Adelheid of Aquitaine

Adelheid of Aquitaine (fantasy portrait from Abel Hugo's Histoire générale de France)

Adelheid of Aquitaine (French Adélaïde d'Aquitaine ; * probably 950; † June 15, probably 1004) was queen of France and ancestor of the Capetians by marriage .

Life

Adelheid (also Adelais) was the only daughter of Duke Wilhelm III. of Aquitaine and his wife Adela of Normandy , a daughter of the Norman Jarl Rollo , Count of Rouen , and his second wife Poppa of Bayeux . Adelheid's brother was Duke Wilhelm IV. Eisenarm († 995/96).

Adelheid married Hugo Capet , the eldest son of Dux Francorum Hugos "the Great" - what is meant here is "the elder" - and his third wife Hadwig , daughter of the German King Heinrich I. The marriage served to establish peaceful relations between the Robertinians , who had their power base in the north ( France ), and the Aquitanian dukes, whose dominion stretched between the Loire , Rhone and Garonne .

The marriage had four children:

Hedwig (Avoie, * probably 969, † after 1013) ⚭ around 996 Count Reginar IV of Hainaut and Mons († 1013) ( Reginare )
Gisela (* probably 970, † around 1000) ⚭ before 987 Hugo I of Montreuil, Count of Ponthieu
Robert II the Pious (* 972, † 1031)
Adelheid / Aelis (* probably 973)

Adelheid appointed Gerbert von Aurillac, who later became Pope on New Year's Eve II, as the tutor of her son Robert . Under the influence of his mother, Robert received a strictly Christian upbringing.

At the side of her husband, Adelheid was probably crowned Queen of France on July 3, 987 in Noyon . She remained in this position until Hugo Capet's death on October 24, 996. According to Gerbert von Aurillac, Hugo Capet called her “companion and partner in our kingdom”.

The pious Adelheid founded the royal chapel ( Chapelle royale or Sainte Chapelle ) and later the church of Saint-Frambourg in Senlis . In the 17th century, the translation of the relics of St. Frambourg is attributed to her, which according to other sources took place a century earlier. Adelheid also equipped the Abbaye de femmes in Argenteuil, which was rebuilt on her initiative, with numerous goods. As the queen widow, she signed several documents from her son Robert, who had become the new French king after the death of Hugo Capet. She died around 1004.

literature

Chr. Pfister: Adélaide 8. In: Dictionnaire de Biographie française . Vol. 1, (1932), Col. 516.
Detlev Schwennicke : European Family Tables , Volume II (1984) Plate 11, 76
Christian Settipani : La préhistoire des Capétiens 481-987 - Mérovingiens, Carolingiens et Robertiens , 1993, in: Patrick Van Kerrebrouck (ed.): Nouvelle historie généalogique de l'auguste Maison de France , volume 1, first part, p. 415ff
Joachim Ehlers , Heribert Müller , Bernd Schneidmüller : The French kings of the Middle Ages. From Odo to Charles VIII. 888-1498. 1996 pp. 75, 84, 87, 92
Gerd Hit: The French queens. Pustet, Regensburg 1996, ISBN 3-7917-1530-5 , pp. 71f.
Joachim Ehlers: Die Kapetinger , 2000, pages 31, 46
Patrick Van Kerrebrouck: Le Capétiens 987-1328 , 2000, Nouvelle historie généalogique de l'auguste Maison de France , Volume 2

Web links

Remarks

↑ June 15 as the date of death is certain, Schwennicke plate 11: † June 15, 1006, plate 76: † probably 1004
↑ Adela is the baptismal name, the birth name is Gerloc
↑ Filiation is not documented at the time, but is generally accepted as developed. In Medieval Lands the sources and discussion are brief, in Settipani in detail.
↑ Ehlers (2000): probably 969/970, Schwennicke plate 11: around summer 968, plate 76: around 970, the time is calculated from the assumed order of the children and the well-known birthday of Robert II.
↑ Schwennicke, Van Kerrebrouck (p. 49) makes no statement, but sees her as a younger daughter
↑ Schwennicke, Van Kerrebrouck (p. 49) makes no statement, but sees her as the oldest daughter
^ Gerd hits: The French queens. , P. 71.
↑ Gerbert, ep. 120
^ Bianchina Nicole: Saint-Frambourg de Senlis. Etude historique et archéologique. In: Revue archéologique de l'Oise. N ° 20, 1980. pp. 5-16
↑ Chr. Pfister, Dictionnaire de Biographie française . Vol. 1, Col. 516.

predecessor	Office	Successor
Emma of Italy	Queen of France 987-996	Bertha of Burgundy

personal data
SURNAME	Adelheid of Aquitaine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Queen of France
DATE OF BIRTH	uncertain: 950
DATE OF DEATH	June 15, 1004

[1] June 15 as the date of death is certain, Schwennicke plate 11: † June 15, 1006, plate 76: † probably 1004

[2] Adela is the baptismal name, the birth name is Gerloc

[3] Filiation is not documented at the time, but is generally accepted as developed. In Medieval Lands the sources and discussion are brief, in Settipani in detail.

[4] Ehlers (2000): probably 969/970, Schwennicke plate 11: around summer 968, plate 76: around 970, the time is calculated from the assumed order of the children and the well-known birthday of Robert II.

[5] Schwennicke, Van Kerrebrouck (p. 49) makes no statement, but sees her as a younger daughter

[6] Schwennicke, Van Kerrebrouck (p. 49) makes no statement, but sees her as the oldest daughter

[7] Gerd hits: The French queens. , P. 71.

[8] Gerbert, ep. 120

[9] Bianchina Nicole: Saint-Frambourg de Senlis. Etude historique et archéologique. In: Revue archéologique de l'Oise. N ° 20, 1980. pp. 5-16

[10] Chr. Pfister, Dictionnaire de Biographie française . Vol. 1, Col. 516.