Constance of Arles (c. 986 – 28 July 1032), also known as Constance of Provence, 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 ...

as the third spouse of 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 ...

Life

Born Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 11 Constance was the daughter of

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

, Count of Provence and

Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou( –1026) was, by her successive marriages, countess of Gévaudan and Forez, of Toulouse, of Provence, and of Burgundy, and queen of Aquitaine. She was the regent of Gevaudan during the minority of her sons in the 960 ...

, daughter of

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 ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 187 She was the sister of Count

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 was married to King Robert, after his

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

from his second wife,

Bertha of Burgundy Bertha of Burgundy (964 – 16 January 1010) was Queen of the Franks as the second wife of King Robert II. Bertha was the daughter of King Conrad of BurgundyStefan Weinfurter, ''The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition'', transl ...

. The marriage was stormy; Bertha's family opposed her, and Constance was despised for importing her Provençal kinfolk and customs. Robert's friend, Hugh of Beauvais, count palatine, tried to convince the king to repudiate her in 1007. Possibly at her request 12 knights of her kinsman

Fulk Nerra Fulk III, the Black ( 987–1040; fro, Foulque Nerra), was an early count of Anjou celebrated as one of the first great builders of medieval castles. It is estimated Fulk constructed approximately 100 castles, along with abbeys throughout the Lo ...

then murdered Beauvais in 1008. In 1010 Robert went to Rome, followed by his former wife Bertha, to seek permission to divorce Constance and remarry Bertha.

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 ...

was not about to allow a

consanguineous Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fro ...

marriage which had been formally condemned by

Pope Gregory V Pope Gregory V ( la, Gregorius V; c. 972 – 18 February 999), born Bruno of Carinthia, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 3 May 996 to his death. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was made pope by his cousin, Emperor Ott ...

and Robert had already repudiated two wives. So the request was denied. After his return according to one source Robert "loved his wife more."Penelope Ann Adair, ''Constance of Arles: A study in Duty and Frustration'', ''Capetian Women'', ed. Kathleen Nolan (New York;, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), pp. 13-14 In 1022, a trial accused clergy members of heresy--Constance's previous confessor Stephen included, Robert had his wife Queen Constance stand at the door to prevent any mob violence. However, as the condemned clerics left the trial the queen "struck out the eye of Stephen... with the staff which she carried". This was seen as Constance venting her frustration at anyone subverting the prestige of the crown. Robert Konstancie

At Constance's urging, her eldest son Hugh Magnus was crowned co-king alongside his father in 1017. But later Hugh demanded his parents share power with him, and rebelled against his father in 1025. Constance, however, on learning of her son's rebellion was furious with him, rebuking him at every turn. At some point Hugh was reconciled with his parents but shortly thereafter died, probably about age eighteen. The royal couple was devastated; there was concern for the queen’s mental health due to the violence of her grief.Penelope Ann Adair, ''Constance of Arles: A study in Duty and Frustration'', ''Capetian Women'', ed. Kathleen Nolan (New York;, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), p. 18 Robert and Constance quarrelled over which of their surviving sons should inherit the throne; Robert favored their second son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, while Constance favored their third son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. Despite his mother's protests and her support by several bishops, Henry was crowned in 1027. Constance, however, was not graceful when she didn't get her way.Penelope Ann Adair, ''Constance of Arles: A study in Duty and Frustration'', ''Capetian Women'', ed. Kathleen Nolan (New York;, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), p. 19 The ailing

Fulbert, bishop of Chartres Fulbert of Chartres (french: Fulbert de Chartres; 952–970–10 April 1028) was the Bishop of Chartres from 1006 to 1028 and a teacher at the Cathedral school there. Fulbert was a pupil of Gerbert of Aurillac, who would later become Pope Syl ...

told a colleague that he could attend the ceremony "if he traveled slowly to Reims—but he was too frightened of the queen to go at all". Constance encouraged her sons to rebel, and they began attacking and pillaging the towns and castles belonging to their father. Her son Robert attacked

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 ...

, the duchy he had been promised but had never received, and Henry seized

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granvi ...

. At last King Robert agreed to their demands and peace was made which lasted until the king's death. King Robert died on 20 July 1031. Soon afterwards Constance fell ill; she was also at odds with both her surviving sons. Constance seized 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. ...

lands and refused to surrender them. Henry fled to Normandy, where he received aid, weapons and soldiers from his brother Robert. He returned to besiege his mother at

Poissy Poissy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Pisciacais'' in French. Poissy is one of ...

but Constance escaped to

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''dépa ...

. She only surrendered when Henry began the siege of

Le Puiset Le Puiset () is a former commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Janville-en-Beauce. Name The name Le Puiset comes from Latin '' puteus'', pit or cistern, whence French ' ...

and swore to slaughter all the inhabitants. Constance died after passing out following a coughing fit on 28 July 1032 and was buried beside her husband Robert at

Saint-Denis Basilica The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...

Children

Constance and Robert had six children: # Advisa, Countess of Auxerre (–after 1063), married Count Renaud I of Nevers #

Hugh Magnus Hugh Magnus (french: Hugues le Grand) (1007 – 17 September 1025) was co-King of France under his father, Robert II, from 1017 until his death in 1025. He was a member of the House of Capet, a son of Robert II by his third wife, Constance ...

, co-king (–17 September 1026) #

Henri Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry (given name), Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List_of_rulers_named_Henry#France, List of rulers named Henry ...

(17 May 1008 – 4 August 1060) # Adela, Countess of Contenance (1009 – 8 January 1079), married (1) Duke Richard III of Normandy (2) Count Baldwin V of Flanders #

Robert I, Duke of Burgundy Robert I (1011 – 21 March 1076), known as Robert the Old and " fro, Tête-Hardi, lit=the Headstrong", was Duke of Burgundy from 1032 to his death. Robert was the son of King Robert II of France and Constance of Arles. His brother was Henry I ...

(1011–21 March 1076)Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 20 # Eudes (1013–1056)

References

Additional resources

* Jessee, W. Scott. ''A missing Capetian princess: Advisa, daughter of King Robert II of France'' (Medieval Prosopography), 1990 * Moore, R. I. ''The Birth of Popular Heresy'', 1975. * Lambert, Malcolm. ''Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation'', 1991, 9 - 17. {{DEFAULTSORT:Constance of Arles 980s births 1032 deaths Queen mothers Year of birth uncertain Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis Duchesses of Burgundy French queens consort House of Capet 10th-century French women 11th-century French women 10th-century French people 11th-century French people