Bernard or Bernhard de Saint Quentin (d'Herstal), Abby of von St. Quentin, Abbot of St. Quentin (c.720-787) was a son of

Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...

by his mistress Ruodhaid.

Life

Bernard was a half-brother of the Frankish King

Pepin the Short the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king. Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...

, and uncle to

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. He was brother to Hieronymus and

Remigius of Rouen Remigius (or Remi) (died 772) was the illegitimate son of Charles Martel and an unknown mistress. He was also the third archbishop of Rouen from 755 to 772. Life Remigius was educated at court, but, along with his brothers, (Bernhard, son of Char ...

. Although they were all denied any claim in the legacy of their father, they were raised at court and accorded various honors. Medievalist Donald C. Jackman suggests that Bernhard's and Charlemagne's mothers may have been closely related. In 760, he and his two brothers (Hieronymus and Remigius) went to Italy on behalf of their half-brother Pepin to mediate between

Pope Paul I Pope Paul I (; 70028 June 767) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the emerging Papal States from 29 May 757 to his death on 28 June 767. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiat ...

and

Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. De ...

. They convinced Desiderius to return some of the cities he captured back to the papacy, but the Lombard king did not follow through on his promises. In 773 Bernhard led half of the Frankish army in his nephew

's Lombard campaign. While Charlemagne led his contingent through the pass of Moncenisio, Bernard led his through the Great St. Bernard Pass. He then participated in the Siege of Pavia. Bernard was prominent in the reign of Charlemagne's son

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

Family

According to Paschasius Radbertus, Bernard married first a Frankish woman who bore him: * Adalard, abbot of

Corbie Abbey Corbie Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in Corbie, Picardy, France, dedicated to Saint Peter. It was founded by Balthild, the widow of Clovis II, who had monks sent from Luxeuil. The Abbey of Corbie became celebrated both for its librar ...

. He later married Gundlindis, daughter of Adalbert, Duke of the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

. They had two sons and two daughters. * Wala (d. 835), a high-ranking court dignitary, later abbot of Corbie * Bernhard, a monk of Corbie * Gundrada, sent to the Abbey of Ste-Croix in Poitiers * Theodrada, abbess of

Notre-Dame de Soissons Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the ...

grew concerned regarding the power and influence bestowed on his cousins by his father, and shortly after being crowned Adalard was exiled to St. Philibert on Noirmoutier, (but later reinstated at court); Count Wala was forced to separate from his wife and take his brother's place at Corbie (also later reinstated); Bernhard was exiled to Lérins; and Gundrada was sent from court. Only Theodrada, the widow of Theodoric, Duke of the Riparuarii was left undisturbed.Sismondi, Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde. ''The French Under the Merovingians''
United Kingdom, W. & T. Piper, 1850. p. 285

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould (; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 pu ...

says Bernard was the grandfather of saint Ida of Herzfeld through his daughter Theodrada.Bring-Gould, Sabine. "S. Ida, W.", ''The Lives of the Saints'', J. Hodges, 1882, p.50
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Son Of Charles Martel 720s births 787 deaths 8th-century Frankish nobility 8th-century Christian abbots Carolingian dynasty Children of Charles Martel Frankish abbots