Adela of France,Other forms of her name are Adèle, Adélaïde, Adelheid, Aelis and Alix. known also as Adela the Holy or Adela of Messines; (1009 – 8 January 1079, Messines), was, by marriage,

Duchess of Normandy The Duchess of Normandy was the wife of the ruler or sub-ruler of the Duchy of Normandy.However,for the queen regnant such as Elizabeth II will be also called the Duke of Normandy. Duchess of Normandy First Creation House of Normandy, 911 ...

(January – August 1027), and

Countess of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...

(1035–1067).

Family

Adela was the second daughter 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 ...

and

Constance of Arles 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 Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europ� ...

. She is usually identified with Adela who in January 1027 married Duke

Richard III of Normandy Richard III (997/1001 – 6 August 1027) was the duke of Normandy who reigned from August 1026 to his death. His brief reign opened with a revolt by his brother. Life Richard III was the eldest son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith of Brittan ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 79 The marriage was short-lived for on 6 August of that same year Richard III suddenly died. This identification is in doubt as Adela was sent in infancy to be raised in the Flemish court. Adela 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 ...

in 1028.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 5

Countess of Flanders

Adela managed to gain influence in the policy of Flanders, through her family connections, and was described as very proud of her rank, a pride she passed on to her children. She had been given a higher education than normal for a woman by monks from the St Peter's convent in Ghent and could speak and read Latin, which she taught to her children. It is evident that she was an active political partner of her spouse. Half of the charters issued by him are co-signed by her (often with the title "Sister to the King of France"), which was far from a given thing for a consort.Tracy Joanne Borman: Queen of the Conqueror: The Life of Matilda, Wife of William I, Bantam Books, 2012 She was particularly active within church reform, such as enforcing the

clerical celibacy Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because thes ...

. On the death of her brother, King

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...

, the guardianship of his seven-year-old son King

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) (1 ...

fell jointly on his widow,

Anne of Kiev Anne of Kiev or Anna Yaroslavna, Russian: Анна Ярославна (c. 1030 – 1075) was a Rus' princess who became Queen of France in 1051 upon marrying King Henry I. She ruled the kingdom as regent during the minority of their son Philip ...

, and on his brother-in-law, Adela's husband, so that from 1060 to 1067, they were regents of France. Adela had a strong interest in Baldwin V's church reforms and was behind her husband's founding of several

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

es. Directly or indirectly, she was responsible for establishing the Colleges of Aire (1049), Lille (1050) and Harelbeke (1064) as well as the abbeys of Messines (1057) and Ename (1063).

Monastic life

After Baldwin's death in 1067, she went to Rome, took the nun's veil from the hands of

Pope Alexander II Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria reform ...

and retired to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

convent of Messines, near

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...

. In 1071, Adela's third son,

Robert the Frisian 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 countsh ...

, planned to invade Flanders even though at that time the count of Flanders was Adela's grandson, Arnulf III. When she heard about Robert's plans, she asked

to stop him. Philip sent soldiers to support Arnulf including a contingent of ten Norman knights led by

William FitzOsborn William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil ( 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Herefo ...

. Robert's forces attacked Arnulf's numerically superior army at Cassel before it could organize, and Arnulf was killed along with William FitzOsborn. Robert's overwhelming victory led to Philip making peace with Robert and investing him as count. A year later, Philip married Robert's stepdaughter,

Bertha of Holland 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 from 1072 until 1092, as the first wife of King Philip I of France. Bertha's marriage to the king in ...

, and in 1074, Philip restored the seigneurie of Corbie to the crown. Adela died in the convent of Messines and was buried at the convent. Honoured as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, her commemoration day is 8 September.

Family

Her possible first marriage was in 1027 to

Richard III, Duke of Normandy Richard III (997/1001 – 6 August 1027) was the duke of Normandy who reigned from August 1026 to his death. His brief reign opened with a revolt by his brother. Life Richard III was the eldest son of Richard II of Normandy and Judith of Britta ...

(died 1027). They had no children. Her marriage in 1028 was to

Baldwin V, Count 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 h ...

(died 1067). Their children were: * Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders (–1070). *

Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders (french: link=no, Mathilde; nl, Machteld) ( 1031 – 2 November 1083) was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy by marriage to William the Conqueror, and regent of Normandy during his absences from the duchy. She was t ...

(–1083). In she married

William, Duke of Normandy 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 10 ...

, the future King of England and had issue. *

Robert I, Count 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 countsh ...

(–1093).

Notes

References

{{s-end 1009 births 1079 deaths 11th-century French people 11th-century French women 11th-century Norman women Countesses of Flanders Duchesses of Normandy French princesses House of Capet House of Normandy Adele of France Daughters of kings