Hedwige of Saxony (also ''Hedwig'', german: Hadwig von Sachsen; – after 958), a member of the

Ottonian dynasty The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after th ...

, was Duchess consort of the Franks by her marriage to the

Robertian The Robertians (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship) are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries. The Capetians appear first ...

duke

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. Biography Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and Béatrice of Vermandois.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der E ...

. Upon her husband's death in 956, she acted as a

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

during the minority of their son

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

, the founder of the Elder

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 ...

Life

Hedwig was a younger daughter of the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

duke

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, h ...

( – 936), elected

King of East Francia This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Empi ...

from 919, and his second wife

Matilda of Ringelheim Matilda of Ringelheim ( 892 – 14 March 968), also known as Saint Matilda, was a Saxon noblewoman. Due to her marriage to Henry I in 909, she became the first Ottonian queen. Her eldest son, Otto I, restored the Holy Roman Empire in 962. Mati ...

( – 968). Her siblings were

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

, who succeeded his father as king and was crowned

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

in 962; Duke Henry I of Bavaria; Gerberga of Saxony, who married King

Louis IV of France Louis IV (September 920 / September 921 – 10 September 954), called ''d'Outremer'' or ''Transmarinus'' (both meaning "from overseas"), reigned as King of West Francia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the only son of ...

in 939; and Archbishop

Bruno of Cologne Bruno of Cologne, O.Cart. (german: Bruno von Köln, it, Bruno di Colonia;c. 1030 – 6 October 1101), venerated as Saint Bruno, was the founder of the Carthusian Order. He personally founded the order's first two communities. He was a celebrate ...

. After her brother Otto I came to power in 936, an alliance and marriage was arranged with the

West Frankish In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

duke Hugh the Great, who sought support in his struggles with King Louis IV. Hedwig was Hugh's third wife. They married probably in May 937. When Hedwig's husband died in 956, her son Hugh Capet was still underage. Although Hugh inherited his father's estates, he did not rule independently from the beginning. Along with her brother, Archbishop Bruno, Hedwig acted as Hugh's regent and administrator of the Robertian estates until he came of age. Bruno also held guardianship over his nephew 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 Ita ...

, son of his sister Gerberga, and temporarily raised to one of the most powerful nobles in West Francia. Hedwig backed her brother in his conflict with Count

Reginar III of Hainaut Reginar III (c. 920 – 973) was Count of Hainaut from approximately 940 until his exile in 958. He was the son of Reginar II, Count of Hainaut. He took part in the rebellion of his uncle Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine. When Gilbert was killed in 93 ...

and arbitrated in the rivalry between her son Hugh Capet and King Lothair. Hedwig is last mentioned in 958 by the West Frankish chronicler Flodoard of Reims and may have died soon afterward; a 965 entry by

Sigebert of Gembloux Sigebert of Gembloux (Sigebertus Gemblacensis; 1030 – 5 October 1112) was a medieval author, known mainly as a pro-Imperial historian of a universal chronicle, opposed to the expansive papacy of Gregory VII and Pascal II. Early in his life ...

seems doubtful.

Issue

Hedwig had five children with her husband

: *

Beatrice of France Beatrice of France or Beatrice of Paris (c. 938 - 23 September 1003) was Duchess consort of Upper Lorraine by marriage to Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine, and regent of Upper Lorraine in 978-980 during the minority of her son Thierry I. Life ...

married

Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine Frederick I (c. 912 – 18 May 978) was the count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine. He was a son of Wigeric, count of Bidgau, also count palatine of Lorraine, and Cunigunda, and thus a sixth-generation descendant of Charlemagne. In 954, he marr ...

. *

(c. 941 – 996), who was crowned King of France in 987. * Emma of Paris (943–968), who married Duke

Richard I of Normandy Richard I (28 August 932 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French: ''Richard Sans-Peur''; Old Norse: ''Jarl Rikard''), was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln ...

in 960. *

Otto, Duke of Burgundy Otto of Burgundy (944 – 22 February 965) was Duke of Burgundy from 956 to his death. Otto was a son of Hugh the Great, duke of the Franks, and his wife Hedwig of Saxony, a sister of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. He was a brother of King Hugh Cape ...

(945–965) * Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Medieval Lands Project
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedwig of Saxony Ottonian dynasty Countesses of Paris 910s births Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Duchesses of Aquitaine 10th-century women rulers 10th-century French women 10th-century French people 10th-century Saxon people 10th-century German women Daughters of kings