Hugo of Saint-Quentin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hugo von Saint-Quentin (* 802/806; † June 14, 844 ), called the abbot ( Hugo Abbas, Hugues l'Abbé ), was an illegitimate son of Charlemagne and the last Arch Chancellor of Louis the Pious .

Life

Hugo was born between 802 and 806 as the son of Charlemagne from his extramarital relationship with Regina; he was the younger full brother of Bishop Drogo von Metz (* 801) and the half-brother of Louis the Pious. From 814 he was one of Ludwig's table companions, but in 818 he was also one of the emperor's family members, who were removed from his surroundings by Ludwig, who was now suspicious of the family, after the uprising of Bernard of Italy and his death (April 17, 818). Hugo received the tonsure on the orders of his half-brother and was exiled to the Charroux Abbey .

The dealings that Ludwig the Pious maintained with the closest members of his family, and in particular the (unintended) death of Bernhard, brought Ludwig as ruler so much criticism that, a few months after the death of his close adviser Benedict von Aniane († 11 February 821) In mid-October 821, at an imperial assembly in Thionville, the supporters of Bernhard pardoned and the long-standing banishment of his cousins Adalhard and Wala lifted. Shortly afterwards (822/823) the exiled half-brothers were compensated with prominent ecclesiastical offices. For Hugo this meant the Abbey of Saint-Quentin , of which he was appointed abbot.

Hugo is not known to have been involved in the conflicts within the family over the next ten years. The reasons that prompted Ludwig to make him Arch Chancellor after he was recognized as emperor again on March 1, 834 in the abbey church of Saint-Denis and the incumbent Abbot Theoto von Marmoutier fell in June are therefore unknown . Hugo's first known appearance as Arch Chancellor dates from July 3, 834. In 836, Hugo received the Abbey of Saint-Bertin , as well as the Abbeys of Lobbes and Noaillé .

After Ludwig died on June 20, 840 and the succession disputes among his sons escalated, Hugo initially found it difficult to decide which side to take. After the Battle of Fontenoy (841) he joined the victors Karl and Ludwig in September 841 and advanced to Karl's Archkaplan . Later, probably after the agreement of Charles, Ludwig and the new Emperor Lothar , he was again in the service of the latter.

In the year 844 he intervened in the fighting between Charles and Pippin II of Aquitaine, who was passed over during the division of the empire in 843 . When Charles besieged Toulouse , Hugo was sent to help with an army and on June 14, 844, Pippin in the Angoumois captured and defeated him, and Hugo was killed. Following Hugo's request, Pippin had his body brought to Charroux Abbey and buried there.

literature

  • Georges Tessier: Diplomatique royale française. A. et J. Picard, 1962, p. 44
  • Christian Settipani : La préhistoire des Capétiens 481-987. 1993, p. 209
  • Michel Dillange: Les Comtes de Poitou, Ducs d'Aquitaine (778-1204). 1995, ISBN 978-2-910919-09-2 , pp. 66-67.
  • Detlev Schwennicke: European Family Tables Volume I.1. 2005, plates 3–7
  • Charles Mériaux: Gallia irradiata. 2006, p. 176