Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou

Adelaide of Anjou (French Adélaïde -Blanche d' Anjou, * 950, † May 29, 1026 perhaps in Avignon ) was a French nobleman of the house of the Counts of Anjou. Due to their origin, and especially by her four marriages she had family ties to many of the most powerful noble families in France. She was among other things, the third wife of the future King Louis V. But the couple felt in the arranged marriage of relatives not well, and so Adelheid left her royal husband after only a short time before he ascended the throne of France, to the Count William I marry. Since their marriage had not been annulled by Ludwig V. But before the recent wedding of the Pope, causing Adelaide's new connection a corresponding riot in Rome. For the minor children of their marriage - just connecting with Louis V. was childless - she practiced up to the age of majority in each case the regency of what made ​​her one of the most powerful women in the south of France, which, and the areas of the counties of Toulouse and Gevaudan Provence commanded.

Until the 20th century, the third wife of Louis V. was exclusively known as Blanche, because authors like Rodulfus Glaber, Ivo of Chartres, Ademar of Chabannes, or Hugh of Fleury led them in their works always under this name. Only discovered in the Bamberg State Library in the 19th century Historiae of Richer of Reims, a contemporary Adelaide, called Adélaïde. For a long time prevailed in the research, therefore, the opinion before, Richer had been mistaken in the name, and only in the past 30 years, sat down at the view by historians that this name is also correct.

Family

Adelheid was born as the daughter of Count Fulk II of Anjou and his wife Gerberga. She came thus from the influential House of the Counts of Anjou. She was a sister of Godfrey I of Anjou, under whose tutelage she was raised by her father's death in 958. Her mother's origin is unclear. Some historians, including Christian Lauranson - Rosaz, see her as a daughter of Count Godfrey I of Gâtinais and thus a member of the family of the Counts of Gâtinais. Another hypothesis, which is supported for example by Bernard S. Bachrach, assumes that Gerberga was related to the Count of Vienne.

Between 960 and 965 Adelheid married at the age of only 12 to 15 years, Étienne de Brioude, Count of Gévaudan, one of the most powerful rulers in eastern Aquitaine. With him she had four children:

• Pons I. († between January 1016 and 21 in 1018 ), from 1011, Count of Gevaudan and Forez
• Bertrand
• Étienne, 996-998 Bishop of Puy
• Humberga (also known as Ermengarde ), ∞ William of Clermont

After the death of her first husband shortly before 975, she married Raymond, Count of Toulouse and Duke of Gothia, who died in 978, and made again a widow. With him she had their son

• William III. Taillefer († September 1037 ), Count of Toulouse

982 Your marriage in the later King Ludwig V. remained childless.

After she had left her royal husband, she married a fourth time. The groom was William I, Count of Arles, Margrave of Provence. From this connection, the following children were from:

• William II of Provence ( † March 4, 1019 ), 994-1019 Count of Provence, ∞ to 1013 Gerberga of Burgundy, daughter of Count Otto William of Burgundy
• Constance of Provence ( † July 25, 1034 ), ∞ King Robert II of France, as his third wife

In addition, the literature cites other possible children Adelaide, but so far without any doubt as their descendants could not be occupied and are also associated with different fathers in the literature. Only the above-mentioned five sons and two daughters have been determined with certainty. Possible additional children Adelheid are:

• Almodis († 1005-1010 )

• A daughter, ∞ Heribert of Troyes
• Tota - Adélaïde (c. 975-979; † after 1020), 990 ∞ Bernard I, Count of Besalu
• Luitgard

Some historians, including Constance Brittain Bouchard see in Adelaide of Anjou also the second wife of Count Otto William of Burgundy. This possible fifth marriage is justified by the fact that in a letter of Pope Benedict VIII from the beginning in 1020 next to the bishops of Provence, Burgundy and Aquitaine and Count Otto William of Burgundy, whose son Rainald I. and the Countess Adelheid, called Blanche, and their daughter Gerberga are named as addressees. But in this letter a link between Adelaide and Otto Wilhelm is not explicitly mentioned, it is also possible that they found there in their capacity as regent of the County of Provence mention. A fifth marriage Adelheid is therefore not secured.

Life

About Adelaide's childhood nothing is known. She was not yet 16 years old when she was with the Count of Gevaudan, Étienne de Brioude and married his second wife, as well from his first marriage no male heirs had emerged. This first connection Adelaide is known not by contemporary documents, but only by the chronicle of the monastery of Saint- Pierre de Puy. Upon the death of Etienne Adelaide's sons were minors, and so initially led the young widow for her government affairs of the counties of Gevaudan and Forez. Only a short time later, she entered into a second marriage with Raymond de Toulouse to 975. This compound is known by the historical work Historiae of the monk Richer of Reims. The only guaranteed child of this union was William III. Taillefer, who was still a minor when his father died, so his mother took over the regency for him.

In the year 980 arranged Adelaide's brother Godfrey I of Anjou politically expedient marriage between his widowed sister twice and the French heir Ludwig. To this end, he sent first of all negotiators to Queen Emma to make her offer of marriage. When they signaled their approval, Godfrey I was even in the Köning Lothar representations and made him the same proposal. The plan was also introduced into this agreement, because what made ​​a connection between Adelaide and the Royal Family for the Carolingian so desirable, was the extensive possessions in the south of France that controlled it. Together with the lands of the Crown in the north of the country, the territory of the emerging and competing with the Carolingians Capetians was thus taken into the pliers. In the same year traveled Lothar with his son and the entire court in the reign of Adelheid area where 982 in Brioude the wedding of the two took place. On the very day of the marriage was the newlywed couple by the brother of the bride, Bishop Guido II of Anjou, crowned King and Queen of Aquitaine. Adelheid was her 30 years, about twice as old as Ludwig, who was only about 15 years old. The large age difference between the two is likely to be well have been the decisive reason that the couple did not understand and Adelheid her husband after less than two years left marriage. As Ludwig had also not understood, to bring the Auvergne and the County of Toulouse, in his capacity as king of Aquitaine under his control, King Lothar was forced to go to Brioude and to take his son to the north.

After the departure of Louis Adelheid seems to have feared for her safety, and therefore went to Provence. There, the now mature woman married later than January 984 William I, Count of Arles and since 972 Margrave of Provence. Adelheid was his second wife, because of William's first marriage with Arsinda of Comminges came seemingly only a daughter. The connection of the two excited mainly in Rome special attention, because Adelaide married Louis had not been annulled by the Pope. It stands to reason that she had her third marriage by a local patriarch can be resolved, but is not known to whom it has been traded there. Between August 29 and 993 11 May 994 William died in Avignon, after he had recently become a monk. Adelheid was thus the third time a widow, and again the children from this marriage were still underage. Until the 1013 when her fourth husband's death about 45 -year-old ruled on behalf of her son William II the County of Provence. Initially it was while still supported by her brother Rotbald II, whose daughter married ado with her son William from his second marriage. At least from 1008 led Adelheid government business alone, presumably because Rotbald had died, and had to push through against rebellious vassals, who in the county hoped for benefits by the lack of male leadership. These conflicts also found no end, as eventually Wilhelm II himself took over the government of Provence. In military conflicts with the families de Fos and d'Hyeres he was mortally wounded and died on March 4, 1019. Again, Adelheid found in the government, this time together with the widow of her son, Gerberga of Burgundy, for their three minor children still. As the unrest in the country still increased after the death of William II, Adelheid asked her son from his second marriage, William of Toulouse, to support, who with his brother Bernhard hurried her share of Besalu to help. Nevertheless, the fighting and unrest found only in the year 1023 to an end. Adelheid had indeed managed to preserve the legacy for their grandchildren, but the family of the Counts of Provence was weakened these conflicts. With the regencies was accompanied by a loss of the count's power, but historians write this not the political inability to Adelaide, but the social changes and the structural change of the time.

In a document from the year 1024 Adelheid takes one last mention. According to the records of the monk from the monastery of Saint Arnulf -André in Villeneuve- lès -Avignon she died in 1026 in the possessions of her last husband. It was in the Abbey Montmajour, interred at Arles, she had supported her life and intended for Erbgrablege her family. Previously there already in 1019 their son William II was buried, and her grandson Gottfried found there his final resting place.