NN
NNAlthough there is no direct documentation for the name of Heribert's wife, the chronicler Flodoard confirms on several occasions that she was a sister of Hugues the Great, and thus a daughter of Robert I ["... Hugo dux cum nepotibus suis, Heriberti filiis, ..." Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 943, 88; "... inter filios Heriberti comitis ..., Hugone principe avunculo ipsorum ..." ibid. s.a. 946, 100 (see above); "Nepotes Hugonis, Heribertus et Rotbertus, ..." ibid., s.a. 952, 134]. Since the sons of Heribert were nepotes of Hugues, and Hugues was avunculus to the sons of Heribert, the clear interpretation is that Heribert was married to a sister of Hugues, and the names of Eudes, Hugues and Robert given to three of the sons of Heribert provide further confirmation. Other sources also mention the connection, sometimes with an ambiguity (involving the words nepos or gener) which may have helped give rise to the evidently false claim that Hugues was a nephew of Heribert [e.g., "Unde et aliorum regnorum proceres eum adierunt, gratiamque in conspectu eius invenire quaerentes, fidem talis ac tanti viri probatam habentes dilexerunt. Inter quos Hiriberhtus gener Hugonis, cum ei adversaretur Rodulfus, contra ius fasque omne rex constitutus, ut ei apud dominum suum pro praesidio esset, supplicavit." Widukind, i, 39, MGH SS 3: 435; "Ductus inde exercitus contra urbem Remensem, ubi erat nepos Hugonis contra ius fasque omne subrogatus episcopus, legitimo pontifice adhuc superstite" Widukind, iii, 3, MGH SS 3: 451 (referring to Hugues, son of Heribert II); "Ipse namque iam predictus comes venerabilis Arnulfus accepit coniugem Adelam, domni Heriberti comitis filiam atque duorum regum, Odonis scilicet atque Rotberti, neptem." Witger, Genealogia Arnulfi comitis, MGH SS 9: 303; "Post cruentissimum vero praelium videns Karolus se adhuc in adversariorum medio positum, hinc scilicet Hugonem, iam dicti Rodberti regis filium, illinc Herebertum, eiusdem generum, cavensque, ne irruerent super eum cum multitudine hostium, reversus est cum suis inde venerat, in Hlotharii regnum." Folcwine, c. 101, MGH SS 13: 625].
Although no clear documentation is known for her name, there are three names which have appeared for her in various places in the secondary literature. There is no evidence which would give her the name Hildebrante, as suggested by some sources [e.g. Anselme, 1: 68]. Some have suggested that she was the countess Adèle who appears in a document of 907 with the future king Robert I [e.g., Werner (1967), 458, n. 4; Settipani (1993), 407-8], but it is more likely that this Adèle was a wife of Robert [see the Commentary section of the page of Robert I]. The third name which has been suggested for her is Liégarde [e.g., Depoin (1908), 595-6; Chaume (1925), 392, n. 4; Pinoteau (1958), table between pp. 256-7]. This is based on the appearance of that name among her children and on the appearance in the necrology of Saint-Quentin under 26 May of an otherwise unidentified countess Liégarde who would probably be connected somehow to the counts of Vermandois ["VII Kal. jun. Obiit Lieuardis comittissa" Chaume (1925), 392, n. 4]. She would coincide with a countess Liégarde who appears under 27 May in the necrology of Saint-Remy de Reims ["Ledgardis comitissa" Depoin (1908), 596].
Date of birth: Unknown.
Place of birth: Unknown.
Date of death: After 931.
Heribert's unnamed wife is
mentioned as alive by Flodoard in 931 [Flodoard, Annales,
s.a. 931, 51]. If the name of Liégarde is correct, then her
death date would be 26×7 May (see above).
Place of death: Unknown.
Father: Robert I, d. 923, king of France.
Mother: Unknown.
Spouse: Heribert II, d. 943, count of Meaux, Soissons, and Vermandois.
Children:
For details on the documentation, see the page of Heribert II.
Eudes, d. after 19 June 946, count of
Vienne and Amiens.
Adèle, d. 960, m. 934 Arnulf I,
count of Flanders.
Heribert "vetulus"
("the old"), d. 980×4 apparently 30 March, abbot of
Saint-Médard de Soissons; count of Omois;
m. 951, Eadgifu, daughter
of Edward the Elder, king of Wessex, and widow
of Charles III of France.
Robert, d. after 19 June 966; count of Meaux, 946-; count of
Troyes, 956-;
m. 942×950, Adélaïde (Werra), d. after 967, daughter of Giselbert, count of Chalon
and Troyes.
Albert (Adalbert), d. 8 September, 987
or after, count of Vermandois, 946-987;
m. Gerberge, daughter of Giselbert, duke of Lorriane.
Liégard, living 16 August 979;
m. (1) ca. 940, Guillaume
I, d. 943, duke of Normandy;
m. (2) 943×5, Thibaut I "le Tricheur",
d. 16 January 975, count of Blois and Chartres, viscount of
Tours.
Hugues, b. ca. 920, d. ca. 962,
archbishop of Reims, 925-932, 940-6.
Anselme = Père Anselme, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, 9 vols. (Paris, 1726-33).
Chaume (1925) = Maurice Chaume, Les origines du duché de Bourgogne, 4 vols. (Dijon, 1925).
Depoin (1908) = Joseph Depoin, "Études préparatoires à l'histoire des familles palatines. III Thibaud le Tricheur - fut-il bâtard et mourut-il presque centenaire?" Revue des études historiques 74 (1908), 553-602.
Flodoard, Annales = Ph. Lauer, ed., Les Annales de Flodoard (Paris, 1905).
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
Pinoteau (1958) = Hervé Pinoteau, "Les origines de la maison capétienne", Recueil du IVe congrès international des sciences généalogique et héraldique (Bruxelles, 1958), 240-276.
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 26 July 2008.
Minor update uploaded 23 February 2009: expanded comments on her supposed name.