Rudolf IV (Vexin)

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Rudolf IV. (French: Raoul ; attested in 1043, † February 23, 1074 in Péronne ), was Count of Valois , Crépy , Vitry , Amiens and Vexin as well as Vogt (avoué, advocatus) of the abbeys of Saint-Denis , Jumièges , Saint- Wandrille , Saint-Pierre in Chartres and Saint-Arnoul in Crépy-en-Valois .

He was the son of Count Rudolf III. of Valois and the Adèle de Breteuil.

Life

Rudolf was one of the most powerful princes in northern France in his day. He initially supported Count Odo II of Blois against King Henry I , but switched to the king's side in 1041. For him he fought in the Battle of Mortemer against the Normans in 1054 , but was captured by them. However, disagreements between his jailer Roger de Mortemer and Duke Wilhelm enabled him to escape. After the king's death in 1060, Rudolf pursued his own goals. He usurped the rule in Montdidier by driving out their rightful heirs. The death of his cousin Walter in 1063 enabled him to take over the counties of Vexin and Amiens the following year.

Through his first marriage to the threefold widowed Adele († 1053), daughter of Count Nocher III. from Bar, he was able to add the county of Bar-sur-Aube to his possession. Adele is the mother of his children. In his second marriage he married Eleonore (Aliénore), whom he rejected after 1061 in order to be able to enter into a third marriage.

Reclining figure of the tomb of Rudolf von Valois in the church of Montdidier

Rudolf is best known for this third marriage: the wife was Anna of Kiev , daughter of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev and widow of King Henry I of France. Since the death of the king in 1060, Anna reigned over her underage son, King Philip I. When Rudolf and Anna married, this caused a scandal at court and a break between the king and his mother. In order to be able to marry Anna, Rudolf IV had accused his second wife of adultery and rejected them. But this turned to Pope Alexander II with a request for intervention . After an official investigation, the marriage between Rudolf and Anna was declared invalid and the separation ordered. However, the couple were unimpressed by the church decision and continued to live together, which resulted in Rudolf's excommunication .

Between 1071 and 1072 Rudolf besieged the city of Péronne, which he finally took. Still under a spell, he died in 1074, but he was buried in the Saint-Pierre church in Montdidier. After his son Simon had returned the city to their rightful heirs, he had his father's body transferred to the Abbey of Saint-Arnoul near Crépy on March 22, 1076 . The sight of the body is said to have shocked Simon so much that he made the decision to begin a spiritual life.

The children from his first marriage

  • Gautier (Walter, X September 6th 1065/1067), 1053 Count of Bar-sur-Aube
  • Simon (attested in 1069; † September 30, 1080 in Rome), Count of Amiens etc.
  • Daughter, probably Elisabeth, ∞ Barthélemy, Lord of Broyes and Beaufort († after 1072)
  • Adèle, Countess of Valois; ∞ before 1068 with Count Heribert IV of Vermandois , 1077 Count of Valois ( Carolingian )
  • Adélaide († May 12, 1193/1200); ∞ before 1061 with Count Theobald III./I. from Blois, Troyes etc. († September 29/30, 1089) ( House Blois )

literature

Web link

Remarks

  1. ^ "VII Kal Mar", J. Laurent (ed.), Cartulaires de l'abbaye de Molesme, Volume II (Paris 1911), p. 21; VII Kal Mar = ante diem VII Kalendas Martias = 7 days before March 1st = February 23rd (see Roman calendar # days in the month )
  2. ↑ Schwennicke gives in Volume II (1984), Plate 11, the entry on King Heinrich I with Raoul II de Valois as second husband Anna of Kiev, the date September 8th
personal data
SURNAME Rudolf IV.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Raoul IV.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Valois, Crépy, Vitry, Amiens and Vexin
DATE OF BIRTH before 1043
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 1074
Place of death Péronne