Gerberga
GerbergaIn 929, Gerberga was married to Giselbert, duke of Lorraine ["Gisalbertus dux Gerburgam filiam Heinrici regis duxit uxorem" Continuatio Reginonis, s.a. 929, Regino, Chronicon, 158; "Gisalbertus dux Gerbirgam, Heinrichi regis filiam, duxit uxorem." Annales Heremi, s.a. 929, MGH SS 3: 141; "Gisalbertus dux Gerbirg duxit uxorem" Annales S. Maximini Trevirensis, s.a. 929, MGH SS 2: 213]. Giselbert died in 939, and Gerberga married king Louis IV of France ["Ludowicus rex, in regnum Lothariense regressus, relictam Gisleberti Gerbergam duxit uxorem, Othonis scilicet regis sororem." Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 939, 74]. After the death of Louis, on 25 April 959, she is found as abbess of Notre-Dame de Soissons [RHF 9: 665]. Gerberga was still living on 17 May 968, when she appeared in an act of her son Lothaire [RHF 9: 622 (#22)].
Date of birth: say
913×4.
Her brother Otto
the Great (b. 23 November 912) appears to have been the oldest
child of Heinrich I, but Gerberga could not have been much
younger.
Place of birth: Unknown.
Date of death: 5 May, 969 or later (984?).
Place of
burial: Saint-Rémy de
Reims.
As noted above, Gerberga was still
alive on 17 May 968. Her epitaph at Saint-Rémy de Reims states
that she died on 5 May ["Sol quintus Maii quam vidit
carne resolvi" Epitaphium Gerbergæ reginæ,
RHF 9: 104]. Although several secondary sources give 984 as the
year [e.g., Werner (1967), table; ES 1: 3; Althoff (1984), 159;
Settipani (1993), 330], the primary source for this date is
unclear.
Father: Heinrich I,
d. 2 July 936, king of Germany.
Mother: Mathilde, d.
14 March 968, daughter of count Dietrich.
See the page of Heinrich
I for further details.
Spouses:
[see above]
(1) m. 929, Giselbert, d. 2 October 939, duke of Lorraine.
(2) m. 939, Louis IV, d. 10 September 954, king of France.
Children:
A twelfth century genealogical table of the
descendants of duke Ludolf of Saxony shows Gerbirch as
the mother of Lotarius rex, Karlus dux, Matildis
(mother of Rodulfus res, Berta, and Gepa),
and Alfrada (mother of Irmendrudis, mother of Agnes,
mother of another Agnes [i.e., Agnes de Poitou, wife of
Heinrich III])
(by Giselbert)
These children are discussed in more detail on Giselbert's page.
Henri, d. ca. 944, joint-duke of
Lorraine (as a child).
Hedwig, fl. ca. 934 (sometimes falsely identified as the
wife of Sigefroid of Luxemburg)
Alberada, m. Ragenold, d. 967, count of Roucy.
[ NN,
betrothed to Berthold, duke of Bavaria. (same as one of the above daughters?)]
(probably by Giselbert)
Gerberge, m. Albert,
d. 8 September, 987 or after, count of Vermandois.
(by Louis)
Writing soon afterward, Witger lists Gerberga's children by Louis
as Lothair, Charles, Louis, and Mathilde ["Et postea ex
regina Gerberga Hlotharium Karolum Ludovicum et Mathildim."
Witger, Genealogia Arnulfi comitis, MGH SS 9: 303].
Lothaire, b. 941 (late), d. 2 March
986, king of France, 954-986;
m. 965×6 Emma, d. 2 November, 989 or later, daughter of Lotario (Lothaire), king of
Italy.
["Ludowico regi filius nascitur,
..." Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 941, 82 (reported
in 940 by Annales S. Quintini Veromandensis, s.a. 940,
MGH SS 16: 507, but the chronology of these annals is
inaccurate)] Lothaire was still a boy when he succeeded his
father Louis IV as king in 954 ["Lotharius puer, filius
Ludowici, apud sanctum Remigium rex consecratur ab Artoldo
archiepiscopo, ..." Flodoard, Annales, s.a.
954, MGH SS 3: 402]. He married Emma of Italy in late 965 or
early 966 ["Lotharius rex uxorem accepit Emmam, filiam
regis quondam Italici." Flodoard, Annales,
s.a. 966, 158; "Lotharius rex domnam Hemmam sibi
coniugio copulavit." Regino, Chron.
(continuation), s.a. 965 (last entry), 176; for Emma's parentage,
see also Odilo, Epitaphium Adalheidae, MGH SS 4: 638].
Lothaire's date of death is given by two letters and an epitaph
written by Gerbert [e.g., "... VI n. mart., qua die
gloriosissimus rex Francorum Loth., clartissimum sidus, mundo
subtractus est" Gerbert, Letters, 69 (#73), Lattin
(1961), 118 (#80); Gerbert, Letters, 69-70 (#74-5), Lattin
(1961), 119-120 (#81-2); see also Lot (1891), 164, n. 1]. Emma
was still alive on 10 January 989, when Gerbert wrote a letter on
her behalf asking an unnamed priest to prevent the loss of one of
her castles and to bring her money from her treasury (possibly to
pay ranson to Charles of Lorraine, who had captured her)
[Gerbert, Letters, 130 (#147), Lattin (1961), 183 (#155); Havet
dates the letter to December 988 or January 989]. Emma died on 2
November of an unknown year after that ["IIII nonas
[Nov.] ... Adque domna Emma regina" Necrology of
Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Obit. Sens, 1 (pt. 1), 277].
Mathilde/Mahaut, baptized 943 (late),
d. 25×6 November, 981 or later;
m. Conrad, d. 19 October 993, king of Burgundy.
["Hugo dux filiam regis ex lavacro
sancto suscepit, ..." Flodoard, Annales, s.a.
943, 89-90] Of the two unnamed daughters baptized in 943 and 948,
one of them was certainly Mathilde, who married king Conrad of
Burgundy. Chronology makes it likely that Mathilde was the elder
of these daughters. Mathilde's parentage and marriage are shown
by a letter of Poppo, abbot of Stablo, written in 1043 ["Post obitum vero Gisleberti iuncta est
in matrimonium Ludovico Francorum regi, a quo filios duos,
Lotharium regem et Karolum ducem, filiamque Mathildam, postea
Cuonradi regis Burgundionum uxorem suscepit."
Giesebrecht (1881-95), 2: 714-5 (document #10); see the
page of Ermentrude of Roucy for a more
detailed quote from this letter]. Mathilde's status as a daughter
of Gerberga is also given in an eleventh century
genealogical table [MGH SS 6: 32; see also MGH SS 3: 215] and by
a genealogical notice given in a letter copied onto one of the
manuscripts of Flodoard's annals ["Mathilde et Alberada
filiae fuerunt Gerbergae; de Mathilde processit Rodulfus rex et
Mathildis soror eius, ..." Flodoard, Annales,
159]. Her date of death is given as 25 November by the
necrologies of Merseburg and Weißenburg ["VII K. [Dec.]
... Mahtild regina burg. o." Calend. Merseb.,
125; "vii [kal. dec.] Mahtild regina Burgundie"
Kal. Nec. Weissenburgense, Fontes rerum Germ.
4: 314] and as 26 November in the reliquary of Saint-Maurice de
Vienne ["VI Kal. Decemb. obiit Mathildis uxor regis
Gonradi ..." Poupardin (1901), 365]. Settipani places
her death on 26 or 27 January between 981 and 992, but cites the
reliquary of Saint-Maurice de Vienne [Settipani (1993),
330].
Charles, b. at Laon, 945 (early), d.
before 953.
["Anno DCCCCXLV adhuc rege
Ludowico apud Rodomum degente, Gerberga regina filium Lauduni
peperit, qui Karolus ad catezizandum vocitatus est."
Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 945, 95-6] It is presumed that
this son died before 953, when another son was given the name
Charles.
NN, baptized 948 (middle).
["Chonradus quoque dux filiam
Ludowici regis sacro de fonte suscepit." Flodoard, Annales,
s.a. 948, 116]
Louis, b. 948 (late), d. at Laon, 954
(not long before father).
["Nascitur regi Ludowico filius,
quem praesul Artoldus de sacro fonte suscepit, patris ei nomen
imponens." Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 948, 121;
"Ludowicus, filius regis, Lauduni defungitur."
ibid., s.a. 954, 138 (his father's death is the next annal
entry)]
Charles (twin), b. at Laon, 953, d. after
30 March 991, duke of Lower Lorraine, 977-991;
m. (1?) NN, daughter of Heribert,
count of Troyes?
m. (2) Adélaïde.
["Interea Gerberga regina Lauduni
geminos est enixa, quorum unus Karolus, alter vocatus est
Heinricus; sed Heinricus mox post baptismum defunctus est."
Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 953, 136] Charles was named as
duke of Lower Lorraine in 977 by the emperor Otto II [Lot (1891),
91 & n. 4]. When his nephew king Louis V died in 987, Charles
was an unsuccessful claimant to the throne. His struggle against
the victor, Hugues Capet, continued until 30 March 991, when
Charles was captured along with his wife Adélaïde, his son
Louis, his two daughters Gerberge and Adélaïde, and his nephew
Arnulf ["Karolum ergo cum uxore Adelaide et filio
Ludovico, et filiabus duabus, quarum altera Gerberga, altera
Adelaidis dicebatur, necnon et Arnulfo nepote carceri dedit."
Richer, Historia, iv, 49 (vol. 2, pp. 214-5)]. According
to Historia Francorum Senonensis, Charles was married to
a daughter of count Heribert of Troyes ["Cui successit
Karolus, frater eius, filius Hlotharii regis. Eodem anno
rebellavit contra Karolum Hugo dux Francorum, eo quod accepisset
Karolus filiam Herberti comitis Trecarum." Historia
Francorum Senonensis, MGH SS 9: 367-8]. The supposed name of
Agnès sometimes given to this wife appears only in sources from
the sixteenth century and later [Lot (1891), 209, n. 2].
According to Richer, when bishop Adalbero of Laon was arguing
against giving the throne to Charles, one reason given was that
the wife of Charles (evidently Adélaïde) was of the knightly
class ["Quomodo ergo magnus dux patietur de suis
militibus feminam sumptam reginam fieri, sibique dominari?"
Richer, Historia, iv, 11 (vol. 2, pp. 156-7)]. Thus,
Heribert's daughter must have been a different wife from
Adélaïde. The reliability of Historia Francorum Senonensis,
which falsely makes Charles a son of Lothaire, is suspect.
Settipani has suggested that the first wife of Charles was a
daughter of count Robert of Troyes [Settipani (1993), 337 & n. 1010].
Henri (twin), b. & d. 953.
[see above]
Supposed additional son
(doubtful):
Carloman.
Mentioned by the historian Widukind, this
supposed son is otherwise unknown ["Soror igitur regis [Heinrich
I] Hluthowico regi genuit tres filios, Karolum, Lotharium et
Karlomannum." Widukind, ii, 39 (p. 83)].
Falsely attributed
daughter by Louis IV:
Hildegarde, m. Dirk
II, count of Holland.
[Anselme 1: 37, citing Blondel]
Bibliography
Althoff (1984) = Gerd Althoff, Adels- und Königsfamilien im Spiegel ihrer Memorialüberlieferung (Munich, 1984).
Anselme = Père Anselme, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, 9 vols. (Paris, 1726-33).
Calend. Merseb. = Ludwig Hesse, "Calendrium Merseburgense", Zeitschrift für Archivkunde, Diplomatik und Geschichte 1 (1834): 101-150.
ES = Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln (neue Folge), (Marburg, 1980-present).
Flodoard, Annales = Ph. Lauer, ed., Les Annales de Flodoard (Paris, 1905).
Fontes rerum Germ. = Johann Friedrich Boehmer, Fontes rerum Germanicarum, 4 vols. (Stuttgart & Tübingen, 1843-68).
Gerbert, Letters = Julien Havet, ed., Lettres de Gerbert (983-997) (Paris, 1889). [In Latin. For English translation, see Lattin (1961).]
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.]
Lot (1891) = Ferdinand Lot, Les derniers Carolingiens (Paris, 1891).
MGH SRG = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum (separate editions).
Obit. Sens = Obituaires de la Province de Sens (2 vols. in 3, Paris, 1902-6).
Poupardin (1901) = René Poupardin, Le royaume de Provence sous les Carolingiens (Paris, 1901).
Rec. Actes Lothair & Louis V = Louis Halphen & Ferdinand Lot, Recueil des Actes de Lothaire et de Louis V rois de France (954-987) (Paris, 1908).
Regino, Chronicon = Friedrich Kurze, ed., Reginonis abbatis Prumiensis Chronicon cum continuatione Treverensi (MGH SRG, Hannover, 1890).
Settipani (1993) = Christian Settipani, La préhistoire des Capétiens 481-987 (Première partie - Mérovingiens, Carolingiens et Robertiens) (Villeneuve d'Ascq, 1993).
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.
Widukind = Georg Waitz & Karl Andreas Kehr, eds., Widukindi monachi Corbeiensis Rerum Gestarum Saxonicarum libri tres (4th ed., MGH SRG 55, Hannover & Leipzig, 1904).
Compiled by Stewart Baldwin
First uploaded 3 April 2011.