• General Notes

  Charlemagne
  53
  The Franks and their Kingdoms
  Franks were members of a confederation of Germanic peoples that attacked the Roman
  Empire beginning in the A.D. 200´s and were divided into two branches, the Salians and the
  Ripuarians. The Salians settled in the Low Countries on the lower Rhine, near the North Sea.
  The Ripuarians moved into the region around what are now the cities of Aachen, Trier and
  Cologne, Germany, in the region of the middle Rhine.
  Frankish history is divided into two periods, the Merovingian (See Merovingian Kings), from
  about 481 to 751, and the Carolingian, 751 to 987. Charlemagne, king
  of the Franks from 768 to 814, created a vast empire. In 800, Pope
  Leo III crowned him emperor of the Romans. The arms of
  Charlemagne are described by Richard Thomson as ``Impaled: 1st
  Coat, or, a double-heded eagle displayed sable crowned gold,
  dimidiated and joined to the centre line; 2nd Coat azure 6 fleurs-delys,
  1, 2, 2, and 1, or´´ which means ``A shield divided in half with the
  first half gold with a black half eagle with a gold crown and the second
  half blue with 6 gold fleurs-de-lys arranged 1, 2, 2, and 1. After the
  time of Charlemagne, the Frankish empire began to break up into what
  later became the kingdoms of France, Germany, and Italy.
  Our genealogical history begins with Clovis, a Ripuarian Frank
  who was King of Cologne in the early 5th century and is based on Weis´ Ancestral Roots and
  Moriarty´s Plantagenet Ancestry. (See References)
  Generation One
  Clovis, King of Cologne
  fl. ca. 420 (flourished circa 420)
  Clovis was a Ripuarian Frank and King of Cologne circa 420 AD. Frankish ``kings´´ at this time
  were really just local tribal chieftains. Note this is not Clovis I (466? - 511) who founded of the
  Merovingian Dynasty. (For that line, see Merovingian Kings.) Clovis had a son:
  ·  Childebert, mentioned next.
  Generation Two
  Childebert, King of Cologne
  fl. ca. 450
  Childebert had a son:
  ·  Siegbert, mentioned next.
  Generation Three
  Siegbert the Lame, King of Cologne
  Murdered in 509
  Seigbert was murdered by his son:
  ·  Cloderic, mentioned next.
  Generation Four
  Cloderic the Parricide, King of Cologne.
  Murdered in 509
  Cloderic murdered his father in 509, and was himself murdered the same year by Clovis (I), the
  founder of the Merovingian Dynasty.
  Charlemagne
  Cloderic married a kinswoman of Clothilda, the Burgundian Princess and wife of Clovis (I).
  They had a son:
  ·  Murideric, mentioned next.
  Generation Five
  Murideric, Lord of Vitrey-en-Perthois
  Murideric was ``very young´´ in 509 when his father was murdered by Clovis (I). He revolted
  against Thierry (I), a son of Clovis (I), who killed him. Murideric had the following sons:
  ·  St. Gondulfus, mentioned next.
  ·  Duke Bodegisil (I) who died in 581. Bodigisil married first to Palatina, a daughter of Gallus
  Magnus, a Gallo-Roman Senator and Bishop of Troyes (elected 562). Bodigisil married
  second to Sancha, a Gascow.
  Generation Six
  St. Gondulfus
  Born in 524
  Died on July 6, 607.
  St. Gondulfus was a political figure. He was Governor of Marseilles in 581, Mayor of the
  Palace to Theibert (I) and was consecrated in 599 as Bishop of Tongres.
  St. Gondulfus is almost certainly the father of Duke Bodegisil (II); see F.L. Weis, Ancestral
  Roots, Baltimore, 1999, 190-6. Other earlier works including George Andrews Moriarty: The
  Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, Mormon Pioneer Genealogical
  Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1985, pages 5 and 241, show St. Gondulfus´ brother Duke
  Bodegisil (I) as the father of Duke Bodegisil (II). However, it was very unusual among the early
  Franks for a son to have the same name as his father as would be the case if Bodegisil (I) had
  been the father of Bodegisil (II). The same name was used to indicate a close kinship such as the
  uncle and nephew relationship here.
  While it may seem strange to us to-day for a ``saint´´ and a ``bishop´´ to have had children, this
  was not the case in early mediæval times. Married clergy were the rule rather than the exception
  until Gregorian reforms of the 11th century. By the late middle ages, there were virtually no
  married clergy.
  St. Gondulfus had a son:
  ·  Duke Bodegisil (II), mentioned next.
  Generation Seven
  Duke Bodegisil (II), Governor of Aquitane.
  Killed in 588
  Duke Bodegisil (II) married Oda, a Suevian and they had a son:
  ·  St. Arnoself, mentioned next.
  Charlemagne
  Generation Eight
  St. Arnoself, Bishop of Metz
  Born in 582
  Died on August 16, 641
  Arnoself is also known as Arnold, Arnulf and Arnuiph. He was a member of the court of the
  Frankish king Theodebert (II) of Austrasia. A noble, Arnoself married Doda, and their son was
  Ansegisel. Doda became a nun, and Arnulf made plans to enter a monastery but was named the
  bishop of Metz around 616. He continued his court services, making Clotaire of Neustria the
  king of Austrasia. He also served as counsellor to Dagobert, King Clotaire´s son. In 626, Arnulf
  retired to a hermitage at Remiremont, France. His feast day is July 18.
  St. Arnoself married Clothilde (Doda) who became a nun at Trèves in 612 and they had a son:
  ·  Duke Ansigise, mentioned next.
  Generation Nine
  Duke Ansigise, Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia
  Born circa 602
  Died (murdered) in 685
  Ansigise, also known as Anchises, Ansegisel and Ansegilius, married St. Bégue or Begga,
  daughter of Pépin the Old of Landen who was Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia in 623 and a
  counsellor of Dagobert (I), King of Austrasia. (Note: St. Bégue´s brother was Grimoald, father of
  Childebert who was adopted by Sigibert III, King of Austrasia; see Merovingian Kings, Generation Nine)
  St. Bégue´s mother was St. Itta, a daughter of Arnoldus, Bishop of Metz, said to be a son of
  Ansbertus, the Gallo-Roman Senator and his wife Blithilda. On the death of her husband in the
  year 691, St. Bégue built a church and convent at Andenne on the Meuse River and died there.
  Her feast day is December 17th.
  Duke Ansigise and St. Bégue had a son:
  ·  Pépin, mentioned next.
  Generation Ten
  Pépin of Heristal, Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia
  Born circa 635
  Died on December 16, 714
  Pépin married first to Plectrud, a daughter of Hugobert and Irmina, and they had the following
  sons:
  ·  Drogo, Duke of Champagne
  ·  Grimoald (II), Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia
  Pépin was associated with Aupais (Aupaï s, Elphide or Chalpaida?) who is said to have been be a
  concubine. Historically, this referred to a secondary or inferior wife and may help explain why
  some sources state that Pépin and Aupais were married. They had a son:
  ·  Charles Martel, mentioned next.
  Charlemagne
  Generation Eleven
  Charles ``The Hammer´´ Martel, Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia
  Born in 676
  Died on October 22, 741
  When his father Pépin of Heristal died in 714, Charles Martel had to overcome opposition
  from the family of Pépin´s first wife Pletrude. By 718, Charles had triumphed, gaining not only
  his father´s office of Mayor of the Palace, but also his father´s fortune. He then vanquished other
  Frankish leaders to greatly extend his realm. The Merovingian kings Childperic (II) (reigned
  715-721) and Theuderic (IV) (reigned 721-737) were mere figureheads, and the Mayor of the
  Palace possessed supreme authority. Following the death of King Theuderic (IV) in 737, Charles
  Martel ruled alone as Mayor of the Palace. Although the throne was vacant, Charles did not
  attempt to claim it.
  Charles´ most spectacular victory came in 732 when he triumphed over an invading Islamic
  army from Spain at the Battle of Poitiers, also called the Battle of Tours, and is regarded as one
  of the most decisive battles in the history of the world. The wave of Saracen conquest had flown
  over the Pyrenees into Gaul, and for a time it appeared likely to add that country to the empire of
  the caliphs. Fortunately for Europe, Charles Martel, the ruler of the Franks, proved equal to the
  occasion, and in a desperately hard-fought battle that began near Tours and ended near Poitiers,
  defeated the Saracenic emir Abd-er-Kahman, and saved Europe from the Moslem yoke.
  It is worthy of notice that this battle - emphatically one of the most decisive battles of the
  world - was fought in 732, exactly 100 years after the death of Mohammed, the so-called the
  ``Prophet of God´´. Charles was later called Martel, meaning ``the Hammer´´, because of his
  victory over the Moslem horde. Edward Gibbon wrote that were it not for Charles Martel
  ``Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her
  pulpits might demonstrate . . . the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet. . . . From
  such calamities was Christendom delivered by the genius and fortune of one man.´´
  . . . Edward Gibbon: The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, Volume 5, page 156 - 157
  In order to maintain his power, Charles had to engage in continual struggles with various
  princes, both secular and ecclesiastical. Following his victory at Poitiers in 732, he attacked
  some unruly bishops including Eucherius of Orléans. Because of this, his memory suffered.
  During the ninth century, his tomb at the abbey of St. Denis is said to had been opened by the
  abbot, and a hideous dragon supposedly emerged from a blackened, charred and otherwise
  barren coffin; thus demonstrating Charles Martel´s damnation for despoiling the Church of its
  property. Later historians at St. Denis said he had taken Church lands only temporarily and had
  intended eventually to reimburse and further enrich the Church.
  Charles Martel married first to Rotrou or Chrotrud who was perhaps a daughter of St. Liévin,
  Bishop of Trèves. Charles and Rotrou had the following children:
  ·  Carloman who ruled Neustria, Burgundy and Provence as Mayor of the Palace from 741
  until 747 when he retired from political life and became a monk at the Monastery of Monte
  Casino. He was succeeded by his younger brother Pepin the Short.
  ·  Landrée who married Count Sigrand ·  Jerome
  ·  Pépin the Short, mentioned next.
  Charlemagne
  Charles Martel married secondly to Swanhilde or Sunnichilde, daughter of Theodebert, Duke of
  Bavaria and they had the following children:
  ·  Grifo, who was endowed with a portion of his father´s land, but was displaced and
  imprisoned by his half brothers Carloman and Pépin the Short.
  ·  Chiltrud, who married in 749 to Odilo, Duke of Bavaria. In 757, their son Duke Tassilo III
  of Bavaria and the magnates of Bavaria acknowledged themselves as vassals of Pépin the
  Short.
  Generation Twelve
  Pépin the Short, King of the Franks
  Born circa 715
  Died on September 24, 768
  Following the death of their father Charles Martel in 741, Pépin the Short along with his older
  brother Carloman imprisoned their half brother Grifo and took control of the Frankish Empire as
  joint Mayors of the Palace. Pépin ruled in Neustria, Burgundy and Provence and Carloman ruled
  in Austrasia. In order to legitimize their rule, the brothers revived the kingship by raising
  Childeric III to the throne in 743. Pépin and Carloman continued to hold the real power. That
  same year, Pépin and Carloman conquered their brother-in-law Duke Odilo of Bavaria.
  However, discord in Bavaria continued; and it was not until 757 that Odilo´s son (Pépin´s
  nephew) Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and the magnates of Bavaria were finally forced to
  acknowledge themselves as vassals of Pépin the Short.
  In 747, Carloman withdrew from politics. With the support of the church and the Pope, Pépin
  had himself declared King of the Franks in 751. The former king, Childeric III, retired to a
  monastery.
  In the winter of 753-754 after the Lombards forced Pope Stephen to leave Rome, the Pope
  visited Pépin the Short. The next summer, Pope Stephen anointed Pépin and his two sons
  Charlemagne and Carloman, and declared that the Franks were never to elect a king who was not
  of the sacred lineage of Pépin the Short. In return for Pope Stephen´s support, Pépin the Short
  took his army to Italy and defeated the Lombards. Pépin´s gift of a wide strip of land in central
  Italy to the Pope became known as the ``Donation of Pépin´´. This land, called the Papal States,
  remained under the control of the popes until the unification of Italy in the 19th century.
  Pépin the Short married in 740 to Bertha or Bertrada II of Laon also known as ``Bertha
  Broadfoot´´. She was the daughter of Caribert (or Herbert), Count of Laon and granddaughter of
  Bertha, a Merovingian Princess who was in turn a daughter of Thierry (III), King of Austrasia,
  Neustria and Burgundy. (See Merovingian Kings, Generation Eight) Bertha was known as ``Queen
  Goose-Foot´´ or ``Goose-Footed Bertha´´, and is perhaps the original ``Mother Goose´´.
  Pépin the Short and Bertha of Laon had the following children:
  ·  Charlemagne, Emperor of the West, mentioned next.
  ·  Carloman of the Franks, King of Franks, born about 751, died in 771
  ·  Gisela, Abbess of Chelles, who had a son Rowland, who had a daughter Juliana who
  married her first cousin once removed,Charles the younger, Duke of Ingelheim who was a
  son of Charlemagne. (See Generation Thirteen)
  ·  Pippin who died young
  Charlemagne
  Generation Thirteen
  Charlemagne, Emperor of the West
  Born on April 2, 742 at either Ingolheim or Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle)
  Died on January 28, 814 at Aachen
  When Pépin the Short died in 768, the
  Frankish lands were divided according to
  ancient Frankinsh law and tradition between
  Pépin´s sons Carloman and Charles. During the
  next three years until Carloman´s death in 771,
  relations between the two brothers were
  sometimes strained. In 774, Charles ``the Great´´
  or Karolus Magnus, more widely known as
  Charlemagne, conquered Lombardy and
  confirmed his father´s donation of the Papal
  States. Charlemagne added Bavaria to his realm,
  and eventually defeated the Saxons and forced
  them to convert to Christianity. Charlemagne
  also waged war in Spain. He was returning
  from an expedition there in 778 when a
  mountain people called ``the Basques´´
  ambushed and wiped out his rear guard. This
  incident became the subject of the famous epic
  poem The Song of Roland. In the poem Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by
  Pope Leo III on Christmas Day, 800.
  More is known about Charlemagne than most mediæval rulers because of a biography written
  by Einhard, a friend of his son Louis the Pious. This biography describes Charlemagne as more
  than six feet tall, with piercing eyes, fair hair, a thick neck, and a potbelly. He was strong, fond
  of exercise, and had an alert mind and a forceful personality. Charlemagne could read and speak
  Latin, the language of educated people of the time; and he improved education and culture by
  establishing a school at his palace in Aachen. This palace school attracted the best teachers and
  students in Europe. It educated clergymen, thus strengthening the church, and trained teachers
  for schools throughout the empire. Scholars at the schools collected and copied ancient Roman
  manuscripts, which otherwise would have been lost forever.
  Charlemagne married in 771 at Aachen to Hildegarde of Vinzgau, and they had the following
  children:
  ·  Pépin I, King of Italy, mentioned next.
  ·  Charles the younger, Duke of Ingelheim, born 772 and died 811 before his father. Charles
  married Juliana, who was his first cousin once removed. (See Generation Twelve)
  ·  Louis I the Pious of Aquitaine, King of France, whose 7X great granddaughter Mathilda
  of Flanders married in 1053 to William the Conqueror. (See Flanders)
  Charlemagne had additional wives, an abundance of girlfriends and many more children.
  Charlemagne´s empire included
  much of modern Europe.
  Charlemagne
  Generation Fourteen
  Pépin I, King of Italy
  Born in April 773
  Died on July 8, 810, before his father Charlemagne.
  Pépin was crowned King of Italy by his father Charlemagne in 781. He married in 795 to Bertha
  who may have been his cousin; a daughter of his Uncle Carloman. Pépin and Bertha had a son:
  ·  Bernhard, King of Italy, mentioned next.
  Generation Fifteen
  Bernhard, King of Italy
  Born circa 797
  Died on August 17, 818 at St. Amrosius, Mailand.
  Bernhard doubtless felt that his father Pépin had been crowned King of Italy by Charlemagne
  and that he should follow his father as the full fledged King of Italy. His uncle, Louis I the
  Pious, had a different view of the situation. Seeing as Pépin had died before Charlemagne, Louis
  the Pious felt that as Charlemagne´s heir, he was overall king or emperor; and that his nephew
  Bernhard was perhaps sort of a sub-king. Bernhard revolted in July 817 when his Uncle Louis
  proceeded to divide the empire among his sons, Bernhard´s cousins. The revolt didn´t work, and
  he was forced to submit to Louis in December 817. Eventually, by the Treaty of Verdun in 843,
  the territory that had been Bernhard´s Kingdom of Italy was awarded to Louis the Pious´ son
  Lothaire who became Holy Roman Emperor. (For a map, see Flanders, Generation One)
  Bernhard married in 813 to Kunigunde (also Cunegonde or Cunigunde) and they had a son:
  ·  Seigneur Pépin, mentioned next.
  Generation Sixteen
  Seigneur Pépin de Peronne
  Born in 817
  Died after 840
  Seigneur Pépin was probably the Lord or Count of Peronne and St. Quentin in the Vermandois;
  an area in Picardy in northern France. Seigneur Pépin had the following children:
  ·  Herbert I, mentioned next.
  ·  a daughter who married Gui, Count of Senlis. Their children included:
  o Bernard, Count of Senlis was a friend and counsellor of Hugh Capet ``the Great´´ of
  Neustria.
  o Poppa who married in 886 to Rolf, 1st Duke of Normandy. (See Normandy, Generation
  Five) This descent for Poppa, wife of Rolf, 1st Duke of Normandy, is from George
  Andrews Moriarty: The Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen
  Philippa, Mormon Pioneer Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1985, page
  226 where Professor Moriarty corrects a line from page 11 that shows Poppa as a
  daughter of Count Berenger of Bayeux.
  Charlemagne
  Generation Seventeen
  Herbert I, Count of Senlis and Vermandois
  Born circa 840
  Died (murdered) circa 900 - 908
  Herbert I married Bertha, a daugher of Guerri (I), Count of Morvois and they had the following
  children:
  ·  Sprota (or Adela) who married William I Longsword, 2nd Duke of Normandy as his first
  wife. (See Normandy, Generation Six)
  ·  Herbert II, mentioned next.
  ·  Beatrice de Vermandois, born in 880, who married Robert I, King of the West Franks.
  (See Capet, Generation Nine)
  Generation Eighteen
  Herbert II, Count of Vermandois
  Born circa 880 - 890
  Died circa 943 at St. Quentin
  Herbert (II) married Liegarde (or Hildebrante) a daughter of Robert (I), King of France and his
  first wife Aelis. (See Capet, Generation Nine), and they had the following children:
  ·  Alice of Vermandois, born 910, who married Arnolph ``the Great´´, Count of Flanders.
  (See Flanders, Generation Five)
  ·  Robert, Count of Troyes, mentioned next.
  ·  Albert I, Count of Vermandois, mentioned next.
  ·  Luitgarda of Vermandois, born about 915 who married William I Longsword,2nd Duke of
  Normandy as his second wife. (See Normandy, Generation Six) Luitgarda married secondly to
  Theobald ``le Tricheur´´, Count of Blois.
  Generation Nineteen
  Robert, Count of Troyes and Meaux
  Born circa 910
  Died circa 967/68
  Robert married Adelaide, a daughter of Giselbert, Count of Burgundy and his wife Ermengarde.
  Robert and Adelaide had the following daughters:
  ·  Adelaide de Vermandois who was born in 950 and died circa 975 - 978. Adelaide married
  Geoffrey I ``Grisgonelle´´, Count of Anjou (died July 21, 987), son of Fulk (II) ``the Good´´,
  Count of Anjou. Adelaide and Geoffrey had a son:
  o Fulk III ``the Black´´, Count of Anjou (died June 21, 1040) who married
  Hildegarde; they had a daughter:
  § Ermengarde, heiress of Anjou (born circa 1010/1015 and died 21 March,
  1076) who married Aubri-Geoffrey, Count of Gâtinaise. (See Plantagenet,
  Generation Two)
  ·  Ermengarde of Anjou who married in 980 to Conan ``the Crooked´´ Duke of Brittany who
  died in 992. Ermengarde and Conan had a daughter:
  Charlemagne
  o Judith of Brittany (982 - 1017) who married Richard II ``the Good´´, Duke of
  Normandy. (See Normandy, Generation Eight)
  Albert I ``the Pious´´, Count of Vermandois.
  Born circa 915
  Died in 987
  Albert married Gerberga of Lorraine, a daughter of Giselbert, Duke of Lorraine and Gerberga
  of Saxony. (See Merovingian Kings, Generation Nineteen) Adalbert and Gerberga had a son:
  ·  Herbert III, Count of Vermandois, mentioned next.
  Generation Twenty
  Herbert III, Count of Vermandois
  Born circa 954
  Died about 1000
  Herbert married Ermengard, a daughter of Reinald, Count of Bar and they had a son:
  ·  Otho, Count of Vermandois, mentioned next.
  Generation Twenty-one
  Otho, Count of Vermandois
  Born circa 1000
  Died May 25, 1045
  Odo married Parvie, Parrie or Parrè, and they had a son:
  ·  Herbert IV Count of Vermandois, mentioned next.
  Generation Twenty-two
  Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois
  Born circa 1032
  Died circa 1080
  Herbert IV married Adela, daughter of Raoul III Count of Valois and the Vexin, and they had a
  daughter:
  ·  Adelaide de Vermandois, mentioned next.
  Generation Twenty-three
  Adelaide de Vermandois, Countess of Vermandois and Valois
  Died circa 1120
  Adelaide married to Hugh ``the Great´´ Capet, Count of Vermandois, son of Henry (I) Capet,
  King of France and brother of Philip (I), King of France. (see Capet, Generation Fourteen.)
  For the continuation of this line, see Capet, Generation Fourteen.
  After Hugh´s death, Adelaide married secondly to Reinald, Count of Clermont.
  Charlemagne
  References
  Sewell Vincent Sample (1928 - 2005): Letters
  Einhard: Vita Karoli Magni (ca. 830; The Life of Charlemagne, translated by A.J.Grant, 1922)
  Edward Gibbon: The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire (1776 - 1788)
  Richard Thomson: An Historical Essay on the Magna Charta of King John (London, 1829)
  The Book of History (18 Volumes), London, 1914
  George Andrews Moriarty: The Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa,
  Mormon Pioneer Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1985.
  Patrick J. Geary: Before France and Germany, Oxford University Press, 1988
  Berhard Grun: The Timetables of History, New York, 1991
  Microsoft Encarta Encyclopædia 99, © 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation
  Norman F. Cantor (ed.) The Encyclopædia of the Middle Ages, New York, 1999
  Frederick L. Weis and Walter L. Sheppard: Ancestral Roots, 7th Edition, Baltimore, 1999
  World Book Millenium 2000 Deluxe Edition, © 1999 World Book Inc., © IBM Corp.
  G. E. Cokayne: The Complete Peerage, Sutton Publishing, 2003
  

Details of *Charlemagne's family with Hildegard Swabia