Richildis from Provence
Richildis of Provence (also Richildis of the Ardennes ; * around 845; † June 2, 910 ) was the second wife of Emperor Charles the Bald .
Richildis was born around 845 as the daughter of Count Buvinus of Metz and the Ardennes and the Richeut of Arles. Boso of Vienne , who later became King of Lower Burgundy , was her older brother. Theutberga , a sister of her mother, was the wife of King Lothar II of Lotharingia .
Richildis' relatives supported the West Franconian King Karl the Kahlen when he argued with the East Franconian King Ludwig the German about the division of his territory after the death of Lothar II in August 869 . In October of the same year, only a few days after the death of his first wife Irmentrud von Orléans , Richildis became the concubine of Charles, to whose legitimate wife she rose on January 22, 870. The marriage resulted in several children, of which only the daughter Rothild reached adulthood.
When her husband moved to Italy for the first time in 875 to be crowned emperor by Pope John VIII , Richildis took over important government affairs. She organized the defense against Ludwig the German, who used Karl's absence for incursions into West Franconia, and released the chamberlain Engelramnus , who had secretly worked with Ludwig. At the Synod of Ponthion in the summer of 876, she and her husband received the Pope's ambassadors and were worshiped with him by the assembly.
Richildis accompanied Karl on his second Italian train in 877 and was anointed Empress by Pope John in September. When Karlmann , the son and successor of Ludwig the German, invaded Italy, she brought Karl's treasure to safety in the Abbey of Saint-Maurice in Valais, which her brother Boso controlled . She then returned to her husband, who died in Avrieux in Savoy in early October . Richildis first tried to prevent her stepson Ludwig the Stammler from succeeding his father, but then entered into negotiations and finally handed Ludwig over in Compiègne Karl's will and the regalia.
When Ludwig the Stammler died in April 879, Richildis tried to secure the West Franconian throne for her brother Boso. However, their plans were not supported by the West Franconian nobility. She finally helped her brother to become king of Lower Burgundy and lived in his kingdom until her death on June 2, 910. She still saw how Boso's son Ludwig the Blind , her nephew, was crowned emperor in 901 and blinded and overthrown by Berengar of Friuli in 905 .
progeny
- Rothild (* probably 871; † 928/929), ∞ around 890 Count Roger of Maine († 900)
- uncertain: Drogo (* 872/873; † 873/874)
- uncertain: Pippin (* 872/873; † 873/874)
- a child (born March 23, 875; † soon after birth)
- Karl (October 10, 876; † before April 7, 877)
literature
- Brigitte Kasten : Empresses in Carolingian times . In: Amalie Fößel (Ed.): The Empresses of the Middle Ages . Pustet, Regensburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-7917-2360-0 , pp. 11-34, especially pp. 23-25 .
Web links
Remarks
- ^ Annals of St. Bertin for the year 869, p. 107 .
- ↑ Annals of St. Bertin for the year 870, p. 108 .
- ↑ Annals of St. Bertin for the year 875, p. 127 .
- ↑ Annals of St. Bertin for the year 877, p. 136 .
- ^ Annals of St. Bertin for the year 877, p. 137 f .
- ^ Descendants after Brigitte Kasten, Kaiserinnen in Carolingian times, p. 24.
| predecessor | Office | Successor |
|---|---|---|
| Irmentrud of Orléans |
Queen of West Franconia 870–877 |
Ansgard of Burgundy |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Richildis from Provence |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Richildis from the Ardennes |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | second wife of Emperor Charles II; Roman-German Empress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 845 |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 2, 910 |