Louis of Lower Lorraine
Encyclopedia
Louis was the second of Charles of Lorraine
's three sons and the eldest by his second marriage to Adelaide, the daughter of a low-ranking vassal of Hugh Capet.
Unlike his elder brother Otto
, who inherited their father's duchy of Lower Lorraine
, Louis went with his father to France, where Charles fought for the French throne. They both were imprisoned, through the perfidy of Adalberon, Bishop of Laon
, by Hugh at Orléans
in 991, when Louis was still a child. His father died in prison in or by 993, but Louis was released. It was asserted by Ferdinand Lot
that Louis's life after 995 or 1000 was completely unknown, but more recent research has shed some light upon it.
It was William IV of Aquitaine
who sheltered Louis afterwards, from 1005 until 1012. He opened the Palace of Poitiers
to him and treated him as royalty, regarding him as the true heir to the French throne. Louis even subscribed a charter of William's as Lodoici filii Karoli regis. Young Louis drifted, eventually to be utilised by Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen
, who was plotting against the Capetians. Louis was imprisoned again, permanently, this time at Sens
, where he died.
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Charles of Lorraine was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and younger brother of King Lothair. He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne...
's three sons and the eldest by his second marriage to Adelaide, the daughter of a low-ranking vassal of Hugh Capet.
Unlike his elder brother Otto
Otto, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Otto was the duke of Lower Lorraine from 993 until his death. He was the son of Charles, son of King Louis IV, and his first wife, a daughter of Robert de Vermandois, count of Meaux and Troyes....
, who inherited their father's duchy of Lower Lorraine
Lower Lorraine
The Duchy of Lower Lorraine or Lower Lotharingia , established in 959 was a stem duchy of the medieval German kingdom, which encompassed part of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, the northern part of the German Rhineland and a part of northern France east of the Schelde river.It was created out...
, Louis went with his father to France, where Charles fought for the French throne. They both were imprisoned, through the perfidy of Adalberon, Bishop of Laon
Adalberon, Bishop of Laon
Adalberon, or Ascelin was a French bishop and poet. He was a son of Reginar of Bastogne, and a nephew of Adalberon, Archbishop of Reims.-Life:...
, by Hugh at Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
in 991, when Louis was still a child. His father died in prison in or by 993, but Louis was released. It was asserted by Ferdinand Lot
Ferdinand Lot
Ferdinand Victor Henri Lot was a French historian and medievalist....
that Louis's life after 995 or 1000 was completely unknown, but more recent research has shed some light upon it.
It was William IV of Aquitaine
William IV of Aquitaine
William IV , called Fierebras or Fierebrace , was the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 963 to his retirement in 990.William's father, William III, abdicated to the abbey of Saint-Cyprien in Poitiers and left the government to...
who sheltered Louis afterwards, from 1005 until 1012. He opened the Palace of Poitiers
Palace of Poitiers
The Palace of Justice in Poitiers began its life as the seat of the Counts of Poitou and Dukes of Aquitaine in the tenth through twelfth centuries.- Origin :...
to him and treated him as royalty, regarding him as the true heir to the French throne. Louis even subscribed a charter of William's as Lodoici filii Karoli regis. Young Louis drifted, eventually to be utilised by Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen
Robert II, Archbishop of Rouen
Robert II was son of duke Richard I of Normandy and his second wife, Gunnora. He was a younger brother of duke Richard II and uncle of duke Robert I...
, who was plotting against the Capetians. Louis was imprisoned again, permanently, this time at Sens
Sens
Sens is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.Sens is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is crossed by the Yonne and the Vanne, which empties into the Yonne here.-History:...
, where he died.
Sources
- Gwatkin, H. M., Whitney, J. P. (ed) et al. The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III. Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 1926. - Settipani, ChristianChristian SettipaniChristian Settipani is the Technical Director of an IT company in Paris and a genealogist and historian.He has a Master of Advanced Studies degree from the Paris-Sorbonne University and is currently preparing his doctoral thesis, while he often gives lectures to students undergraduates at the...
. La préhistoire des Capétiens. 1993. ISBN 2-9501509-3-4 - Lewis, Andrew W. (1981). Royal Succession in Capetian France: Studies on Familial Order and the State. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0 674 77985 1.