.^[2]

Her first marriage was to Stephen, the powerful Count of Gévaudan^[3] and Forez in eastern Aquitaine.^[4] She was no more than fifteen at the time^[5] and he was much older. Still, they had three children who survived to adulthood.^[4] Stephen died in the early 960s^[4] and after his death she ruled the lands as regent for her sons William, Pons and Bertrand.^[6] She continued to govern Gevaudan and Forez while her remaining two sons learned to rule their father's counties.^[6] Additionally, after her oldest son William's death in 975 she raised his infant son Stephen.^[6] Her brother Guy (a.k.a. Guido II) was made Count-Bishop of le Puy in 975 amidst local opposition and at his request Adelaide, acting for her sons Guy and Bertrand, led an army to aid him in establishing the "Peace of God" in le Puy.^[6]

In 982, as the widow of her second husband, Raymond, count of Toulouse, she wed Louis, son of King Lothair of France.^[7] The two were crowned King and Queen of Aquitaine at Brioude by her brother Bishop Guy of le Puy.^[7]The marriage lasted just over a year due to the couple being unable to peacefully live together.^[7] There was also a significant age difference—he being fifteen and Adelaide-Blanche being over forty.^[7] Adelaide found herself in a precarious situation with King Lothair but was rescued by Count William I of Provence^[b][8] who she subsequently married in c. 984.^[9] Count William of Provence died in 994 shortly after becoming a monk at Avignon.^[10]

In 1010 king Robert II of France along with Odo II, Count of Blois went to Rome to secure an annulment from Robert's second wife, Constance of Arles, Adelaide-Blanche's daughter by William I. Pope Sergius IV, a friend to the Angevin counts, upheld the marriage and additionally upheld Adelaide's struggle to maintain control of lands at Montmajour Abbey.^[11] These lands, at Perth, had been donated by Count William I of Provence with his wife Adelaide-Blanche, as well as by a previous donation by William's father, Boson.^[12] A dispute over these lands arose by four brothers, sons of Nevolongus, who pope Sergius threatened with excommunication if they did not withdraw their claim.^[12] The claim was withdrawn and the lands remained under the control of Adelaide-Blanche acting as regent for her son William II of Provence.^[12]

 

The cloister of Montmajour Abbey her final resting place.

Her fifth marriage was to Otto-William, Count of Burgundy,^[c] who subsequently died 21 September 1026.^[13] Adelaide-Blanche herself died in 1026, aged approximately eighty-six.^[3] The location of her death was probably at Avignon, since the year of her death is recorded by Arnoux, a monk of the abbey of Saint-André, near Avignon. She was buried in Montmajour Abbey, near Arles, considered at the time as the burial place of the family of counts of Provence.

Marriages and children

• She married first, c. 955, Stephen, Count of Gévaudan.^[14][15] Children of this marriage were:

  • William, (c. 955-975).^[6]
  • Pons, Count of Gévaudan and Forez. He died aft. 26 February 1011.^[16]
  • Bertrand, Count of Gévaudan.^[16]
  • Almodis of Gévaudan, she married Adalbert I de Charroux, Count de la Haute March.^[16]

• Her second marriage was to Raymond, Count of Toulouse and Prince of Gothia,^[2] in 975. He died in 978. She had by him at least one child:

  • William III, Count of Toulouse

• She married as her third husband Louis V of France and the two were crowned King and Queen of Aquitaine but the marriage ended in annulment.^[7][15]

• As her fourth husband she married, c. 984, William I of Provence^[10][15] Together they had:

  • Constance of Arles,^[15] who later married Robert II of France.^[10]
  • Ermengarde, she married Robert I, Count of Auvergne.^[10]
  • Tota-Adelaide, she married Bernard I, Count of Besalú.^[10]

• Her final marriage was to Otto-William, Count of Burgundy. He and Adelaide had no children.

Adelais of Amboise, name also given as Adelais de Amboise, was the wife of Ingelger.^[1] She was a member of the powerful Windonen clan.^[2] Her good connections may have helped her husband gain the title of Count of Anjou.^[3] Fulk I, Count of Anjou was their son.^[4] Her name is also given as Adele, and she was the daughter and heiress of Geoffroi I, the Count of Gatinais.

Adele of Vermandois (bef. 915–960) was both a Carolingian as well as a Robertian Frankish noblewoman who was the Countess of Flanders (934–960).

Adele, born c. 910–915^[1] was a daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois and his wife, Adele, daughter of Robert I of France.^[2] She died in 960 in Bruges.^[1]

In 934 Adele married Count Arnulf I of Flanders (c. 890 – 965).^[3] Together they had the following children:

• Hildegarde,^[a] born c. 934, died 990; she married Dirk II, Count of Holland.^[4]
• Liutgard, born in 935, died in 962; married Wichmann IV, Count of Hamaland.^[3]
• Egbert, died 953.^[3]
• Baldwin III of Flanders.^[3] (c. 940 – 962). Married Mathilde Billung of Saxony (c. 940 - 1008), daughter of Hermann Billung, and had issue, Arnulf II, Count of Flanders (c. 960 – 987), who succeeded as count after Arnulf I, skipping one generation.

• Elftrude; married Siegfried, Count of Guînes.

Adrian of Orléans (d. before Nov 821) was a Frankish count. His sister Hildegard of Vinzgouw married Charlemagne; therefore, he was the emperor's brother-in-law.

He is the son of Gerold of Vinzgau and Emma of Alemannia.

He married Waldrada, who may have been a daughter of Wilhelmid Adalhelm of Autun, and had issue:

• Odo I, Count of Orleans (d. aft. 15 Feb 834), who married Engeltrude of Fézensac, daughter of Count Leuthard I of Paris.
• Waldrada who married Robert III of Worms (d. 834), count of the Oberrheingau and the Wormsgau, father of Robert the Strong.

Arnulf II of Flanders (960 or 961 – March 30, 987) was Count of Flanders from 965 until his death.

He was the son of Baldwin III of Flanders and Mathilde Billung of Saxony, daughter of Herman, Duke of Saxony.^[1] His father Baldwin III died in 962, when Arnulf was just an infant, while Arnulf's grandfather, Arnulf I, was still alive.^[1] When Arnulf I died three years later (965), the regency was held by his kinsman Baldwin Balso, who died in 973.^[2]

By the time Arnulf attained his majority in 976, Flanders had lost some of the southern territory acquired by Arnulf I.^[2] The latter had given some parts of Picardy to King Lothar of France to help assure his grandson's succession, and gave Boulogne as a fief to another relative.^[2] Then early in Arnulf's minority Lothar had taken Ponthieu and given it to Hugh Capet, and the first counts of Guînes had established themselves.^[2] Arnulf died on 30 March, 987 at age 26.^[3] Shortly after Arnulf's death his widow married Robert II, King of France as his first wife.

In 968 he married Rozala of Lombardy, daughter of Berengar II of Italy,^[4] and had two children:

• Baldwin IV (980–1035), who succeeded his father.^[1] He married twice and fathered Baldwin V, Count of Flanders.
• Mathilde, who died before 995.

Arnulf of Flanders (c. 890 – March 28, 965), called the Great, was the third Count of Flanders, who ruled the County of Flanders, an area that is now northwestern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands.

Life

Arnulf was the son of count Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great.^[1] Through his mother he was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England, and through his father, a descendant of Charlemagne.^[2] Presumably Arnulf was named after Saint Arnulf of Metz, a progenitor of the Carolingian dynasty.^[3]

At the death of their father in 918, Arnulf became Count of Flanders while his brother Adeloft or Adelolf succeeded to the County of Boulogne.^[1] However, in 933 Adeloft died, and Arnulf took the countship of Boulogne for himself, but later conveyed it to his nephew, Arnulf II.^[4]

Arnulf I greatly expanded Flemish rule to the south, taking all or part of Artois, Ponthieu, Amiens, and Ostrevent. He exploited the conflicts between Charles the Simple and Robert I of France, and later those between Louis IV and his barons.

In his southern expansion Arnulf inevitably had conflict with the Normans, who were trying to secure their northern frontier. This led to the 942 murder of the Duke of Normandy, William Longsword, at the hands of Arnulf's men.^[5] The Viking threat was receding during the later years of Arnulf's life, and he turned his attentions to the reform of the Flemish government.

Family

The name of Arnulf's first wife is unknown but he had at least one daughter by her:^[6]

• Name unknown; married Isaac of Cambrai. Their son Arnulf succeeded his father as Count of Cambrai.^[6]

In 934 he married Adele of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois.^[1] Their children were:

• Hildegarde, born c. 934, died 990; she married Dirk II, Count of Holland. It is uncertain whether she is his daughter by his first or second wife.^[6]
• Liutgard, born in 935, died in 962; married Wichmann IV, Count of Hamaland.^[1]
• Egbert, died 953.^[1]
• Baldwin III of Flanders (c. 940 – 962), married Mathilde of Saxony († 1008), daughter of Hermann Billung.^[1]
• Elftrude; married Siegfried, Count of Guînes.^[

Arnulf made his eldest son and heir Baldwin III of Flanders co-ruler in 958, but Baldwin died untimely in 962, so Arnulf was succeeded by Baldwin's infant son, Arnulf II of Flanders.

Astrid (trolig født en gang mellom 960 og 980 – dødsåret er ukjent) ble omlag 996 gift med Erling Skjalgsson (død i 1027 eller 1028).

Astrids slekt

Astrid var søster av Olav Tryggvason og Ingeborg Tryggvesdatter.

Olav Tryggvason skal ha vært sønn av Tryggve Olavsson fra Viken eller Romerike og Astrid Eiriksdatter fra «Oprekstad», muligens identisk med gården Obrestad i Hå, Rogaland. Astrid er ikke omtalt i kildene med farsnavn, og vi vet ikke om Olav og Astrid hadde begge foreldrene felles.

Giftermål og bryllup

Da Olav Tryggvason ble konge i Norge var det viktig å holde seg inne med en høvding som Erling Skjalgsson. En måte å gjøre det på var å binde ættene sammen ved hjelp av ekteskap. Erling Skjalgsson var en mektig herse. Han kan ha vært sønn av Torolv Skjalg.

Snorre forteller at Olav Tryggvason omlag 995 dro til Gulatinget for å bli hyllet som konge. Kongen sa: «Hva vil dere kreve av meg for at vi skal bli best forlikt?» Da sa Olmod: «Det var for det første at du ville gifte Astrid, søster di, med Erling Skjalgsson, vår frende. Ham regner vi nå for å være den av alle unge menn i Norge en kan vente seg mest av.» Olav sa ja, men Astrid sa ja først etter sterkt press fra broren. Snorre lar henne få en hendig replikk før hun gir etter:

«Nå er det ikke stor nytte jeg har av at jeg er en konges datter og konges søster,» sa hun, «når du vil gifte meg bort med en mann som ikke engang har høvdingnavn. Jeg vil heller vente noen år på et bedre gifte.»

Det er uvisst hvor mye av dette som er dikting og hvor mye som er riktig. Få historikere tillegger Heimskringla stor kildeverdi i denne perioden.

Erling og Astrid holdt bryllup muligens sommeren 996. Det var ikke uvanlig at jenter ble giftet bort i 15-årsalderen, men hun kan også ha vært eldre om familien ikke hadde funnet en god kandidat tidigere.

Barn

Til tross for at Astrid ikke var helt begeistret for giftemålet innledningsvis fikk hun og Erling mange barn. Fagrskinna forteller at Erling hadde sønner, mens Snorre mente at Erling hadde barna som er listet nedenfor, men vi vet ikke om det er rett og om de i såfall var sammen med Astrid. Vi vet ikke når barna er født.

1. Aslak Erlingsson, gift med Sigrid Sveinsdatter, datteren av Ladejarlen Svein jarl
2. Skjalg Erlingsson (død 10. august 1062)
3. Sigurd Erlingsson
4. Lodin Erlingsson
5. Tore Erlingsson

Erling hadde også datteren Ragnhild, mest trolig fra et tidligere ekteskap.

Ettermæle

Etter bryllupet er ikke Astrid omtalt mer. Vi vet ikke når hun døde.

Erling drept i i 1027 eller 1028.

Béatrice of Vermandois (c. 880 – after March 26, 931), a Carolingian aristocrat, the wife of Robert I, King of France, and mother of Hugh the Great.

Life

Beatrice, born c. 880 was the daughter of Herbert I, Count of Vermandois.^[1] She was also the sister of Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, and was a descendant in the male line of Charlemagne through King Bernard of Italy.^[a][3]Through her marriage to Robert I, she was an ancestress of the Capetian dynasty. On 15 June 923 her husband Robert was killed at the Battle of Soissons shortly after which their son Hugh was offered the crown but refused.^[4]Beatrice died after March, 931.

Marriage and issue

She married c. 890, as his second wife, Robert, Marquis of Neustria, who became the King of France in 922.^[5] They were the parents of:

• Hugh the Great, duke of the Franks, who was the father of Hugh Capet.

Baldwin II (c. 865 – 10 September 918), nicknamed Calvus (the Bald) was the second Count of Flanders and ruled from 879 to 918.

Life

He was the son of Baldwin I of Flanders and Judith, a daughter of Charles the Bald and as such a descendant of Charlemagne.^[1] In 884 Baldwin married Ælfthryth (Ælfthryth, Elftrude, Elfrida), a daughter of King Alfred the Great of England.^[2] The immediate goal of this Anglo-Flemish alliance was to help Baldwin control the lower Canche River valley.^[3]

The early years of Baldwin's rule were marked by a series of devastating Viking raids into Flanders where little north of the Somme was left untouched.^[4] By 883 he was forced northward to the flat marshes of the pagus flandransis which became the territory most closely associated with the counts of Flanders from that time on.^[4] Baldwin constructed a series of wooden fortifications at Saint-Omer, Bruges, Ghent, and Kortrijk and seized those lands abandoned by royal and ecclesiastical officials.^[5] Many of these same citadels later formedcastellanies housing government, militia and local courts.^[4]

In 888 the west Frankish king Charles the Fat was deposed and there were several candidates for his replacement.^[6] As he was a grandson of Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperorand King of West Francia, Baldwin could have, but did not, compete for the crown of western Francia.^[5] Instead Baldwin joined others in trying to convince the East Frankish king Arnulfto also take the west Frankish crown, but Arnulf declined.^[6] The Robertine Odo, Count of Paris, was elected king^[7] but Odo would not support Baldwin's attempts at gaining control of theabbey of St. Bertin the two fell out and while Odo attacked Baldwin at Bruges he could not prevail.^[6] Baldwin continued his expansion to the south and gained control of Artois including the important abbey of St. Vaast. When the abbey came under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Fulk of Reims in 900 Baldwin had him assassinated.^[3] When his attempts to expand further into the upper Somme River valley were opposed by Herbert I, Count of Vermandois Baldwin likewise had him assassinated.^[3]

He died 10 September 918^[8] at Blandijnberg (near Ghent) and was succeeded by his eldest son Arnulf I of Flanders. His younger son Adalulf was (the first) count of Boulogne.

Family

He married Ælfthryth, a daughter of Alfred the Great, King of England.^[1] They had the following children:

• Arnulf I of Flanders (c. 890–964), married Adela of Vermandois.
  
• Adalulf (c. 890–933), Count of Boulogne.
  
• Ealswid.
  
• Ermentrud,
  

Baldwin III The Young of Flanders (c. 940–962) was Count of Flanders, who briefly ruled the County of Flanders (an area that is now northwestern Belgium and southwesternNetherlands), together with his father Arnulf I (c. 890 – 965).

Baldwin III was born c. 940, as the son of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders and his second wife, Adele of Vermandois (c. 915 – 969), daughter of Herbert II, Count of Vermandois.^[1] His father, Arnulf I had made Baldwin co-ruler in 958, but Baldwin died before his father and was succeeded by his infant son Arnulf II,^[1] with Arnulf I acting as regent until his own death. Then Baldwin Balso continued as the regent for the child.

During his short rule, Baldwin was responsible for establishing the wool manufacturing industry at Ghent and markets at other towns in Flanders.^[2] Baldwin III died on 1 January 962.^[1]After Baldwin's death, Arnulf I arranged for King Lothair of France to become the guardian of Baldwin's son Arnulf II.

Marriage and issue

"Shortly before 961" Baldwin married Mathilde of Saxony († 1008), daughter of Hermann Billung(† 973), Duke of Saxony.^[4] They had a son, Baldwin's heir:

• Arnulf II, Count of Flanders (c. 960 – 987), who succeeded as count.^[1] He married Rozala of Lombardy and had issue, Baldwin IV of Flanders and Matilda.

Baldwin IV of Flanders (980 – May 30, 1035) known as the Bearded, was Count of Flanders.

Baldwin IV, born c.980, was the son of Arnulf II, Count of Flanders (c. 961 - 987) and Rozala of Lombardy (950/60 – 1003), of the House of Ivrea.^[1] He succeeded his father as Count of Flanders in 987,^[1] but with his mother Rozala as the regent until his majority.

In contrast to his predecessors Baldwin turned his attention eastward, leaving the southern part of his territory in the hands of his vassals the counts of Guînes, Hesdin, and St. Pol.^[2]

To the north of the county Baldwin was given Zeeland as a fief by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, while on the right bank of the Scheldt river he received Valenciennes (1013) and parts of the Cambresis as well as Saint-Omer and the northern Ternois (1120).^[3]

In the French territories of the count of Flanders, the supremacy of the Baldwin remained unchallenged. They organized a great deal of colonization of marshland along the coastline of Flanders and enlarged the harbour and city of Brugge. Baldwin IV died on 30 May 1035.

Baldwin first married Ogive of Luxembourg, daughter of Frederick of Luxembourg,^[4] by whom he had a son and heir:

• Baldwin V, Count of Flanders (1012 – 1067). Married Adèle of France (1009-1079), and had issue, Baldwin VI, Queen Matilda and Robert I of Flanders. ^[a]

He later married Eleanor of Normandy, daughter of Richard II of Normandy,^[5] by whom he had a daughter:

• Judith (1033 – 1094) who married Tostig Godwinson and secondly Welf I, Duke of Bavaria.

Berengar II (c. 900 – 4 August 966^[1]) was the King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as Margrave of Ivrea around 923 (whence he is often known as Berengar of Ivrea), and after 940 led the aristocratic opposition to Kings Hugh and Lothair II. In 950 he succeeded the latter and had his son, Adalbert crowned as his co-ruler. In 952 he recognised the suzerainty of Otto I of Germany, but he later joined a revolt against him. In 960 he invaded the Papal States, and the next year his kingdom was conquered by Otto. Berengar remained at large until his surrender in 964. He died imprisoned in Germany two years later.

Bernard (797, Vermandois, Picardy – 17 April 818, Milan, Lombardy) was the King of the Lombards from 810 to 818. He plotted against his uncle, Emperor Louis the Pious, when the latter's Ordinatio Imperii made Bernard a vassal of his cousin Lothair. When his plot was discovered, Louis had him blinded, a procedure which killed him.

Life

Bernard was the illegitimate son of King Pepin of Italy, the second legitimate son of the Emperor Charlemagne. In 810, Pepin died from an illness contracted at a siege of Venice; although Bernard was illegitimate, Charlemagne allowed him to inherit Italy. Bernard married a woman named Cunigunde, but the year of their marriage, and her origins are obscure; spuriously she has been called "of Laon". They had one son, Pepin, Count of Vermandois.

Prior to 817, Bernard was a trusted agent of his grandfather, and of his uncle. His rights in Italy were respected, and he was used as an intermediary to manage events in his sphere of influence - for example, when in 815 Louis the Pious received reports that some Roman nobles had conspired to murder Pope Leo III, and that he had responded by butchering the ringleaders, Bernard was sent to investigate the matter.

A change came in 817, when Louis the Pious drew up an Ordinatio Imperii, detailing the future of the Frankish Empire. Under this, the bulk of the Frankish territory went to Louis' eldest son, Lothair; Bernard received no further territory, and although his Kingship of Italy was confirmed, he would be a vassal of Lothair. This was, it was later alleged, the work of the Empress, Ermengarde, who wished Bernard to be displaced in favour of her own sons. Resenting Louis' actions, Bernard began plotting with a group of magnates: Eggideo, Reginhard, and Reginhar, the last being the grandson of a Thuringian rebel against Charlemagne, Hardrad. Anshelm, Bishop of Milan and Theodulf, Bishop of Orléans, were also accused of being involved: there is no evidence either to support or contradict this in the case of Theodulf, whilst the case for Anshelm is murkier.^[1][2]

Bernard's main complaint was the notion of his being a vassal of Lothair. In practical terms, his actual position had not been altered at all by the terms of the decree, and he could safely have continued to rule under such a system. Nonetheless, "partly true" reports came to Louis the Pious that his nephew was planning to set up an 'unlawful' - i.e. independent - regime in Italy.^[1]

Louis the Pious reacted swiftly to the plot, marching south to Chalon. Bernard and his associates were taken by surprise; Bernard travelled to Chalon in an attempt to negotiate terms, but he and the ringleaders were forced to surrender to him. Louis had them taken to Aix-la-Chapelle, where they were tried and condemned to death. Louis 'mercifully' commuted their sentences to blinding, which would neutralize Bernard as a threat without actually killing him; however, the process of blinding (carried out by means of pressing a red-hot stiletto to the eyeballs) proved so traumatic that Bernard died in agony two days after the procedure was carried out. At the same time, Louis also had his half-brothers Drogo, Hugh and Theoderic tonsured and confined to monasteries, to prevent other Carolingian off-shoots challenging the main line. He also treated those guilty or suspected of conspiring with Bernard harshly: Theodulf of Orleans was imprisoned, and died soon afterwards; the lay conspirators were blinded, the clerics deposed and imprisoned; all lost lands and honours.

Legacy

His Kingdom of Italy was reabsorbed into the Frankish empire, and soon after bestowed upon Louis' eldest son Lothair. In 822, Louis made a display of public penance at Attigny, where he confessed before all the court to having sinfully slain his nephew; he also welcomed his half-brothers back into his favour. These actions possibly stemmed from guilt over his part in Bernard's death. It has been argued by some historians that his behaviour left him open to clerical domination, and reduced his prestige and respect amongst the Frankish nobility.^[1] Others, however, point out that Bernard's plot had been a serious threat to the stability of the kingdom, and the reaction no less a threat; Louis' display of penance, then, "was a well-judged gesture to restore harmony and re-establish his authority.

Boso (850–February/December 19, 887) was a Frankish nobleman of the Bosonid family who was related to the Carolingian dynasty^[1] and who rose to become King of Lower Burgundy and Provence.

Family

Boso was the son of Bivin of Gorze, a count in Lorraine, by Richildis of Arles, a daughter of Boso the Elder by his wife Engeltrude. His maternal aunt Teutberga was the wife of king Lothair II. Boso was also a nephew of the Boso, Count of Valois, for whom he was named, and of Hucbert, lay abbot of St. Maurice's Abbey, to which Boso succeeded in 869.

Service of Charles the Bald

n 870, Charles the Bald, King of West Francia, married Boso's sister Richilde. This marriage paved the way for Boso's career in the service of his royal brother-in-law. In the same year, Boso was appointed Count of Lyon andVienne, replacing Gerard of Roussillon.

In 872, Charles appointed him chamberlain and magister ostiariorum (master of porters) to his heir Louis the Stammerer. Boso likewise received investiture as Count of Bourges. Louis was reigning as a subordinate king of Aquitaine, but because of his youth, it was Boso who looked after the administration of that realm.

In the autumn of 875, Boso accompanied Charles on his first Italian campaign and at the diet of Pavia in February 876 he was appointed arch-minister and missus dominicus for Italy and elevated to the rank of duke. He was probably also charged with the administration of Provence. He acted as a viceroy and increased his prestige even more by marrying Ermengard, the only daughter of the Emperor Louis II.

Boso disapproved of Charles' second Italian campaign in 877 and conspired with other like-minded nobles against his king. After Charles's death in October, these nobles forced Charles's son to confirm their rights and privileges.

Boso also formed close relations to the papacy and accompanied Pope John VIII in September 878 to Troyes, where the Pope asked King Louis for his support in Italy. The Pope adopted Boso as his son and probably offered to crown Louis emperor. It is said that he wanted to crown Boso emperor.

In April 879, Louis died, leaving behind two adult sons, Louis and Carloman. Boso joined with other western Frankish nobles and advocated making Louis III of France the sole heir of the western kingdom, but eventually both brothers were elected kings. Boso, however, renounced allegiance to both brothers and in July claimed independence by using the style Dei gratia id quod sum: by the Grace of God, that is what I am. He also claimed that his imperial father-in-law had named him as his heir. On 15 October 879, the bishops and nobles of the region around the rivers Rhône and Saône assembled in the Synod of Mantaille elected Boso king as successor to Louis the Stammerer, the first non-Carolingian king in Western Europe in more than a century.^[3] This event marks the first occurrence of a "free election" among the Franks, without regard to royal descent, inspired by a canonical principle (but not constant practice) of ecclesiastical elections.

Boso's realm, usually called the Kingdom of Provence, comprised the ecclesiastical provinces of the archbishops of Arles, Aix, Vienne, Lyon (without Langres), and probably Besançon, as well as the dioceses of Tarentaise,Uzès, and Viviers.

After Louis and Carloman had divided their father's realm at Amiens in March 880, the two brothers joined to march against Boso. They took Mâcon and the northern parts of Boso's realm. Then uniting their forces with those ofCharles the Fat, they unsuccessfully besieged Vienne from August to November.

In August 882, Boso was again besieged at Vienne by his relative, Richard, Count of Autun, who took the city in September. After this, Boso could not regain most of his realm and was restricted to the vicinity of Vienne.

He died in 887 and was succeeded by his son Louis the Blind.

Marriages and issue

Boso was married twice. The identity of his first wife is not known; his second wife was Ermengard of Italy, only daughter of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor, whom he wed in March 876. His issue was, in supposed chronological order:

• Guilla/Willa (December 873-before June 15, 929), married firstly Rudolph I of Burgundy, secondly Hugh of Italy; her mother is reported to have been Ermengard, but this seems to be erroneous because she was born before Boso and Ermengarde's wedding

• Ermengarde/Ermengard (c. 877-April 12, 935), married Manasses I the Old, Count of Chalons-sur-Seine (Chalon-sur-Saône?); her mother is reported to have been Ermengard

• Engelberge/Ethelberga, married firstly Carloman II, secondly William the Pious;^[4] her mother is reported to have been Ermengard

• Louis the Blind (before 884-Jun3 5, 928), had a possibly nonmarital relationship, next supposedly married Anna/Eudocia Mamikonian (according to a letter that Christian Settipani attributes to Nicholas Mystikos), lastly married Adelaide of Burgundy, who might have been a daughter of his sister Guilla/Willa; his mother is reported to have been Ermengard

Boso (or Boson) "the Elder" (c. 800 – 855) was a Frankish Count of Turin and Count of Valois of the Bosonid dynasty.

Family and issue

He was married to Engeltrude. They had the following issue:

• Boso, Count of Valois (d. 874)
• Teutberga (d. before November 25, 875), married Lothair II
• Richildis (d. 883), married Bivin of Gorze
• Hucbert, Count of Valois, lay abbot of St. Maurice's Abbey (820-864)

Carloman (between 706 and 716^[1] – 17 August^[2] 754) was the eldest son of Charles Martel, majordomo or mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, and his wife Chrotrud of Treves. On Charles's death (741), Carloman and his brother Pepin the Short succeeded to their father's legal positions, Carloman in Austrasia, and Pepin in Neustria. He was a member of the family later called the Carolingians and it can be argued that he was instrumental in consolidating their power at the expense of the ruling Merovingian kings of the Franks. He withdrew from public life in 747 to take up the monastic habit, "the first of a new type of saintly king," according to Norman Cantor, "more interested in religious devotion than royal power, who frequently appeared in the following three centuries and who was an indication of the growing impact of Christian piety on Germanic society".

Cerdic was allegedly the first King of Anglo-Saxon Wessex from 519 to 534, cited by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the founder of the Kingdom of Wessex and ancestor of all its subsequent kings. (See House of Wessex family tree).

Life

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cerdic landed in Hampshire in 495 with his son Cynric in five ships. He is said to have fought a Brittonic king named Natanleod at Natanleagaand killed him thirteen years later (in 508), and to have fought at Cerdicesleag in 519. Natanleaga is commonly identified as Netley Marsh in Hampshire and Cerdicesleag as (Charford, Cerdic's Ford^[1]). The conquest of the Isle of Wight is also mentioned among his campaigns, and it was later given to his kinsmen, Stuf and Wihtgar (who had supposedly arrived with the West Saxons in 514). Cerdic is said to have died in 534 and was succeeded by his son Cynric.

Any purported connection between Cerdic and southern Hampshire or the Isle of Wight is certainly suspect and probably spurious. While Cerdic's area of operation was, according to theChronicle, in the area west of Southampton, there is also stronger archaeological evidence of early Anglo-Saxon activity in the area around Dorchester-on-Thames. This is the later location of the first West Saxon bishopric, in the first half of the seventh century. The first English settlers in the Isle of Wight were Jutes and a later Chronicle entry states that the island was conquered by Wessex (only) in the seventh century. There was also an early Anglo-Saxon settlement at Abingdon. All this indicates that the original Kingdom of Wessex (then known as the Gewissae) was probably in the Thames Valley below Oxford. The name of Clearsley in Buckinghamshire was Cerdeslai in the Domesday Book, which makes it a good candidate for Cerdicesleag; and Notley, a mile from Clearsley on the River Thame, is a credible possibility for Natanleaga. These possibilities, though unproven, would locate the battles in the Chronicle within or close to the most credible original borders of Wessex.

The early history of Wessex in the Chronicle is clearly muddled ^[2] and enters duplicate reports of events. David Dumville has suggested that Cerdic's true regnal dates are 538-554. Some scholars suggest that Cerdic was the Saxon leader defeated by the Britons at the Battle of Mount Badon, which was probably fought in 490 (and possibly later, but not later than 518). This cannot be the case if Dumville is correct, and others assign this battle to Ælle or another Saxon leader, so it appears likely that the origins of the kingdom of Wessex are more complex than the version provided by the surviving traditions.^[3]

Some scholars have gone so far as to suggest that Cerdic is purely a legendary figure, and had no actual existence, but this is a minority view. However, the earliest source for Cerdic, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, was put together in the late ninth century; though it probably does record the extant tradition of the founding of Wessex, the intervening four hundred years mean that the account cannot be assumed to be accurate.^[4][5]

Descent from Cerdic became a necessary criterion for later kings of Wessex, and Egbert of Wessex, progenitor of the English royal house and subsequent rulers of England and Britain, claimed him as an ancestor.

Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin Carolus Simplex),^[a] was the King of Western Francia from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–23. He was a member of the Carolingian dynasty.

Early life

Charles was the third and posthumous son of Louis the Stammerer by his second wife, Adelaide of Paris.^[2] As a child, Charles was prevented from succeeding to the throne at the time of the death in 884 of his half-brother Carloman.^[3] The nobles of the realm instead asked his cousin, Charles the Fat, to rule them.^[4] He was also prevented from succeeding the unpopular Charles, who was deposed in November 887 and died in January 888, although it is unknown if his deposition was accepted or even made known in West Francia before his death. The nobility elected as king Odo, the hero of the Siege of Paris, though there was a faction that supported Guy III of Spoleto. Charles was put under the protection of Ranulf II, the Duke of Aquitaine, who may have tried to claim the throne for him and in the end used the royal title himself until making peace with Odo.

King of Western Francia

Finally, in 893 Charles was crowned by a faction opposed to Odo at Reims Cathedral, though he only became the effectual monarch with the death of Odo in 898.^[5]

Denier of Charles III

In 911, a group of Vikings led by Rollo besieged Paris and Chartres. After a victory near Chartres on 26 August, Charles decided to negotiate with Rollo, resulting in the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. For the Vikings' loyalty, they were granted all the land between the river Epte and the sea, as well as Brittany, which at the time was an independent country which France had unsuccessfully tried to conquer. Rollo also agreed to be baptised and to marry Charles' daughter, Gisela.

Also in 911, Louis the Child, the King of Germany, died, and the nobles of Lotharingia, who had been loyal to him, under the leadership ofReginar Longneck declared Charles their new king, breaking from Germans who had elected Conrad of Franconia king.^[5] Charles had tried to win their support for years, for instance by marrying in April 907 a Lotharingian woman named Frederuna. He also defended the country against two attacks by Conrad, King of the Germans.^[6] Queen Frederuna died on 10 February 917 leaving six daughters and no sons.^[7] so the succession was uncertain. On 7 October 919 Charles married again to Eadgifu, the daughter of Edward the Elder, King of England, who bore his son, the future King Louis IV of France. By this time Charles' excessive favouritism towards a certain Hagano had turned the aristocracy against him. He endowed Hagano with monasteries that were already the benefices of other barons, alienating them. In Lotharingia he earned the enmity of the new duke, Gilbert, who declared for the German king Henry the Fowler in 919.^[5] Opposition to Charles in Lotharingia was not universal, however; he retained the support of Wigeric.

Revolt of the Nobles

The nobles, completely exasperated with Charles' policies and especially his favoritism of count Hagano, seized Charles in 920.^[8] But after negotiations by Archbishop Herveus of Reimsthe king was released.^[8] In 922 the Frankish nobles revolted again led by Robert of Neustria.^[8] Robert, who was Odo's brother, was elected king by the rebels and crowned in opposition to Charles, who had to flee to Lotharingia. On 2 July 922, Charles lost his most faithful supporter, Herveus of Reims, who had succeeded Fulk in 900. Charles returned with a Norman army in 923 but was defeated on 15 June near Soissons by Robert, who died in the battle.^[5] Charles was captured and imprisoned in a castle at Péronne under the guard of Herbert II of Vermandois.^[9] Robert's son-in-law Rudolph of Burgundy was elected to succeed him.^[10] In 925 the Lotharingians were subsumed into the Kingdom of Germany. Charles died in prison on 7 October 929 and was buried at the nearby abbey of Saint-Fursy. His son by Eadgifu would eventually be crowned in 936 as Louis IV of France.^[11] In the initial aftermath of Charles's defeat, Eadgifu and children had fled to England.

Family

Charles married first, in May 907, Frederuna, daughter of Dietrich, Count in the Hamaland.^[2] Together they had six daughters:

• Ermentrude^[2]

• Frederuna^[2]

• Adelaide^[2]

• Gisela, wife of Rollo^[12] (existence doubtful)

• Rotrude^[2]

• Hildegarde^[2]

Charles married secondly, in 919, Eadgifu of Wessex.^[2] Together they had one son:

• Louis IV of France (10 September 920–10 September 954), who eventually succeeded to the throne of West Francia in 936^[2]

Charles also had several natural children:

• Arnulf^[2]

• Drogo^[2]

• Rorice († 976), Bishop of Laon^[2]

• Alpais, who married Erlebold, count of Lommegau

Charles the Bald (13 June 823 – 6 October 877) was the King of West Francia (843–77), King of Italy (875–77) and Holy Roman Emperor (875–77, as Charles II). After a series of civil wars that began during the reign of his father, Louis the Pious, Charles succeeded by the Treaty of Verdun (843) in acquiring the western third of the Carolingian Empire. He was a grandson of Charlemagne and the youngest son of Louis the Pious by his second wife, Judith.

Struggle against his brothers

He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own regna, or subkingdoms, by their father. The attempts made by Louis the Pious to assign Charles a subkingdom, first Alemannia and then the country between the Meuse and the Pyrenees (in 832, after the rising of Pepin I of Aquitaine) were unsuccessful. The numerous reconciliations with the rebellious Lothair and Pepin, as well as their brother Louis the German, King of Bavaria, made Charles's share in Aquitaine and Italy only temporary, but his father did not give up and made Charles the heir of the entire land which was once Gaul and would eventually be France. At a diet near Crémieux in 837, Louis the Pious bade the nobles do homage to Charles as his heir. This led to the final rising of his sons against him. Pepin of Aquitaine died in 838, whereupon Charles at last received that kingdom, although Pepin's son Pepin II would be a perpetual thorn in his side.

The death of the emperor in 840 led to the outbreak of war between his sons. Charles allied himself with his brother Louis the German to resist the pretensions of the new emperor Lothair I, and the two allies defeated Lothair at the Battle of Fontenoy-en-Puisaye on 25 June 841. In the following year, the two brothers confirmed their alliance by the celebratedOaths of Strasbourg. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Verdun in August 843. The settlement gave Charles the Bald the kingdom of the West Franks, which he had been up till then governing and which practically corresponded with what is now France, as far as the Meuse, the Saône, and the Rhône, with the addition of the Spanish March as far as the Ebro. Louis received the eastern part of the Carolingian Empire, known then as East Francia and later as Germany. Lothair retained the imperial title and the kingdom of Italy. He also received the central regions from Flanders through the Rhineland and Burgundy as king of Middle Francia.

Reign in the west

The first years of Charles's reign, up to the death of Lothair I in 855, were comparatively peaceful. During these years the three brothers continued the system of "confraternal government", meeting repeatedly with one another, at Koblenz (848), at Meerssen (851), and at Attigny (854). In 858, Louis the German, invited by disaffected nobles eager to oust Charles, invaded the West Frankish kingdom. Charles was so unpopular that he was unable to summon an army, and he fled to Burgundy. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Louis the German king, and by the fidelity of the Welfs, who were related to his mother, Judith. In 860, he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew, Charles of Provence, but was repulsed. On the death of his nephew Lothair II in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothair's dominions, but by the Treaty of Mersen (870) was compelled to share them with Louis the German.

Besides these family disputes, Charles had to struggle against repeated rebellions in Aquitaine and against the Bretons. Led by their chiefs Nomenoë and Erispoë, who defeated the king at the Battle of Ballon (845) and the Battle of Jengland (851), the Bretons were successful in obtaining a de facto independence. Charles also fought against the Vikings, who devastated the country of the north, the valleys of the Seine and Loire, and even up to the borders of Aquitaine. Several times Charles was forced to purchase their retreat at a heavy price. Charles led various expeditions against the invaders and, by the Edict of Pistres of 864, made the army more mobile by providing for acavalry element, the predecessor of the French chivalry so famous during the next 600 years. By the same edict, he ordered fortified bridges to be put up at all rivers to block the Viking incursions. Two of these bridges at Paris saved the city during its siege of 885–886.

Reign as Emperor

In 875, after the death of the Emperor Louis II (son of his half-brother Lothair), Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII, traveled to Italy, receiving the royal crown at Paviaand the imperial insignia in Rome on 29 December. Louis the German, also a candidate for the succession of Louis II, revenged himself by invading and devastating Charles' dominions, and Charles had to return hastily to West Francia. After the death of Louis the German (28 August 876), Charles in his turn attempted to seize Louis's kingdom, but was decisively beaten at Andernach on 8 October 876.

In the meantime, John VIII, menaced by the Saracens, was urging Charles to come to his defence in Italy. Charles again crossed the Alps, but this expedition was received with little enthusiasm by the nobles, and even by his regent in Lombardy, Boso, and they refused to join his army. At the same time Carloman, son of Louis the German, entered northern Italy. Charles, ill and in great distress, started on his way back to Gaul, but died while crossing the pass of Mont Cenis at Brides-les-Bains, on 6 October 877.

According to the Annals of St-Bertin, Charles was hastily buried at the abbey of Nantua, Burgundy because the bearers were unable to withstand the stench of his decaying body. He was to have been buried in the Basilique Saint-Denis and may have been transferred there later. It was recorded that there was a memorial brass there that was melted down at the Revolution.

Charles was succeeded by his son, Louis. Charles was a prince of education and letters, a friend of the church, and conscious of the support he could find in the episcopate against his unruly nobles, for he chose his councillors from among the higher clergy, as in the case of Guenelon of Sens, who betrayed him, and ofHincmar of Reims.

Baldness

It has been suggested that Charles' nickname was used ironically and not descriptively; i.e. that he was not in fact bald, but rather that he was extremely hairy.^[1] In support of this idea is the fact that none of his enemies commented on what would be an easy target. However, none of the voluble members of his court comments on his being hairy; and the Genealogy of Frankish Kings, a text from Fontanelle dating from possibly as early as 869, and a text without a trace of irony, names him as Karolus Caluus ("Charles the Bald"). Certainly, by the end of the 10th century, Richier of Reims and Adhemar of Chabannes refer to him in all seriousness as "Charles the Bald".^[2]

An alternative or additional interpretation is based on Charles' initial lack of a regnum. "Bald" would in this case be a tongue-in-cheek reference to his landlessness, at an age where his brothers already had been sub-kings for some years.

Marriages and children

Charles married Ermentrude, daughter of Odo I, Count of Orléans, in 842. She died in 869. In 870, Charles married Richilde of Provence, who was descended from a noble family of Lorraine.

With Ermentrude:

• Judith (844–870), married firstly with Ethelwulf of Wessex, secondly with Ethelbald of Wessex (her stepson) and thirdly with Baldwin I of Flanders
• Louis the Stammerer (846–879)
• Charles the Child (847–866)
• Lothar the Lame (848–866), monk in 861, became Abbot of Saint-Germain
• Carloman (849–876)
• Rotrud (852–912), a nun, Abbess of Saint-Radegunde
• Ermentrud (854–877), a nun, Abbess of Hasnon
• Hildegard (born 856, died young)
• Gisela (857–874)
• Godehilde (864-907)

With Richilde:

• Rothild (871–929), married firstly to Hugues, Count of Bourges and secondly to Roger, Count of Maine
• Drogo (872–873)
• Pippin (873–874)
• a son (born and died 875)
• Charles (876–877)