Adélaïde/Alix (Adelaidis, Alaiz, Adelax,
Alaicis) alias Blanche (Blanca, Candida)
of Anjou
Adélaïde/Alix (Adelaidis, Alaiz, Adelax,
Alaicis) alias Blanche (Blanca, Candida)
of AnjouWife of four husbands, and the ancestress of important comital families through three of her marriages, Adélaïde, alias Blanche, was also briefly queen of France, and the mother of another French queen. Yet, in the early nineteenth century, scholars were still confused about her identity. Her story has to be pieced together from various records (cited below) which, for example, mention an Alaiz, mother of count Pons de Gévaudan, or a Blanca, wife of Louis V, king of France, or an Adelaidis, cui prenomen erat Candida, mother of queen Constance, and only in hindsight is it clear that these records refer to the same woman. The discovery of the work of the historian Richer in the 1830's added a key piece to the puzzle by mentioning three of Adélaïde's marriages, but historians were slow to take advantage of the new information. Nevertheless, by the late nineteeth century, historians had accepted that Adélaïde, alias Blanche, daughter of Foulques II of Anjou, had been successively married to Étienne de Brioude (at the time often incorrectly called count of Gévaudan), king Louis V of France, and Guillaume I (or II) of Provence, and that she was the mother by the last of queen Constance, wife of king Robert II of France, although the marriage to Raymond of "Gothia" was still widely doubted [Pfister (1885), 61-3; Lot (1891), 366-9]. More recently, in the face of clear proof that Adélaïde was the mother of Guillaume "Taillefer", count of Toulouse, it has been recognized that her marriage to the obscure Raymond was genuine [Poly (1976), 73, 97 n. 138, 319 n. 13; Framond (1993), 472-4; see also works cited in Stasser (1997), 9 n. 3].
Date of Birth: Say 945×950?
Place of
Birth: Unknown.
Richer states that Adélaïde was
an old woman (anus) at the time that she was married to
Louis V of France [Richer, Historia, iii, 94 (2: 116)].
Since she had at least two children by a later marriage, Richer's
statement is obviously an exaggeration contrasting her age with
the age of the very young king, who was perhaps only 15 at the
time. An estimated birth about 945×950 would allow time for her
earlier marriages to Étienne de Brioude and Raymond de Toulouse,
while still placing her marriage to Guillaume d'Arles well within
her childbearing years.
Date of Death: 1026.
Place of
Burial: Montmajour.
Her death is reported by a monk of
Saint-André-les-Avignon ["... felix Adalax comitissa
dormivit in pace ... a nativitate Christi millesimum vicesimum
sextum presentum annum ..." Stasser (1997), 24 n. 78,
citing a manuscript at the National Library at Madrid]. An
inquest of 2 January 1215 states that she was buried at
Montmajour ["comitissa Blanca quæ sepulta est apud
Montem Majorem ..." Manteyer (1908), 274 n.]
Father:
Foulques II, d. 958×960, count of Anjou.
The Saint-Aubin genealogies give Fulco
Bonus (i.e., Foulques II of Anjou) as the father of Blanca,
mother of Constantia, wife of king Robert [Poupardin
(1900), 206-7]. The Chronicle of Saint-Pierre du Puy mentions
Guy, bishop of le Puy (a son of Foulques II) as a brother of
Geoffroy Grisegonelle and of countess Adélaïde, wife of
Étienne, and uncle of Pons and Bertrand ["Fuit vir
quidam, ex nobili Francorum progenie ortus, Guido nomine, ..."
Chron. S.-Pierre du Puy, 151 (ccccxi); "..., cui erat
frater germanus nobilissimus comes Gaufridus, cognomento
Grisegonella. ... Hoc factum audientes Pontius et Bertrandus,
ejus nepotes, Aquitaniae clarissimi consules, cum matre eorum
Adalaide, sorore ipsius, ..." ibid., 152 (ccccxii);
"Suam igitur dispositionem suae sorori Adalaidae
comitissae suisque filiis, videlicet Pontio et Bertrando, ejus
nepotibus, ..., necnon Stephani sui cognati, Adelaidae sororis
eorumque filiorum, Pontii et Bertrandi, ..." ibid., 154
(ccccxv)]. Hugues de Fleury's Historia Francorum states
that Blanche was a sister of Geoffroy Grisegonelle ["[Rotbertus]
Duxit autem uxorem Constantiam, filiam Guillelmi comitis
Arelatensis, natam de Blanca, sorore Gaufridi comitis
Andegavensis; ex qua genuit 4 filios, Hugonem qui cognominatus
est Magnus, Henricum, Robertum, Odonem." Hugues de
Fleury, Historia Francorum, MGH SS 9: 385; RHF 10: 215].
In two letters written in 1110 and 1115 by Yves de Chartres
regarding the consanguinity between Baldwin VII of Flanders and
Havise of Brittany, he stated that Geoffroy Grisegonelle and
Blanche countess of Arles, mother of queen Constance, were
brother and sister [Yves de Chartres, Letter #122, RHF 15: 150;
similarly Letter #162, RHF 15: 177]. These four sources making
her a daughter of Foulques II and sister of Geoffroy I
Grisegonelle should be accepted in preference to the late twelfth
century interlined addition to one manuscript of Rodulfus
Glaber's history, which indicates that "Blanche" was a
sister of Foulques III Nerra (and a daughter of Geoffroy)
[Rodulfus Glaber, 57 n. 11; see the Commentary section]. For the
identification of Adélaïde with Blanche, see the Commentary
section.
Presumed mother: Gerberge, d. bef. September 958.
Gerberge is documented as the name of the
mother of Adélaïde's brother Geoffroy Grisegonelle, and and the
other known wife of Foulques II, married after 952, does not make
a chronologically plausible mother of Adélaïde. There is no
direct evidence that Gerberge was Adélaïde's mother.
Spouses:
The evidence for Adélaïde's four
marriages is discussed in more detail in the Commentary section.
(1) Étienne de Brioude, fl.
936-957, d. prob. 970×5.
Étienne was son of Bertrand and his wife
Emilde ["... quod Stephanus, filius quondam Bertrandi et
Emildis, ... eadem domina Adaliz omnia ista prædicta propter
remedium animæ suæ, mariti sui Stephani atque filiorum suorum
Poncii et Bertranni, ..." Cart. Brioude, 122-3 (#105)].
He first appears on 28 August 936 [Cart. Brioude, 347 (#337)] and
in 937×8 [2 Louis IV, ibid., 94-5 (#74)]. Étienne was married
first to a wife Anne who is known from a charter of April 943
["... quodam homine nomine Bertrando et uxore ejus
Emilgarde, et eorum filio nomine Stephano et uxore ejus Annane,
..." Cart. Brioude, 300 (#293)]. Étienne's last dated
appearance is in 957 [Cart. Brioude, 227 (#216)], but judging
from the likely chronology of the marriages of Adélaïde, he
certainly lived well into the 960's, and probably into the early
970's.
(2) Raymond (de Toulouse),
"duke of Gothia".
Raymond's name is known from the account of
Richer of Rheims ["Qui suscepti a regina, id sibi videri
optimum dixerunt, Ludovico regi assciscendedam conjugem
Adelaidem, Ragemundi nuper defuncti ducis Gothorum olim uxorem."
Richer, Historia, iii, 92 (2: 112)]. This marriage is
further confirmed by the fact that Adélaïde alias
Blanche was the mother of Guillaume Taillefer, count of Toulouse
(see below), which also clearly indicates that Raymond was a
member of the dynasty of counts of Toulouse, in which the name
Raymond was common. However, the exact identity and ancestry of
this Raymond is enmeshed in the confusion of various Raymonds of
Toulouse in the tenth century [see, e.g., Framond (1993) and
Settipani (2004) for two different reconstructions of the
genealogy of the tenth century counts of Toulouse]. The marriage
may perhaps be dated about 1075, but there is much uncertainty
about this.
(3) ca. 980, Louis V,
d. 21 May 987, king of France, 986-7.
The most detailed account of the marriage
is in the history of Richer of Rheims, who states that they were
divorced after a marriage of two years ["Quo a præfata
Adelaide multo apparatu excepti sunt; ..., Ludovicus rex eam sibi
uxorem copulavit, ..." Richer, Historia, iii,
94 (2: 114); "Et hoc apud eos fere erat per biennium.
Quorum mores usque adeo discordes fuere, ut non multo post
sequeretur et divortium." ibid., iii, 94 (2: 116)]. The
marriage occurred not long after the association of Louis as
joint king in 979.
(4) ca. 982, Guillaume
I (II) "le Libérateur", d. aft. 29 August
993, marquis of Provence.
The queen was married to Guillaume shortly
after her divorce from Louis V ["Regina ... Wilelmum
Arelatensem adiit, eique nupsit." Richer, Historia,
iii, 95 (2: 116)].
See the Commentary section for a supposed fifth marriage.
Children:
See also the Commentary section.
by Étienne de Brioude:
Pons, fl. 993-1016, count of Gévaudan
and Forez;
m. (1) NN.
m. (2) Thiberge, d. 9 June,
widow of Artaud, count of Forez.
m. (3?) NN?
Pons appears regularly in documents from
993 to 1016 [see Stasser (1997), 26 n. 85]. He appears as count
of Gévaudan and Forez in a charter of about 1010, which also
names his parents, his wife Thiberge, and two sons ["Poncius,
divina annuente gratia comes eximius Gabalitanensis telluris
necnon et Forensis patriæ, ... pro animabus genitorum suorum
Stephani et Alaiz, et uxoris ejus Theotbergæ, et filiorum ejus
Stephani et Poncii, vel fratrum ejus Bertrandi et Willelmi, et
nepotum ejus Stephani, Rotberti et Willelmi, ..." Cart.
Brioude, 335 (#331)]. From the fact that Pons had a stepson named
Artaud (see below), we know that Thiberge was the widow of
Artaud, count of Forez (d. 1000). In March 1010, Thiberge gave a
manse to the monastery at Cluny for the souls of her self, her senior
(i.e., husband) Artaud and her sons Artaud and Géraud ["...
quod ego Tedburga, comitissa, ... pro remedio animæ meæ et
anime senioris mei Artaldi, et filiorum meorum, Artaldi et
Girardi, ..." Cart. Cluny, 3: 703-4 (#2673)]. Stasser
makes the reasonable conjecture that she was a daughter of
Géraud I de Limoges, whose mother's name was Thiberge [Stasser
(1997), 28]. The children of Pons were evidently too old to be
children of Thiberge, so he must have had an earlier marriage.
Pons was killed by his stepson Artaud ["Arsendis, uxor
Vuillelmi Tholosani comitis, fratris illius Pontii qui ab Artaldo
post hæc, privigno suo, dolo interfectus fuit, ..." Mirac.
S. Fidis, i., 19, Liber Mirac S. Fidis, 56]. A third
marriage has been proposed on the theory that Pons repudiated
Thiberge, but that is uncertain. [See also Stasser (1997), 26-31]
Bertrand, living ca. 1010.
Bertrand appears as a son of Étienne and
brother of Pons in several records [Chron. S.-Pierre du Puy,
151-4 (see above under parentage of Adélaïde); "...
duo germani fratres nobili ex stirpe procreati ... pro salute
animarum patris sui Stephani matrisque nomine Alaicis, ... isti
autem fratres vocabantur Pontius, alter Bertrandus, ..."
Cart S.-Chaffre, 70 (#144); Cart. Brioude, 335 (#331) (see above
under Pons); see also Stasser (1997), 31]
Étienne, pseudo-bishop of le Puy,
deposed 998. (probable son)
Étienne was named as successor by Guy
d'Anjou, bishop of le Puy (for whom see the page of Foulques II d'Anjou), but was deposed in 998. A papal document of 23
November 999 calls Guy the avunculus of Étienne ["...
a Vuidone vivente episcopo avunculo et praedecessore suo ..."
Stasser (1997), 31-2 n. 108, citing Zimmermann (1982), #377 (not
seen by me)]. Since the usual interpretation of avunculus
is "maternal uncle", Étienne would be the son of a
sister of Guy, and Adélaïde would be the most likely candidate.
Étienne's likely age and onomastics would place him as a
probable son of Adélaïde's first marriage.
probably by Étienne, but perhaps by Raymond:
Ermengarde;
m. NN, count of Auvergne.
A letter of Yves de Chartres regarding the
consanguinity between Baldwin VII, count of Flanders and his wife
Havise, daughter of Alain IV of Brittany, written in 1115, states
that queen Constance of France and countess Ermengarde of
Auvergne were sisters via countess Blanche of Arles ["Constantia
regina [Francorum] et Ermengardis Arvernensis comitissa de Blanca
[Arelatensi comitissa] sorores fuerunt." Yves de
Chartres, Letter #162, RHF 15: 177, see below for more detailed
quote]. Unfortunately, the husband and father of Ermengarde are
not identified in the record, and this has led to different
theories about Ermengarde's family connections. See the
Commentary section for a more detailed discussion.
by Raymond de Toulouse:
Guillaume Taillefer, d. aft. 1037,
count of Toulouse;
m. (1) Arsinde.
m. (2) Emme, daughter of Roubaud,
count of Provence.
Guillaume appears with his mother in 1004
[Stasser (1997), 32 & n. 111, citing Cat. actes Provence, #63
(the latter not seen by me)], and in 1005 ["Adalax,
inclita comitissa, assensum prebuit et manu sua firmavit.
Guillelmus, comes Provintie, filius ejus, firmavit. Guillelmus,
Tholose urbis comes, firmavit. ..." Cart. S.-Victor de
Marseille, 1: 21 (#15)]. Despite statements to the contrary, he
does not seem to have appeared in records prior to 1000 [see
Framond (1993), 465-9]. Guillaume's first wife was named Arsinde
["Arsendis, uxor Vuillelmi Tholosani comitis, fratris
illius Pontii qui ab Artaldo post hæc, privigno suo, dolo
interfectus fuit, ..." Mirac. S. Fidis, i.,
19, Liber Mirac S. Fidis, 56]. He appears with his second wife
Emma in an act of 1021 of his mother the countess Adélaïde
["Ego Adalax divina favente gratia comitissa et filius
meus Wilelmus Tolosamus et uxor ejus, nurus mea, Emma comitissa
... cedimus ... aliquid de nostra fiscali terra pro anima Wilelmi
comitis defuncti." Poly (1976), 97 n. 138, citing Cat.
actes Provence #87, the latter not seen by me]. Guillaume last
appears in 1037. [See also Stasser (1997), 32-4; Framond (1993),
464-472].
by Guillaume d'Arles:
A charter of Montmajour in August
1001 shows Adélaïde with her children Guillaume and Constance
["in mense Augusto, regnante Rodulfo Rege, Indiction XIV",
"signum Adalax Comitissæ et filii sui Willelmi Comitis
et filiæ suæ Constantiæ, ..." RHF 10: 569; Manteyer
(1908), 257, citing Chantelou, 70-1].
Guillaume II (or III), d. 4 March 1019,
marquis of Provence;
m. Gerberge, living 1019,
daughter of Otte-Guillaume, count of Burgundy.
Guillaume appears with his wife Gerberge in several charters
[e.g., 1013: "Ego Wilelmus, comes Provinciæ, conjuxque
mea Girberga, una cum filio nostro nomine Wilelmo, ..."
Cart. S.-Victor de Marseille, 1: 639 (#646); 1018: "ego
Vuillelmus comes et uxor mea Gisberga ..." Manteyer
(1908), 271, citing Cart. de Saint-André; 1019: "Ego
Geriberga comitissa, una cum consensu filiorum optimatumque
nostrorum ... propter remedium animæ senioris mei Guilelmi,
comitis Provincie ..." Cart. S.-Victor de Marseille, 1:
642 (#649)]. [Poly (1976), 175 n. 22, cites Cat. actes Provence
#82 (not seen by me) for his date of death.]
Constance, d. 22 July 1034;
m. Robert II, d. 20 July 1031, king of France,
996-1031.
The identification of Adélaïde alias Blanche
Much of the outline of the life of Adélaïde alias Blanche depends on her identification in the records, and in particular on the assumption that various records referring to an Adélaïde (or variants of that name) or a Blanche all refer to the same person. In the nineteenth century the issue was still uncertain enough that some thought that Blanche was the same person as Arsinde, first wife of Guillaume Taillefer of Toulouse (in fact a son of Adélaïde alias Blanche), and Mabille could state that Blanche, sister or aunt of Foulques Nerra, was an imaginary character who needed to be erased from history [Mabille (1871), lxxvi]. The history of Richer of Rheims, discovered in 1833, proves that king Louis V was married to an Adélaïde who was previously married to a certain Raymond, dux Gothorum, and later married to Guillaume d'Arles. The main issues which need clarification are the use of the two different names Adélaïde and Blanche by the same person, and the identification of the Adélaïde who was wife of Étienne de Brioude as the same person as the Adélaïde who was wife successively of Raymond de Gothia, Louis V, and Guillaume d'Arles. The evidence for this is reasonably straightforward and apparently no longer controversial.
The Family of countess Ermengarde of Auvergne
In 1110 and 1115, Yves de Chartres wrote two letters with regard to the consanguinity between count Baldwin VII of Flanders and Havise, daughter of Alain IV of Brittany [Yves de Chartres, Letters #122, #162, RHF 15: 150, 177]. The first of these letters mentioned a relationship going back to the siblings count Geoffroy Grisegonelle of Anjou and countess Blanche of Arles (i.e., the present Adélaïde alias Blanche). The second letter mentioned the same relationship but also another kinship which proceeded through two daughters of Blanche ["Constantia regina [Francorum] et Ermengardis Arvernensis comitissa de Blanca [Arelatensi comitissa] sorores fuerunt. De Constantia Adela comitissa, et de hac Arvernensi comitissa Ermengardis; De Adela Robertus Friso, et de hac Ermengardi Berta comitissa; De Rotberto alius Rotbertus, et de hac Berta Havisis Nannetensis comitissa; De hoc Rotberto iste Balduinus, et de hac [Havisi] comes Alanus; De hoc ista juvencula." Yves de Chartres, Letter #162, RHF 15: 177]. Thus, Havoise, wife of Baldwin VII, was identified as the daughter of count Alain, son of Havoise, countess of Nantes, daughter of countess Berthe, daughter of countess Ermengarde, daughter of countess Ermengarde of Auvergne, sister of queen Constance of France via countess Blanche of Arles. From the context, it would appear that Constance and the elder Ermengarde were children of different marriages of Blanche.
One problem with this record is that it does not identify the husbands in the mostly female line of descent of the younger Havoise from Blanche. However, much of this information can be filled in routinely from other records by starting with the later generations and working backwards. Thus, Alain IV, father-in-law of Baldwin VII, was a son of Hoël, count of Cornouaille, by his wife Havise, daughter of Alain III by his wife Berthe, daughter of Eudes II, count of Blois ["Balduinus autem duxit filiam Alani Fregani comitis Britanniae." Genealogia Comitum Flandriae Bertiniana, MGH SS 9: 306; "Postquam autem Conanus Dux filius Alani Ducis adeptus fuit possessionem sui Ducatus; ... cui Conano Hoellus filius Alani Cagnari Comitis Cornubiæ successit. Hoellus igitur Dux ... jamdiu duxerat in uxorem Hasevisiam sororem prædicti Conani Ducis et hæredem ejus unicam. ... Idem Hoellus tres liberos ex Hadevisa uxore sua genuit, videlicet Alanum, Mathaim et Benedictum. Alanus post mortem patris sui fuit Dux Britanniæ, ... . ... anno Domini MLXXXIII, Hoellus ... moritur. Anno sequenti Bertha Ducissa mater Havesiæ uxoris Hoelli obiit. ... Hoellus Dux Britanniæ, cui successit Alanus filius ejus primogenitus. Hic Ermengardem filiam [Fulconis] Comitis Andegavensis duxit in uxorem, ex qua genuit duos liberos, Conanum videlicet et Hazevisiam." Ex Chronico Briocensi, RHF 12: 565-6; "... Tetbaldus, comes, ... atque Berta, sorore sua, Britanniæ quondam et Cynomagnensi postmodum comitissa ... Actum in castro Blesensi, anno ab incarnatione Domini MLXI, ..." Arbois de Jubainville (1859-66), 1: 487 (Pièces justificatives #48); "Hugo filius Herberti, postquam Alannus Britannorum comes a Normannis in Normannia impotionatus occubuit, Bertam ipsius relictam, Tedbaldi Blesensium comitis sororem, in conjugium accepit; ..." OV iv, 12 (2: 252); "Hic [Alain III] Bertham filiam Odonis Comitis Carnotensis duxit uxorem ..." Ex Chronico Kemperlegiensi, RHF 10: 294].
Thus, the younger Ermengarde was the wife of Eudes II count of Blois. Ermengarde is mentioned as the wife of Eudes in several of his charters [Arbois de Jubainville, 1: 467, 469, 471-3 (Pièces justificatives #32-3, #35, #37-8)]. She is also mentioned as the mother of Thibaut III (I of Champagne) in one of his charters [ibid., 1: 479 (#43)] and in another charter of her sons Thibaut and Étienne [ibid., 1: 481 (#44)]. Before his marriage to Ermengarde, Eudes had been married to Mathilde, daughter of Richard I of Normandy [GND iv, 18 (vol. 1, pp. 128-131)]. The date of the marriage of Eudes and Ermengarde is unknown. The thirteenth century chronicle of Aubry de Troisfontaines states that in 1005, count Eudes of Champagne (i.e., Eudes II, count of Blois) and his wife Ermengarde, "countess of Tours", restored the abbey of Marmoutier ["Facta est hoc anno Turonis maioris monasterii restauratio per Odonem Campaniensem comitem et eius uxorem comitissam Turonensem Ermengardem." Aubry de Troisfontaines, Chron., s.a. 1005, MGH SS 23: 778]. As noted by Stasser, Ermengard's son Thibaut participated in the siege of Saumur in 1026 ["Post aliquantum temporis Odo comes et filius ejus Thebaudus cum multo exercitu iterato Salmurum obsederunt, ..." Historia Sancti Florentii Salmurensis, Marchegay & Mabille (1869), 280; for the date of the siege of Saumur: Ann. S.-Aubin, s.a. 1026, Ann. Vendôme, s.a. 1026, Ann. Renaud, s.a. 1026, Ann. S.-Florent, s.a. 1025, in Halphen (1903), 3, 60, 86, 118]. If we assume that he would have been at least fourteen at the time, this would place his birth at ca. 1012 or earlier. Even if a generation length as small as fifteen were allowed, we see that it would be barely possible for his grandmother the elder Ermengarde to have been born as late as 982. Thus, the elder Ermengarde was almost certainly a daughter of Adélaïde alias Blanche by one of her first two marriages, and probably by her first marriage.
The identity of the husband of countess Ermengarde of Auvergne runs into the problem that the genealogy of the counts of Auvergne (or Clermont) during this period is poorly documented, based on fragmentary evidence which different authors have pieced together in different ways. The principal "building blocks" to this genealogical puzzle which have been considered by authors writing on this problem are as follows:
While it has generally been assumed that the Guillaume who married Philippa was a son or grandson of the earlier Guillaume and his wife Humberge, the exact connection is not clear, nor is it obvious how (the elder) Ermengarde fits into the picture. Several different scenarios have been proposed, also with differing opinions on where to place the nepotes of Pons of Gévaudan [outlined by Stasser (1997), 36-41 and Settipani (2004), 317-21]. Briefly, these theories went as follows:
Baluze: Étienne Baluze made Ermengarde the daughter of Guillaume of Provence and Adélaïde, the wife of Robert, count of Clermont (son of Guillaume and Humberge), and the mother of the Guillaume who married Philippa. The Étienne, Robert, and Guillaume who were sons of Guillaume and Philippa were identified as the nepotes of Pons, and Philippa was identified as a sister of Pons [Baluze (1708), not seen by me, cited by Stasser (1997), 38-9 and Settipani (2004), 318].
Vajay: Szabolcs de Vajay also made Ermengarde the wife of Robert and the mother of the Guillaume who married Philippa, making the latter couple the parents of the three nepotes of Pons. He differed from Baluze in making Ermengarde a daughter of Guillaume of Provence by his first wife Arsinde (thus violating the statement of Yves de Chartres that Ermengarde and Constance had the same mother), and he interpreted the word nepos as "grandson", making Pons the father of Philippa [Vajay (1980), 758 n. 69].
Lauranson-Rosaz: Christian Lauranson-Rosaz made Ermengarde the wife of Robert, and identified the nepotes of Pons as sons of Guillaume and Humberge, with an unclear connection to the later counts [Lauranson-Rosaz (1987), not seen by me, cited by Settipani (2004), 319-20].
Stasser: Thierry Stasser identified Ermengarde with Humberge, wife of the elder Guillaume, and made her the mother of the three nepotes of Pons, of whom Guillaume was identified as the husband of Philippa [Stasser (1997), 41].
Settipani: Christian Settipani made Ermengarde a daughter of Étienne de Brioude by Adélaïde of Anjou, the wife of count Robert of Clermont, and the mother of the nepotes of Pons, including Guillaume, husband of Philippa [Settipani (2004), 320-1].
If we consider only the marriage of Ermengarde, we have as the main possibilities the following two mutually exclusive scenarios:
Scenario 1 (Stasser):
Conjectured
husband of Ermengarde:
Guillaume, d. bef. 1010, viscount of Clermont/Auvergne.
Conjectured identification of Ermengarde: Humberge, d. 1016, countess of
Clermont/Auvergne.
Scenario 2 (Baluze, Vajay,
Lauranson-Rosaz, Settipani):
Conjectured
husband of Ermengarde:
Robert, d. 1022×43, viscount of Clermont/Auvergne.
Note that although Baluze, Vajay, Lauranson-Rosaz, and Settipani would agree on the identity of Ermengarde's husband, there are significant disagreements in the other genealogical details. For the chronological reasons already given, we can safely reject Baluze's suggestion that Ermengarde was a daughter of Adélaïde by her marriage to Guillaume of Provence. Also, there is no good reason to accept Vajay's theory on the parentage of Ermengarde, which would so blatantly violate the testimony of Yves de Chartres. Stasser's theory also disagree's with Yves de Chartres, but only with regard to the name of the sister of Adélaïde/Blanche. It seems possible that confusion between the younger Ermengarde and her mother could have led to an error here, especially since Stasser's theory is otherwise attractive. Chronologically, it seems very likely that Étienne, Robert, and Guillaume, the nepotes of Pons of Gévaudan ca. 1010, were the same men as the Étienne (not yet bishop), Robert, and Guillaume who are mentioned as sons of Humberge in the same decade. Thus, I lean toward Stasser's solution.
Falsely attributed
father (in fact a brother):
Geoffroy
I "Grisegonelle", d.
21 July 987, count of Anjou.
A variant of the text of Rodulfus Glaber
states that Constance was daughter of Guillaume, count of Arles,
by Blanche, sister of Foulques Nerra. The main text of Rodulfus
Glaber, in giving the parentage of Constance, wife of Robert II,
states: "Accepit autem supradictus rex illius cognatam
nomine et animo Constantiam, inclitam reginam, filiam videlicet
prioris Willemi Aquitanie ducis, ..." [Rodulfus Glaber,
iii, 7 (pp. 57-8)]. The text of MS. Lat. 10912, in a hand of
apparently the late twelfth century, adds "neptam
predicti Fulconis" above "illius cognatam",
and adds the words "Guillelmi comitis Arelatensis natam
de Blanca sorore ejus" above "prioris Willelmi
Aquitanie ducis" [ibid., 57 n. 11]. This single source
cannot stand against the several apparently independent sources
mentioned above which make Adélaïde alias Blanche a
daughter of Foulques II.
Conjectured fifth
husband (very improbable): Otte-Guillaume,
d. 1026×7, count of Burgundy.
Otte-Guillaume is known to have had a
second wife named Adélaïde or Adèle [Cart. Cluny 3: 721-2
(#2694); Cart. Mâcon, 271 (#471), 284-5 (#490)]. The suggestion
that Otte-Guillaume's second wife was the same person as the
several times widowed Adélaïde/Blanche goes back to René
Poupardin, who himself referred back to an unspecified
unpublished work of Ferdinand Lot [Poupardin (1907), 418 n. 6],
and the suggestion was later also adopted by Constance Bouchard
and Christian Settipani [Bouchard (1987), 270; Settipani (1997),
249].
The hypothesis is based on a letter of Pope Benedict VIII, which mentions both [Otte-]Guillaume and Adélaïde/Blanche (under both of her names) ["Sed et seniori quam reverendo domno Willelmo comiti, necnon praecipuae honitatis et dulcedinis domno Hugoni comiti, domnoque Rainaldo comiti filio supranominati Willelmi, bonae quoque indolis, ac totius affectu dilectionis amplectendo domno Ottoni comiti; omni etiam reverentia et veneratione dignissime domnae Adeleidi comitissae, cognomento Blanchae, nuruque ejus domnae Gerberg[e] comitissae; ... et caeteris principibus et optimatibus totius Burgundiae, Aquitaniae et Provinciae ..." PL 139, 1603-4]. This letter does not mention any direct genealogical connection between [Otte-]Guillaume and Adélaïde/Blanche, but does call a countess Gerberge the nurus (daughter-in-law) of Adélaïde/Blanche. This Gerberge can be identified without any difficuly with Gerberge, daughter of Otte-Guillaume and wife of Guillaume II (or (III) of Provence, son of Adélaïde/Blanche.
In his 1997 article on Adélaïde d'Anjou, Thierry Stasser emphasized that the letter made no mention of any relationship between Otte-Guillaume and Adélaïde/Blanche. In a posting on 18 June 2002 to the internet newsgroup/mailing list soc.genealogy.medieval/GEN-MEDIEVAL, Peter Stewart argued that the interpretation making Otte-Guillaume the husband of Adélaïde/Blanche was based on a misunderstanding of the word nurus [Stewart (2002)], and Settipani accepted this argument, reversing his earlier opinion [Settipani (2004), 313, n. 2].
Falsely attributed
husband (in fact her father-in-law):
Lothaire, d. 2
March 986, king of France, 954-986.
An addition to one manuscript of the Annals
of Saint-Aubin correctly makes Blanche a daughter of Foulques II
of Anjou, but incorrectly has her marrying king Lothaire instead
of his son Louis V. It also incorrectly makes Lothaire the father
of Blanche's daughter Constance ["Anno Verbi incarnati
DCCCCLXXXVII obiit Lotharius. In isto reges Francorum defecerunt.
Hic accepit uxorem Blanchiam, filiam Fulconis Boni comitis
Andegavensis patris Gaufridi Grisegonelle, et habuit ex ea
filiam, Constantiam nomine, que fuit data cum regno Robberto
regi, filio scilicet Hugonis Magni."Addition to codex
B, Annales de Saint-Aubin, Halphen (1903), 35; cf. RHF
10: 271].
Falsely attributed
daughter:
Aumode, d. 1005×10;
m. (1) Audebert I, count of La Marche (or his
brother Boso, count of Périgord and La Marche);
m. (2) Guillaume III (V) "le Grand",
d. 30 January 1030, duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitou.
[Richard (1903), 1: 147] According to
Adémar de Chabannes, the wife of Audebert was a sister of Guy,
viscount of Limoges ["Aldebertus vero, frater ejus,
plurimo tempore in turre civitatis Lemovicae custoditus, tandem
solutus est, accepta in conjugio sorore Widonis vicecomitis, ex
qua filium genuit Bernardum." Adémar Chab., Chron.,
iii, 25 (pp. 147-8)]. Adémar later states that Guillaume married
Aumode, the widow of Audebert ["Tunc Willelmus, accepta
in matrimonio Adalmode, conjue suprascripti Aldeberti ..."
ibid., iii, 34 (p. 156)]. According to Pierre de Maillezais,
Aumode was married to Audebert's brother Boso ["...
Adalmodem ejusdem Bosonis conjugem ..." Pierre de
Maillezais, Chron., RHF 10: 182] and then married
Guillaume after Boso's death. He calls Aumode the daughter of an
otherwise unidentified Candida ["Porro autem
Boso, paucis emensis diebus, gravi incommodo correptus, turpiter
decessit, ... Cujus Emma Principis Pictaviensis genitrix fine
agnito, clam Legatos ad Candidam mittit, eaque consulta Adalmodem
ejusdem Candidæ filiam filii sui conjugio sociavit."
ibid., 182]. Richard accepted Aumode as the widow of Audebert,
but followed Pierre de Maillezais in making her a daughter of Candida,
whom he identified as Adélaïde/Blanche. As Thierry Stasser
noted, Boso was still alive when Guillaume was already married to
Aumode, and this undermines the credibility of Pierre's
information [Stasser (1997), 42 n. 144]. Also, we can note that
in any case it would be difficult to establish the
identificiation of Candida as Adélaïde/Blanche based
on the epithet alone. [See also Stasser (1997), 41-3]
Conjectured daughter by
Étienne de Brioude (possible):
NN, m. Heribert
"le Jeune", count of Troyes.
[Bur (1990)] The principal motivation
behind this conjecture are to explain the name given to
Heribert's son Étienne I, count of Troyes, and to explain why
Étienne is called a nepos of king Robert II in a
charter dated 24 February 1019 ["... quod quidam de
nostri regni principibus nomine Stephanus, nobilitate et potentia
comes clarissimus, noster etiam nepos amantissimus, ... pater
suus comes Herbertus ..." Arbois de Jubainville
(1859-66), 1: 465 (Pièces justificatives #31)]. If true, the
conjecture would make count Étienne I of Troyes a nephew of
Constance, third wife of Robert II. The conjecture is plausible,
but lacks definitive proof.
Conjectured daughter by
Guillaume de Provence or Raymond de Toulouse (evidence
lacking):
Tota alias
Adélaïde, d. aft. 1021;
m. Bernard, d. 1020, count of Bésalu.
Some primarily onomastic conjectures have
been made based partly on the fact that this couple had a
daughter with the rare name Constance [Stasser (1993), 497-88 n.
52]. Vajay would make Tota/Adélaïde a daughter of
Adélaïde/Blanche by her fourth husband Guillaume de Provence
[Vajay (1980), 756], while Stasser would make her a daughter of
Adélaïde/Blanche by Raymond of Toulouse [Stasser (1993), 497-8
n. 52; Stasser (1997), 44-6]. On the other hand, Settipani
conjectures Tota/Adélaïde as a daughter of Guillaume by his
first wife Arsinde [Settipani (2004), 59-66]. Connections with
other families have also been proposed [see Stasser (1993),
497-88 n. 52; Stasser (1997), 45-6]. There does not seem to be
any reason to favor any particular one of these conjectures.
Conjectured daughter by
Raymond de Toulouse (improbable):
Liégarde, fl.
1013.
The basis of this conjecture is an entry
recording the killing at Rodez of bishop Étienne of Clermont
(son of Pons, son of Adélaïde/Blanche) in the Annales
Masciacenses which mentions Étienne's matertera
("martertera") Liégarde ["... hoc et
Stephanus episcopus Adlegardem martertera suam latenter
interficitur, et Rod moritur." (read "ad
Legardem" for "Adlegardem") Ann.
Masc., s.a. 1013, MGH SS 3: 170]. While the most common
definition of the word matertera is "maternal
aunt", Thierry Stasser, in a generally unconvincing
argument, suggests that it should instead be interpreted as
"paternal aunt" in this case, and that Raymond de
Toulouse was Liégarde's father.
Adémar Chab. = Jules Chavanon, ed., Adémar de Chabannes - Chronique (Paris, 1897).
Arbois de Jubainville (1859-66) = H. d'Arbois de Jubainville, Histoire des ducs et des comtes de Champagne, 6 vols. (Paris, 1859-1866).
Baluze (1708) = Étienne Baluze, Histoire généalogique de la Maison d'Auvergne, 2 vols. (Paris, 1708). [not seen by me]
Bouchard (1987) = Constance Brittain Bouchard, Sword, Miter, and Cloister - Nobility and the church in Burgundy, 980-1198 (Cornell University Press, 1987).
Bur (1990) = Michel Bur, "A propos du nom d'Étienne: le mariage aquitain de Louis V et la dévolution des comtés champenois", Annales du Midi 102 (1990): 319-327.
Cart. Brioude = M. Henry Doniol, ed., Cartulaire de Brioude (Clermont & Paris, 1863).
Cart. S.-Chaffre = Cartularium monasterii Sancti Theofredi Calmiliensis Ordinis Sancti Benedicti (Cartulary of Saint-Chaffre du Monastier), Chevalier (1884), 1-150 (sections i-ccccx).
Cart. S.-Victor de Marseille = M. Guérard, ed., Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Victor de Marseille, 2 vols. (Paris, 1857).
Cart. Saux. = Henry Doniol, Cartulaire de Sauxillanges (Clermont & Paris, 1864).
Cat. actes Provence = J.-P. Poly, ed., Catalogue des actes des comtes de Provence. [Not seen by me]
Chevalier (1884) = Ulysse Chevalier, Cartulaire de l'abbaye de St-Chaffre du Monastier, Ordre de Saint-Benoît, suivi de la Chronique de Saint-Pierre du Puy et d'un appendice de chartes (Paris, 1884), cited here separately as "Cart. S.-Chaffre" and "Chron. S.-Pierre du Puy".
Chron. S.-Maixent = J. Verdon, ed., Chronique de Saint-Maixent (Paris, 1979). [I have not seen this source.]
Chron. S.-Pierre du Puy = Chronicon Sancti Petri Aniciensis (Chronicle of Saint-Pierre du Puy), Chevalier (1884), 151-166 (sections ccccxi-ccccxxviii).
Framond (1993) = Martin de Framond, "La succession des comtes de Toulouse autour de l'an mil (940-1030): reconsiderations", Annales du Midi 105 (1993): 461-488.
GND = Guillaume de Jumièges, Gesta Normannorum Ducum, as edited in Elisabeth van Houts, ed. & trans., The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni, 2 vols., (Oxford, 1992).
Halphen (1903) = Louis Halphen, ed., Recueil d'annales angevines et vendômoises (Paris, 1903).
Lauranson-Rosaz (1987) = Christian Lauranson-Rosaz, L'Auverge et ses marges (Velay, Gévaudan) du VIIIe au XI siècle. La fin du monde antique? (Le Puy-en-Velay, 1987). [not seen by me]
Liber Mirac. S. Fidis = A. Bouillet, Liber Miraculorum Sancte Fidis (Paris, 1897).
Lot (1891) = Ferdinand Lot, Les derniers Carolingiens (Paris, 1891).
Lot (1903) = Ferdinand Lot, Études sur le règne de Hugues Capet et la fin du Xe siècle (Paris, 1903).
Mabille (1871) = Émile Mabille, Introduction au Chroniques des Comtes d'Anjou (Société de l'Histoire de France, vol. 155, Paris, 1871).
Manteyer (1908) = Georges de Manteyer, La Provence du premier au douzième siècle (Paris, 1908).
Marchegay & Mabille (1869) = Paul Marchegay & Émile Mabille, eds., Chroniques des églises d'Anjou (Société de l'Histoire de France, Paris, 1869).
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
OV = Augustus le Prevost, ed. Orderici Vitalis Historiæ Ecclesiasticæ, 5 vols. (Paris, 1838-55); also available in Marjorie Chibnall, ed. & trans., The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis, 6 vols. (Oxford, 1969-80). As I do not have easy access to all volumes of Chibnall's edition, citations here are given from Prevost's edition.
Pfister (1885) = Christian Pfister, Étude sur le règne de Robert le Pieux (996-1031) (Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études, 64, Paris, 1885).
Poly (1976) = Jean-Pierre Poly, La Provence et la société féodale (879-1166), Contribution à l'étude des structures dite féodales dans le Midi (Paris, 1976).
Poupardin (1900) = René Poupardin, "Généalogies angevines du XIe siècle", Mélanges d'Archéologie et d'Histoire (Paris, Rome) 20 (1900): 199-208.
Poupardin (1907) = René Poupardin, Le royaume de Bourgogne (888-1038) - Étude sur les origines du royaume d'Arles (Paris, 1907).
RHF = Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France.
Richard (1903) = Alfred Richard, Histoire des comtes de Poitou 778-1204, 2 vols. (Paris, 1903).
Richer, Historia = G. H. Pertz, ed., & J. Guadet, trans. (French), Richer, Histoire de son temps, 2 vols. (Paris, 1845).
Settipani (1997) = Christian Settipani, "Les comtes d'Anjou et leur alliances aux Xe et XIe siècles", in K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, ed., Family Trees and the Roots of Politics (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997): 211-267.
Settipani (2004) = Christian Settipani, La Noblesse du Midi Carolingien (Prosopographia et Genealogica 5, 2004).
Stasser (1993) = Thierry Stasser, "La maison vicomtale de Narbonne aux Xe et XIe siècles", Annales du Midi 105 (1993): 489-507.
Stasser (1997) = Thierry Stasser, "Adélaïde d'Anjou, sa famille, ses unions, sa descendance - Etat de las question", Le Moyen Age 103 (1997): 9-52.
Stewart (2002) = Peter Stewart, "Adelais d'Anjou question", posting to the newsgroup soc.genealogy.medieval, 18 June 2002.
Vajay (1980) = Szabolcs de Vajay, "Comtesses d'origine occitane dans la Marche d'Espagne aux 10e et 11e siècles", Hidalguia 28 (1980): 585-616, 755-788.
Zimmermann (1982) = M. Zimmermann, Papsturkunden 896-1046, 3 vols. (Vienne, 1982). [Not seen by me]
Compiled by Stewart Baldwin. This page owes much to detailed discussions of Adélaïde's marriages by Peter Stewart on the internet newsgroup soc.genealogy.medieval, whom I would also like to thank for sending copies of some sources.
First uploaded 27 February 2011.