Frédéric I
Frédéric IFrédéric first appears in a charter of his brother, bishop Adalbero of Metz, in 942 [Parisot (1907-8), 58: 21]. In 951, appearing in the French kingdom, he was betrothed to a daughter of Hugues the Great, and built a fortress at Fains (Meuse, Bar-le-Duc), from which he ravaged the neighboring territory ["Interea Fredericus, Adalberonis episcopi frater, qui filiam Hugonis principis sibi desponderat, in hoc regnum veniens, munitionem in loco qui dicitur Fanis, inconsulto rege vel regina, construere coepit, et loca circumposita crebris depraedationibus diripit." Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 951, 130; on the location, see Parisot (1907-8), 58: 21, n. 5]. In 959, the Lotharingians revolted against duke (and archbishop) Bruno, who, after bringing Lorraine back under his power, set up Frédéric in his place ["Lotharienses a duce Brunone desciscunt, suadente quodam Immone, qui ejus pridem consiliarus exstiterat et ab eo nuper recesserat, propter oppida quaedam ipsorum novitia, quae idem dux everti praecipiebat, aliaque onera ipsis insueta, quae illis imponere velle ferebatur. Quibus postmodum evocatis, Fredericum quendam comitem eis vice sua praefecit." Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 959, 146-7]. In that year, he appears as duke in a charter from Gorze ["S. Friderici ducis; S. Widonis; S. Teutberti; S. Roberti; S. Rotfridi; S. Gisleberti comitis; Signum Dacari; item S. Gisleberti comitis; ..." Cart. Gorze, 200 (#108)]. For Frédéric's reign as duke, see Parisot (1907-8), 6-49.
Date of Birth: Say 910×5.
Wigeric was last known to be alive in 916, and Sigefroid appears
to have been younger that his brother Frédéric, so this would
be a reasonable estimate.
Place of Birth: Unknown.
Date of Death: 18 May 978.
As pointed out Hlawitschka, there is a wide variety in the
assigned death dates for Frédéric [Hlawitschka (2002), 70]. The
year is given by the Annales necrologici Fuldenses
["Ob. Friderih dux." s.a. 978, MGH SS 13:
204], and there is no good reason to accept later years (such as
984) which are given by some. The epitaph of duke Frédéric is
given by Gerbert of Aurillac ["Francorum placito nomen
tulit Frederici. / Quen proavi fudere duces a sanguine regum /
Officio meritisque parem, sopor ultimus hausit / Mercurii cum
celsa domus tibi, Phaebe, pateret." Gerbert, Letters,
71 (#76)]. Havet's interpretation of the last line of this
epitaph (Mercurii ... domus) was that it referred to 17
June, when the sun enters the constellation of Cancer [ibid., n.
4], an interpretation followed by many [see Hlawitschka (2002),
74-5]. Hlawitschka argued that that this in fact refers to the
entrance of the sun into Gemini on 18 May, in agreement with the
necrologies which give 18 May as the death date of one duke
Frédéric [ibid., 71-76; Parisot (1907-8), 58: 47]. The other
two duke Frédérics died on 20 May and 22 May, adding to the
confusion [see Hlawitschka (2002)]
Place of Death: Unknown.
Probable father:
Wigerich, living 19 January 916, count in Bidgau.
Mother: Cunégonde/Kunigund, who m. (2) Richwin.
See Cunégonde's page for a
detailed discussion.
Spouses: m. 954 (betrothed 951), Beatrix, daughter of Hugues le Grand, duke of France.
["Fredericus, frater Adalberonis episcopi, Hugonis
principis filiam ducit uxorem", Flodoard, Annales,
s.a. 954, 139; see above for betrothal in 951]
Children:
Henri/Hezelin, fl. 962, 972, evidently
d.v.p.
[Parisot (1907-8), 58: 21]
Adalbero II, d. 14 December 1005,
bishop of Verdun (briefly in 984), bishop of Metz, 984-1005.
["..., patre Friderico, qui
Galliae medianae dux, ..., matre Beatrice, quae Magni Hugonis
filia fuit, progenitus est, ..." Constantine, Vita
Adalberonis II, c. 1, MGH SS 4: 659, where he is also called
fratruelis (more accurately nephew) of bishop Adalbero
I] In 984, he was chosen as bishop of Verdun, but when the
episcopal seat of Metz became vacant later that year, he was
named to that seat instead, and his cousin, another Adalbero (son
of count Godefroid
of Verdun), became bishop of Verdun
["Quo egresso, susceperunt cives nostri sine regio dono
Adalberonem, filium Beatricis nobilissimae ductricis, [matris
Theoderici ducis]. Qui cum aliquantisper episcopatum tenuisset,
defuncto Mettense episcopo, ad eandem se contulit civitatem,
episcopatu est relicto." Gesta episcoporum
Virdunensium, c. 5, MGH SS 4: 47]. He was consecrated as
bishop of Metz on 16 October 984 ["Metti praesul
elevatur et constituitur die 17. Kal. Novemb. anno dominicae
incarnationis 984. indictione 12." Constantine, Vita
Adalberonis II, c. 2, MGH SS 4: 660; ibid., c. 37, 672].
Constantine's life of Adalbero II states that he died on Friday,
14 December 1005 ["... coelo repetita anima 19.
Kalendarum Ianuariarium die, ... Erat prima hora sextae feriae,
..." Constantine, Vita Adalberonis II, c. 34,
MGH SS 4: 671; "Transiit ex hac luce ad beatam vitam et
veram lucem anno dominice incarnationis millesimo quinto,
indictione 3 regnante Heinrico rege, anno regni sui 6 ..."
ibid. c. 37, 672; "... / Hic quartodecimo mensis sub
sole Decembris / Decedens mundo, se dedit Altithrono. / ..."
Epitaph of Adalbero II, MGH SS 4: 673; "14. K. Ian. ob.
Adalbero episcopus." Annales necrologici Fuldenses,
s.a. 1005, MGH SS 13: 209; see also Bresslau (1894)].
Thierry/Dietrich, b. before 972, d. 11
April, 1028×1032 [Hlawitschka (2002)], duke of Upper Lorraine, m. Richilde [Parisse (1981), 25]
["... domnus Teodericus, frater
quidem huius domini Adalberonis pontificis, dux autem eorum qui
cis citraque Mosam Mosellamque resident, ..."
Constantine, Vita Adalberonis II, c. 18, MGH SS 4: 664]
For Thierry's reign as duke of Upper Lorraine, see Parisot
(1907-8), 50-157.
Falsely attributed
father: Giselbert,
d. 939, duke of Lorraine.
["Cui [duke/archbishop Bruno] in ducatu
Lotharingiae successit Fredericus, filius Gisleberti, olim ducis,
duodecim annis." Chronicon sancti Bavonis,
s.a. 965, Corpus Chron. Fland. 1: 526]
See the page of Frédéric's mother Cunégonde.
Supposed daughter (evidence
not seen by me):
NN, m. Berthold, count
of Isar.
[Parisse (1981), 26, citing Littger; not in
Brandenburg (1964) or Werner (1967)]
Falsely attributed
children:
Werner, d. 28 October 1027×9, bishop
of Strasbourg.
Ida, m. Ratpoto/Radbod,
count of Klettgau (ancestor of the Habsburgs).
Acta Murensia claims that these
two individuals were siblings of duke Thierry, as well as
providing a supposed uterine sibling Kuno, father of king Rudolf
of Rheinfelden ["Idem vero Radeboto, cum sibi congruum
visum est ut uxorem duceret, accepit de partibus Lotharingorum
uxorem nomine Itam, sororem Theodrici ducis ac Wernharii
Argentinæ civitatis episcopi. ... Atque ad hoc comitem Chuono,
fratrem suum (i.e., of Ida) de matre, patrem autem
Ruodolfi regis elegerunt ..." Parisot (1907-8), 58:
205, n. 2]. Similar claims are made by the related Genealogia
nostrorum principum ["Theodricus dux Lotharingorum
et Chono comes de Rinfelden fratres fuerunt. Horum soror [erat]
Ita comitissa de Habsburg, reperatix huius Murensis cenobii."
Hlawitschka (1991), 176; this source goes on to falsely make
Thierry the father of duke Gerard of Lorraine]. These children
are not accepted by modern scholars [see, e.g., Parisot (1907-8),
58: 204-216 (Appendice III: Enfants et second mari faussement
attribués à la duchesse Bétrice.); Hlawitschka (1991)].
Brandenburg (1964) = Erich Brandenburg, Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen (Frankfurt, 1964).
Bresslau (1894) = M. Bresslau, "Über das Todesjahr des Bischofs Adalbero II. von Metz", Jahr-Buch der Gesellschaft für lothringische Geschichte und Altertumskunde 6 (1894): 283-6.
Cart. Gorze = A. d'Herbomez, Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Gorze (Mettensia 2, Paris, 1898).
Flodoard, Annales = Ph. Lauer, ed., Les Annales de Flodoard (Paris, 1905).
Gerbert, Letters = Julien Havet, ed., Lettres de Gerbert (983-997) (Paris, 1889). [In Latin. For English translation, see Lattin (1961).]
Hlawitschka (1991) = Eduard Hlawitschka, "Zur Herkunft und zu den Seitenverwandten des Gegen königs Rudolf von Rheinfelden", in Weinfurter & Kluger, eds., Die Salier und das Reich (Band 1: Salier, Adel und Reichsverfassung, 1991), 175-220.
Hlawitschka (2002) = Eduard Hlawitschka, "Die Sterbedaten der Herzöge von Oberlothringen in der zweiten Hälfte des 10. und der ersten Hälfte des 11. Jahrhunderts", Schriften der Sudetendeutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften und Künste: Forschungsbeiträge der Geisteswissenschaftlichen Klasse 23 (2002) 69-82.
Lattin (1961) = Harriet Pratt Lattin, trans., The Letters of Gerbert (Records of Civilization - Sources and Studies, 60, New York, 1961). [English translation. For Latin edition, see Gerbert, Letters.]
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
Parisot (1907-8) = Robert Parisot, "Les Origines de la Haute-Lorraine et sa première maison ducale (959-1033)", Mémoires de la Société d'Archéologie Lorraine et du Musée historique Lorrain 57 (1907): 151-428; 58 (1908): 5-265. [Published as a separate book under the same title in 1909 (I do not have access to that edition)]
Parisse (1981) = Michel Parisse, "Généalogie de la Maison d'Ardenne", Publications de la Section historique de l'Institut Grand-Ducal de Luxembourg 95 (1981): 9-41.
Werner (1967) = Karl Ferdinand Werner, "Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen bis um das Jahr 1000 (1.-8. Generation)", Karl der Große 4 (1967): 403-483.
I would like to thank James Hansen and Peter Stewart for sharing copies of sources.
Compiled by Stewart Baldwin
First uploaded 5 April 2007.
Minor update uploaded 15 June 2008 (corrected error in which Béatrix was made a daughter of Hugues Capet instead of Hugues le Grand).