Constanze of Provence
Konstanze von der Provence (also: Konstanze von Arles ; * 986 ; † July 25, 1034 in Melun or Senlis ) was queen of France from 1003 to 1031 .
Daughter of Count Wilhelm I of Provence and the Adelheid of Anjou . As the third wife of King Robert the Pious of France, she finally succeeded in securing his successor through the birth of a son, Hugo. Konstanze is described as beautiful, intelligent and lively, then as ambitious, stingy and beastly. But she certainly horrified the people in Paris with the fashion in the south of France, which was much more revealing than that in the north of France.
In the year 1007/1008 Hugo von Beauvais, a confidante of the king, was on a hunting expedition of 12 soldiers, who were from Constance's relatives Fulko III. Nerra , Count of Anjou , were murdered. To what extent the Queen herself was involved in the incident is unclear. Hugo von Beauvais is said to have sown strife between her and her husband. Since 1025/1026 the queen was unusually intensively involved in the government of her husband. The reason for this was certainly the age of the king at the time, who was at least 14 years older than his wife, who was able to gain weight in the exercise of royal rule compared to her aging husband.
We owe Konstanze the introduction of a “Poésie nationale” in France and the sense of rhyme.
In 1033 she entered the Melun or Senlis monastery, where she died on July 25, 1034. She was buried in the Basilica of St-Denis.
Descendants
From his marriage to Robert II of France there were seven children:
- Adele ( Hadwig , * 1003; † after 1063), Countess of Auxerre, ⚭ 1028 Rainald I (Nevers) († 1040)
- Hugo (* 1007; † September 17, 1025), Crown Prince and from 1017 co-king
- Henry I (1008 - August 4, 1060), King of France
- Adela (also Adelheid, Adelaide or Alix) (* 1009/1014; † January 8, 1079)
- ⚭ 1027 Richard III. (Normandy) († 1027)
- ⚭ 1028 Baldwin V (Flanders) († 1067)
- Robert (1011 - March 21, 1076), Duke of Burgundy from 1025
- Odo (* 1012/13; † 1056),
- Beatrice
literature
- Gerd Hit: The French queens. From Bertrada to Marie Antoinette. Pustet, Regensburg 1996, ISBN 3-7917-1530-5 .
- Carsten Woll: The queens of high medieval France. Steiner, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-515-08113-5 .
Web links
| predecessor | Office | Successor |
|---|---|---|
| Bertha of Burgundy |
Queen of France 1004-1031 |
Mathilde of Friesland |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Constanze of Provence |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Constance of Arles |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Queen of France (1004-1034) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 986 |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 25, 1034 |
| Place of death | Melun or Senlis |