Bertha of Holland ( 1055 – 15 October 1094), also known as Berthe or Bertha of Frisia and erroneously as Berta or Bertrada, was

Queen of France This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning monarchs technica ...

from 1072 until 1092, as the first wife of King

Philip I of France Philip I (23 May 1052 – 29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low i ...

. Bertha's marriage to the king in 1072 was a result of peace negotiations between him and her stepfather, Count

Robert I of Flanders Robert I ( – 13 October 1093), known as ''Robert the Frisian'', was count of Flanders from 1071 to his death in 1093. He was a son of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and the younger brother of Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders. He usurped the counts ...

. After nine years of childlessness, the royal couple had three children, including Philip's successor, Louis VI. Philip, however, grew tired of his wife by 1090, and repudiated her in 1092 in order to marry the already married

Bertrade of Montfort Bertrade de Montfort (c. 1070 – 14 February 1117) was Queen of France by her marriage to Philip I of France. Initially married to Fulk IV, Count of Anjou, she left him and married Philip. Later she founded a daughter house of Fontevraud Abbey at ...

. That marriage was a scandal since both Philip and Bertrade were already married to other people, at least until Queen Bertha died the next year.

Early life

Bertha was the daughter of Count Floris I of Holland and

Gertrude of Saxony Gertrude of Saxony ( 1030 – August 4, 1113), also known as Gertrude Billung, was a countess of Holland by marriage to Floris I, Count of Holland, and countess of Flanders by marriage to Robert I, Count of Flanders. She was regent of Holland i ...

.William (of Malmesbury), ''Gesta Regum Anglorum: The History of the English Kings: General introduction and commentary'', Volume 2, Roger Aubrey Baskerville Mynors, Rodney M. Thomson and Michael Winterbottom (Oxford University Press, 1999), 244. Bertha had six siblings and both of her parents came from large families. Her father ruled a territory vaguely described as "Friesland west of the

Vlie The Vlie or Vliestroom is the seaway between the Dutch islands of Vlieland, to its southwest, and Terschelling, to its northeast. The Vlie was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times. In 1666 the English Admiral Robert Holmes burnt a ...

", which is where Bertha spent her childhood. Count Floris I was assassinated in 1061, and two years later her mother remarried to Robert of Flanders. Robert, now known as Robert the Frisian, became guardian of Bertha and her six siblings. In 1070, Robert the Frisian became involved in a war with King

over succession to the

County of Flanders The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Yp ...

. Within two years, Robert and Philip concluded a peace treaty which was to be sealed by a marriage; Robert's own daughters were too young, but their half-sister Bertha was just the right age. Robert thus agreed to the marriage of his stepdaughter to King Philip. Bertha married Philip, thus becoming queen of the Franks, probably in 1072.

Queenship

Bertha was, at the time, the lowest-ranking woman to marry a French king; no suitable princess could be found, since they were all too closely related to Philip for the marriage to any of them to be seen as perfectly valid by the Church. Bertha had no kings among her traceable ancestors and lacked even tenuous links with the Carolingian that her predecessors could claim. Consequently, contemporary chroniclers did not even try to present her lineage as more exalted than that of a count's daughter. Nevertheless, the shortage of royal candidates made Bertha a suitable choice. The regal title she gained by this marriage was prestigious, but had little meaning, as she was confined to her husband's small

royal domain Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

that covered little more than areas around

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Little is known about Bertha's queenship. She co-signed only three donation charters. However, she plays a prominent role in the hagiography titled ''Vita Arnulfi''. The hagiography describes how she used her regal power (''vi regia'') to expel Abbot Gerard of Saint-Médard and reinstate the former abbot, Pontius, who had been removed due to his mismanagement of the abbey. Saint Arnulf of Soissons warned her that doing so would incur the wrath of God and lead to her being driven out of the kingdom into exile, where she would die despised and miserable. The queen furiously refused to listen to him. Although all the extant versions of ''Vita Arnulfi'' refer to the queen as Bertrada, it is clear that the queen mentioned in the hagiography is Bertha of Holland, given that the events mentioned in it took place while Bertha was queen and more than a decade before she was replaced as such by Bertrade (or Bertrada) of Montfort. The hagiography, however, was written after Bertha died and during Bertrade's queenship, which might explain the name confusion.

Childlessness

For six years, King Philip and Queen Bertha were troubled by their

childlessness Childlessness is the state of not having children. Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance. Childlessness, which may be by choice or circumstance, is distinguished from voluntary childlessness, which is voluntarily havi ...

and especially by the lack of male children, which was not unusual among the early male members of the

House of Capet The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most ...

. Things suddenly took a different course, however, when the Queen had three children in quick succession: a daughter named

Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...

in 1078 and two sons, the long-hoped heir named

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 ( ...

in 1081 and Henry, born in 1083 and who died in infancy. The birth of the long-awaited heir apparent had such a great impact that a story of a miracle developed around it. Reportedly, the couple's fertility was only restored thanks to the prayers of a hermit, Saint Arnulf of Soissons. Arnulf informed Queen Bertha that she was expecting a son and that it would be appropriate to give him the Carolingian name of Louis. A daughter, Constance, soon followed. Bertha gave birth to one more son, named Henry, but he appears to have died in infancy or childhood.

Repudiation

After the birth of three children, the marriage began breaking apart. The King became tired of his wife but the reasons are unclear. Contemporary chroniclers give different explanations. According to the English historian

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...

, Philip complained that Bertha was "too fat", though he was himself becoming too obese to ride a horse. In 1092, Philip announced his decision to divorce "the noble and virtuous daughter of Florent count of Holland and stepdaughter of Robert the Frisian" and marry the already married

, the wife of Count Fulk IV of Anjou. The repudiated queen withdrew to the fortress of

Montreuil-sur-Mer Montreuil (; also nl, Monsterole), also known as Montreuil-sur-Mer (; pcd, Montreu-su-Mér or , literally ''Montreuil on Sea''), is a sub-prefecture in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It is located on the Canche river, not far fr ...

, which was part of her

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

land. By doing so, Philip infuriated his stepfather-in-law. Bertha died soon thereafter, on 15 October 1094. This simplified matters for Philip who was now free to remarry—though not the Countess of Anjou, whose husband Fulk was still living. In 1108, Philip died. The son of the queen who had been repudiated ostensibly for her obesity ascended the French throne as Louis VI. Both he and her fraternal nephew, Count Floris II of Holland, were nicknamed "the Fat".

Issue

Together, Philip and Bertha had three children: #

(1078 – 14 September 1126), married

Hugh I of Champagne image:Hugo I.jpg, Seal Hugh ( 1074 – c. 1125) was the Count of Champagne from 1093 until his death. Hugh was the third son of Theobald III, Count of Blois and Adele of Valois, bearing the title Count of Bar-sur-Aube. His older brother Odo IV, Cou ...

before 1097 and then, after her divorce, to

Bohemund I of Antioch Bohemond I of Antioch (5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leading a contingent of Normans on the q ...

in 1106. # Louis VI of France (1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137). #Henry (b. 1083), died young.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertha of Holland 1050s births 1094 deaths Year of birth uncertain 11th-century French women House of Capet French queens consort Repudiated queens 11th-century French people