The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England



MALE Lothair II

King of Lorraine, 855-869.

When Lothair I died in 855, his son Lothair II received the northern part of his father's kingdom, which, lacking a more suitable name, was called "Lothaire's kingdom" (regnum Lotharii), which eventually became known as Lotharingia, or Lorraine. Much of Lothair's reign was occupied by his attempts to set aside his wife Theutberge, and have his mistress Waldrade recognized as his legitimate wife. After his death, his son by Waldrade, Hugues, was unable to attain his father's position.

Date of Birth: say 835.
[Brandenburg (1964), 2; Werner (1967), table; Settipani (1993), 270]
Place of Birth: Unknown.

Date of Death: 8 August 869.
Place of Death: Piacenza (buried in the church of St. Antoninus the martyr).
["..., usque Placentiam 8. Idus Augusti pervenit; ibique dominica die superdiurnans, circa horam nonam inopinate exanimis paene effectus est et obmutuit, atque in crastino hora diei secunda moritur, et a paucis suorum qui a clade remanserat in quodam monasteriolo secus ipsam civitatem terrae mandatur." Ann. Bertin., s.a. 869, 101]

Father: Lothair I, emperor.
["Dispositoque inter filios, qui secum morabantur, regno, ita ut Lotharius cognomen eius Franciam, Karlus vero Provinciam optinerent, ..." Ann. Bertin., s.a. 855, 45]

Mother: Ermengarde, d. 20 March 851, daughter of Hugues, count of Tours.
[
"Hlotharius ymperator genuit Hludovicum Hlotharium et Karolum ex Hirmingardi regina." Witgeri Genealogia Arnulfi Comitis, MGH SS 9: 303]

Spouses:

(1) m. 855, Theutberge, daughter of count Boso.
["Hlotharius rex filius Hlotharii imperatoris accepit uxorem Teutbergam." Annales Laubacenses, s.a. 855, MGH SS 1: 15; "Lotharius imperator, qui mutato habitu Prumiae monachus factus fuerat, obiit 3. Kal. Octob.; cui aequivocus filius suus Lotharius successerat, qui eo anno Tiethbergam, sororem Hucberti abbatis, duxit uxorem." Annales Lobienses, s.a. 855, MGH SS 13: 232; "Lotharius rex Thietbirgam reginam sibi in matrimonium iunxit;" Regino, Chronicon, s.a. 856, 77]

(2) 862 (marriage not recognized), Waldrade.
["Hlotharius Waldradam concubinam, maleficis ut ferebatur artibus dementatus, et ipsius pellicis, pro qua uxorem suam Theotbergam abiecerat, caeco amore inlectus, faventibus sibi Liutfrido, avunculo suo, et Waltario, qui vel ob hoc maxime illi erant familiares, et, quod nefas est dictu, quibusdam etiam regni sui episcopis consentientibus, coronat et quasi in coniugem et reginam sibi, amicis dolentibus atque contradicentibus, copulat." Ann. Bertin., s.a. 862, 60] Lothair's relationship with Waldrade had begun before his marriage to Theutberge, and Lothair's efforts to have his union with Waldrade recognized as valid and their children as legitimate ended only with his death. Waldrade was a relative of the Alsatian count Eberhard [Vita S. Deicoli, c. 13, MGH SS 15: 679]. Regino states that she was a niece of Gunther, archbishop of Cologne from 850 to 863 ["Guntarii episcopi neptis ..." Regino, Chronicon, s.a. 864, 82], and a catalogue of the archbishops of Cologne claims that Waldrade and Gunther were siblings ["Qui Luotharius habuit concubinam nomine Waldradem, sororem Guntheri episcopi Coloniensis, quam instinctu eiusdem Guntheri superdixit legitime uxori Thieberge." Catalogi archiepiscoporum Coloniensium, MGH SS 24: 338]. However, Parisot discounts the supposed close relationship of Waldrade and Gunther, on the grounds that we would have heard more about it if such a relationship indeed existed [Parisot (1898), 152].

Children:

(by Waldrade)

MALE Hugues, d. after 895, duke of Alsace, 867-885, lay-abbot of Lobbes, 880-5;
m. Friderada,
widow of count Ingelram and of Bernarius.
Hugues appears for the first time with his mother Waldrade on 18 May 863 in an act of his father Lothair ["... amantissimæ conjugis nostræ Waldradæ et filii nostri Ugonis ..." RHF 8: 408 (#7)]. In 867, Lothair made Hugues duke of Alsace ["Hlotharius ... filioque suo de Waldrada Hugoni ducatum Elisatium donat ..." Ann. Bertin., s.a. 867, 87]. When Lothair died in 869, Hugues, being illegitimate, did not succeed as king. In 880, he became abbot of Lobbes ["Hugo, filius Lotharii regis, Lobiensis abbas efficitur." Annales Laubienses, s.a. 880, MGH SS 4: 15]. This may be one of the abbacies mentioned by Annales Fuldenses under the year 881, where it is stated that the king (Louis/Ludwig the Younger) accepted Hugues as a vassal and gave him abbacies and one or more counties so that he would serve him faithfully ["Rex post pascha in Galliam profectus Hugonem Hlotharii ex Waldrata filium ad se venientem in suum suscepit dominium et [ei] abbatias et comitatus (ei) in beneficium dedit, ut ei fidem servaret." Ann. Fuld., s.a. 881, 96]. Apparently in 883, Hugues ordered a certain noble named Bernarius to be killed, and then married his widow. Before being married to Bernarius, this woman, whose name was Friderada, had been married to the potens vir Ingelram, by whom they had a daughter who was later married to count Ricuin ["... Hugo ... paucis dehinc interpositis diebus Bernarium, nobilem virum sibique fidelissimum, dolo trucidari iussit, pulchritudine illius captus uxoris, quam absque momento sibi in matrimonium iungit. Vocabatur autem mulier Friderada. Quae, antequam Bernario sociaretur, copulata fuerat Engilramno potenti viro; ex quo filiam peperit, quam postmodum Richwinus comes in coniugium accepit, quam etiam propter stuprum commissum idem comes decollari iussit." Regino, Chronicon, s.a. 883, 121; Regino is here covering the events of more than one year in his annal entry; for more on Ingelram, see the page of Baldwin I of Flanders; see also the page of Ricuin]. Eventually, Hugues allied himself with the Viking Godefrid, who had married his sister, and attempted to gain possession of his father's kingdom ["Gotafrid Nordmannus, qui superiore anno fuerat baptizatus, cum Hugone Hlotharii filio foedus iniit eiusque sororem duxit in coniugum. Unde idem Hugo audacior effectus regnum patris sui suae dicioni subiugare studuit." Ann. Fuld., s.a. 883, 100]. In 885, Hugues was captured, blinded, and sent either to the monastery of St. Boniface at Fulda or to St. Galle. Later, in the reign of Zwentibold (895-8), he became a monk at Prüm, where he was tonsured by Regino, and where he died and was buried after not many years. ["Hugo Hlotharii regis filius, cuius sororem praedictus Gotafrid duxit uxorem, insimulatus est apud imperatorem, quod eiusdem conspirationis Gotafridi contra regnum imperatoris fautor existeret. Quamobrem ad imperatorem vocatus et noxa convictus lumine oculorum una cum avinculo suo privatus est et in monasterium sancti Bonifatii apud Fuldam retrusus finem suae habuit tyrannidis." Ann. Fuld., s.a. 885, 103; "Hugo etiam filius Hlotharii regis iubente imperatore per consilium dicti ducis excaecatus est." ("dictus dux" was Henri/Heinrich), Ann. Vedast, s.a. 885, 57; "Non multis post interpositis diebus Hugo eiusdem Heinrici consilio ad Gundulfi villam promissionibus adtractus dolo capitur; et iussu imperatoris ab eodem Heinrico ei oculi eruuntur omnesque faventes dehonestantur. Post haec in Alamannia in monasterio sancti Galli mittitur, inde postea in patriam revocatur; novissime temporibus Zuendibolchi regis in Prumia monasterio manu mea adtonsus est; - eram enim tunc temporis in eodem loco dominici ovilis, quamvis non idoneus, tamen custos; - ubi non post multos annos moritur et sepelitur." Regino, Chronicon, s.a. 885, 125; again, Regino covers several years in one annal, as Zwentibold reigned from 895 to 898].

(presumably by Waldrade)
The mother of Lothair's daughters is not directly documented. It is generally presumed that Waldrade was their mother.

FEMALE Gisèle, d. 21 May × 26 October 907;
m. 882, Godefrid, d. June 885, Danish king, duke in Friesland.
In 882, she was married to the Danish raider Godefrid, who accepted baptism and was given land in Frisia ["Godefridus vero rex ad eum exiit, cui imperator regnum Fresonum, quod olim Roricus Danus tenuerat, dedit. Coniugemque ei dedit Gislam filiam Hlotharii regis ..." Ann. Vedast., s.a. 882, 51-2; "Novissime Godefridus rex Nortmannorum ea conditione christianum se fieri pollicetur, si ei munere regis Fresia provincia concederetur, et Gisla filia Lotharii in uxorem daretur." Regino, Chronicon, s.a. 882, 120]. Godefrid was killed in 885 [Ann. Vedast., s.a. 885, 57; Ann. Fuld., s.a. 885, 102, 114; Regino, Chronicon, s.a. 885, 124]. Gisèle is found as abbess of Nivelles on 26 July 897 ["... dilectissime neptis nostre interventu Gissele quasdam res Nyuialensis abbaciae ..." MGH DD Zw 46 (#16)]. She was still living on 21 May 907, when she appeared in an act of Charles the Simple ["dilectæ Gislæ abbatissæ" RHF 9: 505 (#38)]. She is mentioned as deceased in an act of 26 October 907, which also calls her abbess of Fosses ["... qualiter bonæ memoriae Kisala illustris femina abbatiam Fosses nominatam in pago Lominsæ in comitatu Perengarii, ..." MGH DD LdK 182 (#55)].

FEMALE Bertha, d. 8 March 925; m (1) before 880, Thibaud, count of Arles; m. (2) Adalberto II, margrave of Tuscany.
Bertha's epitaph shows that she was a daughter of Lothair [Epitaphia Lucensia, MGH Poet. Lat. 4: 1008; see also RHF 9: 105], and her husband Thibaud was mentioned as a sororius of Hugues, son of Lothair II in Annales Bertiniani [Ann. Bertin., s.a. 880, 151]. Further details can be found on the page of Bertha.

FEMALE Ermengarde, d. 6 August, year unknown, nun.
Ermengarde is known from her epitaph at Lucca ["Hic iacet in tumulo felix venerabilis atque / Ermingardis olim namque dicata deo, / Quam rex egregius Lotharius edidit ipse / Germaniaeque decus Francorumve potens. / Huc quisque veniens epigrammata legeris ista. / Die: 'Famulae, Christe, probra remitte tuae.' / VIII. Idus Augusti feliciter obiit." Epitaphia Lucensia, MGH Poet. Lat. 4: 1007]. Gingins-La-Sarra conjectured that she was the same person as Ermengarde, wife of Bérillon, viscount of Vienne [Gingins-La-Sarra (1851-3), 104-5].

Relative (propinqua): Engeltrude, m. Boso, d. 874×8, count in Italy.
Engeltrude was the daughter of a count Matfrid ["Ego Engiltrudis, filia quondam Matfridi comitis, quae fui uxor Bosonis comitis, ..." Regino, Chronicon, s.a. 866, 85], and is stated by Hincmar to have been a propinqua of Lothair II [Hincmar, De divortio Lotharii, question 5, PL 125: 754]. Her husband Boso was possibly a brother of Lothair's wife Theutberge [see the page of Boso]. The exact nature of her relationship with Lothair is unexplained. One conjecture, due to Krüger, is that Engeltrude's father Matfrid was a brother of Ève, mother of Ermengarde, mother of Lothair II [Krüger (1890) (not seen by me); Parisot (1898), 165, n. 5; Poupardin (1901), 299]. Engeltrude left her husband Boso and ran off with one of his vassals. The case involving Boso and Engeltrude involved some of the same ecclesiastical councils that considered the divorce of Lothair.



Bibliography

Ann. Bertin. = G. Waitz, ed., Annales Bertiniani (MGH SRG 6, Hannover, 1883).

Ann. Fuld. = Friedrich Kurze, ed., Annales Fuldenses (MGH SRG 7, Hannover, 1891).

Ann. Vedast. = B. de Simson, ed., Annales Xantenses et Annales Vedastini (MGH SRG 12, 1909), 41-82.

Brandenburg (1964) = Erich Brandenburg, Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen (Frankfurt, 1964).

Gingins-La-Sarra (1851-3) = Frédéric de Gingins-La-Sarra, "Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des royaumes de Provence et de Bourgogne-Jurane", Archiv für Schweizerische Geschichte 7 (1851): 85-201; 8 (1851): 3-116; 9 (1853): 85-260.

Krüger (1890) = Krüger, Der Ursprung des Hauses Lothringen-Habsburg (Vienne, 1890). [I have not seen this work.]

MGH DD = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Diplomata series. [Zw = Zwentibold, LdK = Ludwig das Kind]

MGH Poet. Lat. = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Poetae latini aevi carolini.

MGH SRG = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum (separate editions).

MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.

Parisot (1898) = Robert Parisot, Le Royaume de Lorraine sous les Carolingiens (1898, reprinted Geneva, 1975).

PL = P. Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus, series Latina, 221 vols. (Paris, 1844-1859).

Poupardin (1901) = René Poupardin, Le royaume de Provence sous les Carolingiens (Paris, 1901).

Regino, Chronicon = Friedrich Kurze, ed., Reginonis abbatis Prumiensis Chronicon cum continuatione Treverensi (MGH SRG, Hannover, 1890).

RHF = Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France.

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.


Compiled by Stewart Baldwin

First uploaded 20 September 2008.



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