Hugh the Great
Hugh the Great | |
---|---|
Duke of the Franks | |
Count of Paris | |
Reign | 923–956 |
Predecessor | Robert I of France |
Successor | Hugh Capet |
Born | c. 898 Paris |
Died | 16 June 956 Dourdan |
Burial | |
Spouse | Judith Eadhild Hedwig of Saxony |
Issue | Beatrice of France Hugh Capet Emma of Paris, Duchess of Normandy Otto, Duke of Burgundy Henry I, Duke of Burgundy |
House | Robertians |
Father | Robert I of France |
Mother | Beatrice of Vermandois |
Hugh the Great (c. 898[1] – 16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. He was the most powerful magnate in France.
Son of King Robert I of France, Hugh was Margrave of Neustria. He played an active role in bringing King Louis d'Outremer back from England in 936. Seeking an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto the Great, he married Otto's younger sister, Hedwig of Saxony in 937. They were the parents of Hugh Capet. Hedwig's sister, Gerberga of Saxony, was the wife of Louis IV of France. Although he often fought with Louis, he supported the accession of Louis and Gerberga's son, Lothair of France.
Biography
Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and
In 922 the barons of
At the death of Rudolph in 936, Hugh was in possession of nearly all of the region between the Loire and the Seine, corresponding to the ancient Neustria, with the exceptions of Anjou and of the territory ceded to the Normans in 911.[7] He took a very active part in bringing King Louis IV (d'Outremer) from the Kingdom of England in 936.[8] Historians have wondered why the powerful Hugh the Great called the young Louis to throne instead of taking it himself, as his father had done fifteen years earlier. First, he had many rivals, especially
In 937 Hugh's second wife, Eadhild, died. Later that year, he married
In 938 King Louis IV began attacking fortresses and lands formerly held by members of his family, some held by Herbert II of Vermandois.
When Louis fell into the hands of the Normans in 945, he was handed over to Hugh in exchange for their young duke Richard.[15] Hugh released Louis IV in 946 on condition that he should surrender the fortress of Laon.[16] In 948 at a church council at Ingelheim the bishops, all but two being from Germany, condemned and excommunicated Hugh in absentia, and returned Archbishop Artauld to his See at Reims.[17] Hugh's response was to attack Soissons and Reims while the excommunication was repeated by a council at Trier.[17] In 953 Hugh finally relented and made peace with Louis IV, the church and his brother-in-law Otto the Great.[17]
On the death of Louis IV, Hugh was one of the first to recognize
Family
Hugh married first, in 922, Judith, daughter of Roger, Count of Maine, and his wife Rothilde, a daughter of Emperor Charles the Bald.[2] She died childless in 925.[2]
Hugh's second wife was Eadhild, daughter of Edward the Elder, king of the Anglo-Saxons, and half-sister of King Æthelstan.[2] They married in 926 and she died in 937, childless.[2]
Hugh's married his third wife, Hedwig of Saxony, daughter of Henry the Fowler and Matilda, in 937. She and Hugh had:
- Beatrice married Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine.[2]
- Hugh Capet (c. 939–996)[19]
- Emma (c. 943 – aft. 968).[19]
- Otto, Duke of Burgundy, a minor in 956.[18]
- Odo-Henry (Henry I, Duke of Burgundy) (946–1002)[18]
References
- ^ Linda Seidel, Legends in Limestone: Lazarus, Gislebertus, and the Cathedral of Autun, (University of Chicago Press, 1999), 67.
Widukind (of Corvey), Deeds of the Saxons, transl.Bernard S. Bachrach and David S. Bachrach, (The Catholic University of America Press, 2014), 43. - ^ Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984), Tafeln 10-11
- ^ Jim Bradbury, The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328 (Hambledon Continuum, London & New York, 2007), p. 69
- ^ Lucien Bély, The History of France ( J.P. Gisserot, Paris, 2001), p. 21
- ^ a b c d e Pierre Riché, The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe, Trans. Michael Idomir Allen (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1993), p.250
- ^ Pierre Riché, The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe, Trans. Michael Idomir Allen (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1993), pp.250-1
- ^ Elizabeth M. Hallam, Capetian France; 987-1328 (Longman Group Ltd., London & New York, 1980), p. 89
- ^ The Annals of Flodoard of Reims: 919-966, Ed. & Trans. Stephen Fanning & Bernard S. Bachrach (University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. xvii
- ^ Sot, Michel. "Hérédité royale et pouvoir sacré avant 987", Annales ESC, n° 43, 1988, pp. 705–733
- ^ a b c public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hugh". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 857–858. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Pierre Riché, The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe, Trans. Michael Idomir Allen (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1993), p.262
- ^ The Annals of Flodoard of Reims; 919-966, Ed. & Trans. Steven Fanning & Bernard S. Bachrach (University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. 30
- ^ The Annals of Flodoard of Reims; 919-966, Ed. & Trans. Steven Fanning & Bernard S. Bachrach (University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. 31
- ^ The Annals of Flodoard of Reims; 919-966, Ed. & Trans. Steven Fanning & Bernard S. Bachrach (University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. 32
- ^ David Crouch, The Normans (Hambledon Continuum, London & New York, 2007), p. 16
- ^ Jim Bradbury, The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328 (Hambledon Continuum, London & New York, 2007), p. 40
- ^ a b c d Jim Bradbury, The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328 (Hambledon Continuum, London & New York, 2007), p. 41
- ^ a b c d Jim Bradbury, The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328 (Hambledon Continuum, London & New York, 2007), p. 42
- ^ a b Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984), Tafel 11