Adelaide of Paris
Encyclopedia
Adélaïde de Paris (c. 850/853 – 10 November 901) was the second wife of Louis the Stammerer
, King of Western Francia
, and was the mother of Charles the Simple
.
Adalard of Paris
. Her great-grandfather was Bégon
, Count of Paris
. Her great-grandmother, Alpaïs, wife of Bégon, was the illegitimate daughter of Louis the Pious
by an unnamed mistress.
Adelaide was chosen by Charles the Bald
, King of Western Francia, to marry his son and heir, Louis the Stammerer
, despite the fact that Louis had secretly married Ansgarde of Burgundy
against the wishes of his father. Although Louis and Ansgarde already had two children, Louis
and Carloman
, Charles prevailed upon Pope John VIII
, to dissolve the union. This accomplished, Charles married his son to Adelaide in February 875.
However, the marriage was called into question because of the close blood-kinship of the pair. When on 7 September 878 the pope crowned Louis (who had succeeded his father in the previous year), the pope refused to crown Adelaide.
When Louis the Stammerer died in Compiegne on 10 April 879, he had no heirs by Adelaide; she was, however, pregnant, giving birth on 17 September 879, to Charles the Simple
. The birth of this child led to a dispute between Adelaide and her deceased husband's repudiated wife, Ansgarde. Ansgarde and her sons accused Adelaide of adultery; Adelaide in turn disputed the right of Ansgarde's sons to inherit. Eventually, Adelaide succeeded in winning the case; but despite this, Ansgarde's sons Louis and Carloman remained kings until their deaths without heirs in 882 and 884 respectively, with the crown then being contested between Odo, Count of Paris
and Charles the Fat
.
Charles the Simple eventually succeeded to his father's throne in 898; his mother assisted in crowning him.
Adelais of Paris died in Laon
on 10 November 901. She was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Corneille, Compiègne
, Picardy, France.
Louis the Stammerer
Louis the Stammerer was the King of Aquitaine and later King of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. He succeeded his younger brother in Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, though he was never crowned Emperor...
, King of Western Francia
Western Francia
West Francia, also known as the West Frankish Kingdom or Francia Occidentalis, was a short-lived kingdom encompassing the lands of the western part of the Carolingian Empire that came under the undisputed control of Charlemagne's grandson, Charles the Bald, as a result of the Treaty of Verdun of...
, and was the mother of Charles the Simple
Charles the Simple
Charles III , called the Simple or the Straightforward , was the undisputed King of France from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919/23...
.
Life
Adelaide was the daughter of the count palatineCount palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
Adalard of Paris
Adalard of Paris
Adalard of Paris was the eighth Count of Paris. He followed his uncle Leuthard II. He was a count palatine.-Child:Adalard had one child, Adelaide of Paris who married King Louis II of France....
. Her great-grandfather was Bégon
Beggo of Paris
Beggo was the son of Gerard I of Paris and Rotrude, daughter of Carloman, son of Charles Martel. He was appointed Count of Toulouse, Duke of Septimania, Duke of Aquitaine, and Margrave of the Hispanic March in 806 and followed his father as Count of Paris in 815.In 806, William of Gellone...
, Count of Paris
Count of Paris
Count of Paris was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. Eventually, the count of Paris was elected to the French throne...
. Her great-grandmother, Alpaïs, wife of Bégon, was the illegitimate daughter of Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
by an unnamed mistress.
Adelaide was chosen by Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
, King of Western Francia, to marry his son and heir, Louis the Stammerer
Louis the Stammerer
Louis the Stammerer was the King of Aquitaine and later King of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. He succeeded his younger brother in Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, though he was never crowned Emperor...
, despite the fact that Louis had secretly married Ansgarde of Burgundy
Ansgarde of Burgundy
Ansgarde of Burgundy was a French queen of Aquitaine, but never of West Francia, the daughter of Hardouin of Burgundy. She secretly married Louis II of France before he was king; her sons became Louis III and Carloman II of France....
against the wishes of his father. Although Louis and Ansgarde already had two children, Louis
Louis III of France
Louis III was the King of France, still then called West Francia, from 879 until his death. The second son of Louis the Stammerer and his first wife, Ansgarde, he succeeded his father to reign jointly with his younger brother Carloman II, who became sole ruler on Louis's death...
and Carloman
Carloman of France
Carloman II , King of Western Francia, was the youngest son of King Louis the Stammerer and Ansgarde of Burgundy, and became king, jointly with his brother Louis III of France, on his father's death in 879....
, Charles prevailed upon Pope John VIII
Pope John VIII
Pope John VIII was pope from December 13, 872 to December 16, 882. He is often considered one of the ablest pontiffs of the ninth century and the last bright spot on the papacy until Leo IX two centuries later....
, to dissolve the union. This accomplished, Charles married his son to Adelaide in February 875.
However, the marriage was called into question because of the close blood-kinship of the pair. When on 7 September 878 the pope crowned Louis (who had succeeded his father in the previous year), the pope refused to crown Adelaide.
When Louis the Stammerer died in Compiegne on 10 April 879, he had no heirs by Adelaide; she was, however, pregnant, giving birth on 17 September 879, to Charles the Simple
Charles the Simple
Charles III , called the Simple or the Straightforward , was the undisputed King of France from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919/23...
. The birth of this child led to a dispute between Adelaide and her deceased husband's repudiated wife, Ansgarde. Ansgarde and her sons accused Adelaide of adultery; Adelaide in turn disputed the right of Ansgarde's sons to inherit. Eventually, Adelaide succeeded in winning the case; but despite this, Ansgarde's sons Louis and Carloman remained kings until their deaths without heirs in 882 and 884 respectively, with the crown then being contested between Odo, Count of Paris
Odo, Count of Paris
Odo was a King of Western Francia, reigning from 888 to 898. He was a son of Robert the Strong, count of Anjou, whose branch of the family is known as the Robertians....
and Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat was the King of Alemannia from 876, King of Italy from 879, western Emperor from 881, King of East Francia from 882, and King of West Francia from 884. In 887, he was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and possibly Italy, where the records are not clear...
.
Charles the Simple eventually succeeded to his father's throne in 898; his mother assisted in crowning him.
Adelais of Paris died in Laon
Laon
Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-History:The hilly district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance...
on 10 November 901. She was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Corneille, Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
, Picardy, France.
Children
- Ermentrude, born c. 875/878
- Charles III "the Simple", born 17 September 879, King of France 898–923,