Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou( –1026) was, by her successive marriages, countess of
Gévaudan
Gévaudan (; oc, Gavaudan, Gevaudan) is a historical area of France in Lozère ''département''. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni.
History
After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans preserved the cap ...
and
Forez
Forez is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire ''département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''départements''.
The final "z" in Forez () is not pronounced in the Loire ...
, of
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
, of
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
, and of
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
, and queen of
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...
. She was the regent of Gevaudan during the minority of her sons in the 960s, and the regent of Provence during the minority of her son from 994 until 999.
Life
She was the daughter of Count
Fulk II of Anjou
Fulk II of Anjou (c. 905 — 960), called ("the Good") was Count of Anjou from 942 to his death.Refer to Bernard S. Bachrach, "Fulk Nerra: Neo-Roman Consul, 987-1040" (California, 1993) 261 and 262 for a useful genealogy of the Angevin comital l ...
and Gerberga, and sister of
Geoffrey Greymantle. She successfully increased Angevin fortunes, being married a total of five times. Her family had become upwardly mobile to the point that, as a member of just the third generation from
Ingelger
Ingelger (died 888), also called Ingelgarius, was a Frankish nobleman, who was the founder of the County of Anjou and of the original House of Anjou. Later generations of his family believed that he was the son of Tertullus (Tertulle) and Petro ...
, Adelaide-Blanche had married into the highest ranks of the older nobility of western
Francia
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
.
Her first marriage was to
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
, the powerful count of
Gévaudan
Gévaudan (; oc, Gavaudan, Gevaudan) is a historical area of France in Lozère ''département''. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni.
History
After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans preserved the cap ...
and
Forez
Forez is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire ''département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''départements''.
The final "z" in Forez () is not pronounced in the Loire ...
in eastern
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...
. She was no more than fifteen at the time and he was much older. Still, they had three children who survived to adulthood. Stephen died in the early 960s and after his death she ruled the lands as regent for her sons William, Pons and Bertrand. She continued to govern Gevaudan and Forez while her remaining two sons learned to rule their father's counties. Additionally, after her oldest son William's death in 975 she raised his infant son Stephen. Her brother Guy was made count-
bishop of Le Puy
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Le Puy-en-Velay (Latin: ''Dioecesis Aniciensis''; French: ''Diocèse du Puy-en-Velay'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the whole Department of Haute-L ...
in 975 amidst local opposition and at his request Adelaide, acting for her sons Guy and Bertrand, led an army to aid him in establishing the "
Peace of God
The Peace and Truce of God ( lat, Pax et treuga Dei) was a movement in the Middle Ages led by the Catholic Church and one of the most influential mass peace movements in history. The goal of both the ''Pax Dei'' and the ''Treuga Dei'' was to limit ...
" in le Puy.
In 982, as the widow of her second husband, Count
Raymond III of Toulouse, she wed
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
, son of King
Lothair of France
Lothair (french: Lothaire; la, Lothārius; 941 – 2 March 986), sometimes called Lothair II,After the emperor Lothair I. IIICounting Lothair II of Lotharingia, who ruled over modern Lorraine and Belgium. or IV,Counting Lothair II of Italy. ...
. The two were crowned king and queen of Aquitaine at Brioude by her brother Guy. The marriage lasted just over a year due to the couple being unable to peacefully live together. There was also a significant age difference—he being fifteen and Adelaide-Blanche being over forty. Adelaide found herself in a precarious situation with King Lothair, but was rescued by Count
William I of Provence
William I ( 950 – after 29 August 993), called the Liberator, was Count of Provence from 968 to his abdication. In 975 or 979, he took the title of ''marchio'' or margrave. He is often considered the founder of the county of Provence. He and his ...
,, whom she subsequently married . Count William died in 994 shortly after becoming a
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
at
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
.
In 1010 King
Robert II of France
Robert II (c. 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious (french: link=no, le Pieux) or the Wise (french: link=no, le Sage), was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty.
Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his ...
, along with Count
Odo II of Blois
Odo II () (983 – 15 November 1037) was the count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Beauvais and Tours from 1004 and count of Troyes (as Odo IV) and Meaux (as Odo I) from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in Italy after 1024 a ...
, went to Rome to secure an
annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure within Law, secular and Religious law, religious legal systems for declaring a marriage Void (law), null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually ex post facto law, retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is c ...
from Robert's second wife,
Constance of Arles
Constance of Arles (c. 986 – 28 July 1032), also known as Constance of Provence, was Queen of France as the third spouse of King Robert II of France.
Life
Born Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europ ...
, Adelaide-Blanche's daughter by William I.
Pope Sergius IV
Pope Sergius IV (died 12 May 1012) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 31 July 1009 to his death. His temporal power was eclipsed by the patrician John Crescentius. Sergius IV may have called for the expulsion of Mu ...
, a friend to the Angevin counts, upheld the marriage and additionally upheld Adelaide's struggle to maintain control of lands at
Montmajour Abbey
Montmajour Abbey, formally the Abbey of St. Peter in Montmajour (french: Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Montmajour), was a fortified Benedictine monastery built between the 10th and 18th centuries on what was originally an island five kilometers north ...
. These lands at Perth had been donated by Count William I of Provence with his wife Adelaide-Blanche, as well as by a previous donation by William's father, Boson.
[F de Marin de Carranrais, ''L'Abbaye de Montmajour. E'tude historique, etc. (Marseille,, 1877), pp. 33–4] A dispute over these lands arose by four brothers, sons of Nevolongus, who pope Sergius threatened with
excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
if they did not withdraw their claim.
The claim was withdrawn and the lands remained under the control of Adelaide-Blanche acting as regent for her son
William II of Provence
William II (or III) (late 980s – 1019), called the Pious, was the Count of Provence.
Life
William was the son of William I (or II) of Provence and Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou, who were married by January 984. William appears in the documents of ...
.
It has been suggested that she married a fifth time, to Count
Otto-William of Burgundy
Otto-William (french: Otte-Guillaume; german: Otto Wilhelm; 955/62 – 21 September 1026 AD) was count of Mâcon, Nevers, and county of Burgundy, Burgundy.
Life
Otto was born in 958 during the joint reign of his grandfather, King Berengar II of ...
, whose second wife was named Adelaide. However, it is disputed whether his wife Adelaide was the same as Adelaide-Blanche.
Adelaide-Blanche died in 1026, aged approximately eighty-six. The location of her death was probably at Avignon, since the year of her death is recorded by Arnoux, a monk of the abbey of Saint-André, near Avignon. She was buried in Montmajour Abbey, near
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
, considered at the time as the burial place of the family of counts of Provence.
Marriages and children
Adelaide-Blanche married first, ,
Stephen, Viscount of Gévaudan
Stephen (Stephanus), who died in 970, was Viscount Gevaudan from 954 to 970. He was the son of Bertrand, Viscount Gevaudan, and Ermengarde.
Biography
He governed Saint-Julien Brioude and Mende, and dominated southern Auvergne. Even though he had ...
(d. 970). Children of this marriage were:
** William, (–975).
** Pons, Count of Gévaudan and Forez. He died aft. 26 February 1011.
** Bertrand, Count of Gévaudan.
** Almodis of Gévaudan, she married Adalbert I de Charroux, Count de la Haute March.
** Philippa of Gévaudan, (married
William d 'Auvergne, possibly named Bertha)
Adelaide-Blanche's second marriage was to
Raymond III,
Count of Toulouse
The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings,
the hereditary counts ru ...
and
Prince of Gothia {{One source, date=December 2021
The title Prince of Gothia (''princeps Gothiæ'') or Prince of the Goths (''princeps Gothorum'') was a title of nobility, sometimes assumed by its holder as a sign of supremacy in the region of Gothia and sometimes ...
, in 975. He died in 978. She had by him at least one child:
**
William III, Count of Toulouse
William III Taillefer (also spelled ''Tallefer'' or ''Tallifer''; – September 1037) was the Count of Toulouse, Albi, and Quercy from 972 or 978 to his death. He was the first of the Toulousain branch of his family to bear the title '' marchio'' ...
**
Constance of Provence
Adelaide-Blanche married, as her third husband,
Louis V of France
Louis V ( – 22 May 987), also known as Louis the Do-Nothing (french: Louis le Fainéant), was a king of West Francia from 979 (co-reigning first with his father Lothair until 986) to his early death in 987. During his reign, the nobility essent ...
. The two were crowned
King and Queen of Aquitaine, but the marriage ended in annulment.
Adelaide-Blanche's fourth husband,
William I of Provence
William I ( 950 – after 29 August 993), called the Liberator, was Count of Provence from 968 to his abdication. In 975 or 979, he took the title of ''marchio'' or margrave. He is often considered the founder of the county of Provence. He and his ...
. Together they had:
**
William II of Provence
William II (or III) (late 980s – 1019), called the Pious, was the Count of Provence.
Life
William was the son of William I (or II) of Provence and Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou, who were married by January 984. William appears in the documents of ...
**
Constance of Arles
Constance of Arles (c. 986 – 28 July 1032), also known as Constance of Provence, was Queen of France as the third spouse of King Robert II of France.
Life
Born Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europ ...
, who later married
Robert II of France
Robert II (c. 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious (french: link=no, le Pieux) or the Wise (french: link=no, le Sage), was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty.
Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his ...
.
** Ermengarde, she married Robert I, Count of Auvergne.
** Tota-Adelaide, she married
Bernard I, Count of Besalú.
Notes
References
Sources
*
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*
*
*
External links
Medieval Lands Project on Adelaide of Anjou* Baldwin, Stewart, FASG
, Henry Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou
940s births
1026 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
House of Ingelger
Aquitainian queens consort
Countesses of Burgundy
Countesses of Toulouse
Countesses of Provence
Remarried royal consorts
10th-century women rulers
11th-century women rulers
10th-century French people
10th-century French women
11th-century French people
11th-century French women