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 Constance was the daughter of William I, 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. She was the sister of Count William II of Provence. Constance was married to King Robert, after his divorce from his second wife, Bertha of Burgundy. The marriage was stormy; Bertha's family opposed her, and Constance was despised for importing her

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

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 ...

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 was not about to allow a consanguineous 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." 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 Staff may refer to: Pole * Staff, a weapon used in stick-fighting ** Quarterstaff, a European pole weapon * Staff of office, a pole that indicates a position * Staff (railway signalling), a token authorizing a locomotive driver to use a particula ...

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. Robert and Constance quarrelled over which of their surviving sons should inherit the throne; Robert favored their second son Henry, while Constance favored their third son, Robert. 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. 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 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 but Constance escaped to Pontoise. 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.

Children

Constance and Robert had: # Advisa, Countess of Auxerre (–after 1063), married Count

Renaud I of Nevers Renauld I (died 29 May 1040) was a French nobleman. He was the Count of Nevers and Count of Auxerre from 1028 until his death at the battle of Seignelay against Robert I, Duke of Burgundy. Family Renauld was the son of Landerich of Monceau and Ma ...

# Hugh Magnus, 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 Count

Baldwin V of Flanders Baldwin V ( 1012 – 1 September 1067) was Count of Flanders from 1035 until his death. He secured the personal union between the counties of Flanders and Hainaut and maintained close links to the Anglo-Saxon monarchy, which was overthrown by hi ...

# Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (1011–21 March 1076) # Eudes (1013–1056) # Constance of France (b. 1014), married

Manasses, Count of Dammartin Manasses (died 15 December 1037), Count of Dammartin (Dammartin-en-Goële), son of Hilduin II, Count of Arcis-sur-Aube and Seigneur de Ramerupt. He was a member of the House of Montdidier. Manasses died in the battle of Ornel, near Etain, Bar-le-D ...

and had issue.

References

Sources

* * * * * *

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 French queen mothers Year of birth uncertain Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis Duchesses of Burgundy Queens consort of France House of Capet 10th-century French women 11th-century French women 10th-century French nobility 11th-century French nobility