Imma ImmaImma was the mother of Hildegarde, wife of Charlemagne ["Quicum in iuventute erat, supradictus imperator desponsavit sibi nobilissimi generis Suavorum puellam, nomine Hildigardam, quae erat de cognatione Gotefridi ducis Alamannorum. Gotefridus dux genuit Huochingum, Huochingus genuit Nebi; Nebe genuit Immam, Imma vero genuit Hiltigardam beatissimum reginam." Thegan, Vita Hludowici, c. 2, MGH SS 2: 591]. On 31 March 778, Imma appears in a charter with an unnamed son, presumably count Udalrich, one of the witnesses ["Domino filio Imma genetrix tua uenditur uendidisse me tibi constat ita et uendidi .i. in pago Alsacinse in locis nominatis in Ehinhaim in Uualabu in Eringinsashaim in Bodashaim et in Strazburga ciuitate quicquid de terra Uualtharii conquesiui ... . Actum pridie kalendas apriles. anno X. regni domni Karoli regis. + Imminun quae hanc uenditionem fieri rogauit + Vodalrichi comitis. ..." Codex Fuld., 38-9 (#61)]. On 30 June 779, count Gerold and his wife Imma donated land in the pagus of Kraichgau to the monastery of Lorsch ["... sub die II kalendas Julii, anno XI Karoli regis, ego Geroldus comes & conjux mea Imma donamus ad sanctum Nazarium &c. in pago Creichgowe ..." Codex Lauresh., 2: 439 (#2310)]. On 1 July 784, Gerold and his wife Imma donated property in Wormsgau, Lobdengau, Anglachgau, Kraichgau, and Uffgau ["sub die kalendas Julii, anno XVI Karoli regis, ego Geroldus & conjux mea Imma donamus ..." Codex Lauresh., 2: 320 (#1880)]. On 3 May 786, Imma witnessed a charter of her son Gerold ["Igitur ego in Dei nomine Ceroldus comes ... in pago, qui vocatur Perihtilinpara, ... Signum + Gerolto comite auctore, qui hanc traditionem fieri rogavit. sig. Aginon(e) episcopo teste. sig. Imma genetrix test. ... anno XVI regnante Carlo gloriosissimo rege Francorum ... Notavi diem mercoris, V non. mad., sub ipso Gerolto comite." UB Sanct Gallen, 1: 101-2 (#108)].
Date of birth: say 730×745? (ca. 740?).
Place of
birth: Unknown.
Since Imma's daughter Hildegarde
was evidently born in the range 757×761, a date much after 745
would be unlikely, and if Imma was the mother of Hadrien, likely
born after 772, then a birth much before 730 would be unlikely.
Date of death: 798.
Place of
death: Unknown.
["Imma defunctus est."
Annales Alamannici, s.a. 798, MGH SS 1: 48] Note that
the entry is grammatically incorrect, with feminine Imma and
masculine defunctus, and should evidently be either Immo
dufunctus est with a masculine name Immo or Imma
defuncta est. The latter is more likely. The next entry is
the death of Imma's son Gerold in 799 ["Kerold occiditur"
ibid., s.a. 799], which strongly suggests that the 798 entry is
about the present Imma.
Father: Nebi, d. bef. 9 August 773, count in Alemannia.
Mother: Unknown.
See the Commentray section.
Spouse: Gerold, prob. d. 784×6, count in Alemannia.
Children:
See the page of Gerold for details.
Hildegard, b.
757×761, d. Saxony, 30 April 783;
m. Charlemagne, b. prob. 2 April 748, d. 28 January 814, king of the
Franks, emperor.
Gerold (II), d. 1 September 799, count in
Bertholdsbaar, marquis in Bavaria.
Udalrich/Ulrich (I) (Vodalrichus),
fl. 778-803 (817?), count in Alpgau, Breisgau, Hegau, Thurgau,
Argengau, Linzgau, etc.;
m. NN.
Oto/Eudes (Voto),
fl. 19 April 788, d. bef. 12 February 798.
Probable additional sons:
Megingoz/Meingaud, fl. 780-806.
Hadrien, fl. 793, d. before 821;
m. Waldrade (Vualtrat),
fl. 821-4.
Erbio, d. bef. 793.
Falsely attributed
mother: Hereswind.
There was a Hereswind about this time who
was the wife of a certain Nebi, but Hereswind's husband was not
the same person as Imma's father. See the page of Nebi
for details.
Codex Fuld. = Ernst Friedrich Johann Dronke, ed., Codex diplomaticus Fuldensis (Cassel, 1850).
Codex Lauresh. = Codex principis olim Laureshamensis abbatiae diplomaticus, 3 vols., (Mannheim, 1768-70). I have not seen Glöckner's modern edition [K. Glöckner, ed., Codex Laureshamensis, 3 vols., (Darmstadt, 1929-36)].
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
UB Sanct Gallen = Hermann Wartmann, ed., Urkundenbuch der Abtei Sanct Gallen (vol. 1, Zürich, 1863).
Compiled by Stewart Baldwin
First uploaded 16 August 2012.