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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 1999-01 > 0917443164
From: John Carmi Parsons< >
Subject: Re: Can you tell me ... Please ?
Date: 27 Jan 1999 05:19:24 -0800
On Wed, 27 Jan 1999, Suzanne Doig wrote:
> Well, the original message hasn't appeared on my server yet, but
> here's the wives/concubines and children of Charlemagne, as given by
> his contemporary biographer Einhard (cc.18-20)
> < http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/einhard.html> ;
>
> [= married, ~ concubine]
>
> 1~ NN
> a. Pepin (the hunchback)
Pepin's mother was Hmiltrud, a noble Frank whom some claim Charlemagne never
married. The eminent and respected Janet Nelson, a renowned English historian
of the Carolingian era, believes however that Charlemagne's union to Hmiltrud
was a true marriage, but that Einhard subsequently shaded events carefully to
make it appear that Charlemagne's first successful "real" marriage was to
Hildegarde. See Nelson's article, "Women at the Court of Charlemagne: A Case
of Monstrous Regiment?" in *Medieval Queenship*, ed. J.C. Parsons (New York:
St Martins, 1993), pp. 43-62, esp. 51. It's also doubted by some today that
Pepin was really a hunchback; Einhard may have made the statement to discredit
Pepin's claim to the throne (see the article by Janet Nelson cited BELOW, p.
180 note 42, where it is noted that before 792, Charlemagne's treatment of
Pepin "gives no clear hint that he [Pepin] was regarded as unthroneworthy").
> 2= daughter of Desiderius, king of the Lombards. Repudiated after a
> year.
This woman's name is sometimes given as Desideria, but Janet Nelson has very
recently published an article showing that the name Desideria arises from the
misreading of a chronicle. The chronicle states that King Desiderius sent
his "filiam desideratam" to Francia to marry Charlemagne, but this does not
necessarily indicate the bride's name; it can, and probably does, mean only
that Desiderius sent the "desired daughter" to Charlemagne. Nelson has good
reason to believe that this woman's name may well have been Gerberga or
Gerperga. See Nelson, "Making A Difference in Eighth-Century Politics: The
Daughters of Desiderius," in *After Rome's Fall: Narrators and Sources of
Early Medieval History," ed. Alexander C. Murray (University of Toronto Press,
1998), pp. 171-90, esp. 173, 183. Nelson also doubts the claim that the
Lombard-born queen was barren, which she points out arises only in the late
9th century; unless the queen were so very young that she had not yet reached
puberty, Nelson points out that a scant year of marriage was probably not a
long enough time to decide anything about her ability to bear children. On
Charlemagne's real reasons for repudiating this woman, see Nelson, "Women at
the Court of Charlemagne," p. 52.
> 3= Hildegard, 'a woman of high birth, of Suabian origin'.
> b. Charles
> c. Pepin
> i. Bernard
> ii. Adelaide
> iii. Atula [F]
> iv. Guntrada
> v. Berthaid [F]
> vi. Theoderada
> d. Louis
> e. Hruodrud [Rotrud]
> f. Bertha
> g. Gisela
Nelson, "Women at the Court of Charlemagne," p. 61, gives Hildegarde's
children as follows (from Werner's "Die Nachkommen Karls des Grossen" in
Braunfels, ed., *Karl der Grosse: Lebenswerk und Nachleben*, vol. 4, pp.
403-83):
1. Charles, b. 772/73, d.v.p. 811, monk at Prum from 792.
2. Adelaide, b. 773, d. 774.
3. Rotrude, b. ca. 775, living 839; betrothed to Emperor
Constantine VI from 781 to 787; from ca 800 the mistress of
Count Roric, by whom she had a son Louis, d. 867, abbot of
St-Denis from 840
4. Pepin-Carloman, b. 777, d. 810; king of Italy 781.
5. Louis the Pious, b. 778, d. 840; king of Aquitaine 781.
6. Lothar (twin with Louis), b. 778, d. 779/80.
7. Bertha, b. 779/80, living 823; from 795 mistress of Angilbert, by
whom she had two sons, Nithard (b. 795/800, d. 844) and
Hartnid (b. 795/800, d. ?).
8. Gisella/Gisla, b. 781, living 800.
9. Hildegarde, b. 782, d. 783.
> 4= Fastrada, 'a woman of East Frankish origin' [d.794]
> h. Theoderada
> i. Hiltrud
As reported by Nelson, above, Werner states that Theoderada was born ca 785,
became Abbess of Argenteuil by 814 (i.e., in Charlemagne's lifetime) and was
still living in 844. Hiltrude was born ca 787 and was living in 800, but
nothing more seems to be known of her and it appears she died before
Charlemagne.
> 5~ NN
> j. Ruodhaid [F]
Born (conjecturally) ca 784, living 800. Fate unknown.
> 6= Liutgard, 'an Alemannic woman' [m. aft 794 d. 4 June 800]
>
> 7~ Gersuinda, 'a Saxon' [m. after 800]
> k. Adaltrud
Little seems to be known of this daughter.
> 8~ Regina [m. after 800]
> l. Drogo
> m. Hugh
Drogo was b. 801 and was a cleric by 818; abbot of Luxueil 820, bishop of
Metz 823 and imperial archchaplain 834; died 855. Hugh was b. 803-06, a
cleric also by 818; abbot of St-Quentin 822/23, imperial archchaplain 834,
died 844.
> 9~ Ethelind
> n. Theodoric
Theodoric was b. 807 and was a cleric by 818. Little more is known of
him, and he probably died in early adulthood. Werner and Nelson give the
mother's name as Adallinda, not Ethelind (Ethel- and Adal- are essentially
the same name element, meaning "noble").
By a concubine named Madelgard, Charlemagne had a daughter:
Ruothild, year of birth unknown; abbess of Farmoutier 840, died 852.
By unknown mothers, Charlemagne also had two other sons:
Ricbodo, b. 800/05, Abbot of St-Riquier 840, died 844.
Bernard, Abbot of Moutier-St-Jean 843.
So there were 20 children in all. Eight were by concubines (nine if you
count Pepin the alleged Hunchback as a bastard).
John Parsons
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