Adelaide of Aquitaine

Adelaide of Aquitaine
Adelaide of Aquitaine
	Queen consort of the Franks
Tenure	987–996
Born	c. 945/952
Died	1004
Spouse	Hugh Capet; (m. 969; died 996)
Issue	Hedwig, Countess of Mons; Robert II of France; Gisèle, Countess of Ponthieu
House	Poitiers
Father	William III of Aquitaine
Mother	Adele of Normandy

Adbelahide, Adele, or Adelaide of Aquitaine (also known as Adelaide of Poitiers; c. 945 or 952 – 1004),[1] was queen consort of France by marriage to Hugh Capet. Adelaide and Hugh were the founders of the Capetian dynasty of France, and Adelaide had some extent of influence over her husband's governance of France.

Life

Adelaide was the daughter of William III, Duke of Aquitaine and Adele of Normandy, daughter of Rollo of Normandy. Her father used her as security for a truce with Hugh Capet, whom she married in 969.[2]

In 987, after the death of Louis V, the last Carolingian king of France, Hugh was elected the new king with Adelaide as queen. The couple were proclaimed as the new monarchs at Senlis and blessed at Noyon. As such, they had become the founders of the Capetian dynasty of France.[1] Apparently, Hugh trusted in Adelaide's judgement and allowed her to take part in government. He asked her to negotiate on his behalf with the regent of the Holy Roman Empire, Empress Theophanu, committing himself beforehand to any agreement they reached.[1]

Adelaide's son, Robert, came into conflict in the late 990s with Gerbert, the Archbishop of Reims. Gerbert took refuge with Otto III, Theophanu's son and the new Holy Roman Emperor, and Adelaide attempted to recall the former to Reims, but Gerbert resisted this command in a letter dated to the spring of 997.[3]

Issue

Adelaide and Hugh had at least three children that lived to adulthood:

Hedwig, Countess of Mons (or Hadevide, or Avoise) (c. 969–after 1013), wife of Reginar IV, Count of Mons
Robert II (972–1031), the future king of France. Crowned co-king in 987, in order to consolidate the new dynasty.
Gisèle, Countess of Ponthieu (c. 970–1002), wife of Hugh I, Count of Ponthieu

A number of other daughters are less reliably attested.

References

"Women's Biography: Adelaide of Aquitaine, queen of the Franks". Epistolae: Medieval Women's Latin Letters. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
"Adelaide of Aquitaine (wife of Hugh Capet, King of France)". RoyaList Online. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
"A letter from Gerbert of Aurillac, archbishop of Reims (spring 997) | Epistolae". epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-11.

French royalty
Preceded by Emma of Italy	Queen consort of the Franks 987–996	Succeeded by Rozala of Lombardy

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[Epistolae-1] "Women's Biography: Adelaide of Aquitaine, queen of the Franks". Epistolae: Medieval Women's Latin Letters. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2011.

[2] "Adelaide of Aquitaine (wife of Hugh Capet, King of France)". RoyaList Online. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2011.

[3] "A letter from Gerbert of Aurillac, archbishop of Reims (spring 997) | Epistolae". epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-11.