Ansgarde of Burgundy (d. 880/882) was a French queen of Aquitaine, but never of West Francia, the daughter of Hardouin of Burgundy. She secretly married

Louis the Stammerer Louis II, known as Louis the Stammerer (french: Louis le Bègue; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. Louis ...

before he was king; her sons became

Louis III of France Louis III (863/65—5 August 882) was King of West Francia (a precursor to the Kingdom of France) from 879 until his death in 882. He succeeded his father Louis the Stammerer, and ruled over West Francia in tandem with his brother Carloman II. L ...

and

Carloman II Carloman II ( 866 – 6 December 884) was the King of West Francia from 879 until his death. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he and his elder brother, Louis III, divided the kingdom between themselves and ruled jointly until the latter's d ...

. Because

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...

wished to marry his son to

Adelaide of Paris ; c. 850/853 – 10 November 901) was a Frankish queen. She was the second wife of Louis the Stammerer, King of West Francia and mother of Charles the Simple. Life Adelaide was daughter of the count palatine Adalard of Paris. She was chosen by Charl ...

, he had to seek a papal

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning al ...

; this he did and Adelaide married Louis in February 875. Ansgarde was thus repudiated, but at the death of Louis in 879 she worked to ensure that her sons could mount the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the mona ...

of France themselves. To that end, she sought to revisit the subject of her divorce with the

archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims (traditionally spelt "Rheims" in English) ( la, Archidiœcesis Remensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese a ...

. Adelaide, however, was pregnant, and gave birth to a son on September 17 of that year, which thus called into doubt the inheritance of Ansgarde's own sons. Ansgarde and her sons attacked Adelaide's marriage, accusing her of

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

; consequently, Louis and Carloman mounted the throne together. However, both died without issue, and after a long and difficult process Adelaide finally saw her son confirmed as

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

, the only legitimate heir to the throne. Ansgarde passes into obscurity after this episode, and the date of her death is not conclusively known.

References

* Martina Hartmann: Die Königin im frühen Mittelalter. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-17-0184-73-2 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ansgarde of Burgundy 880s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Women from Burgundy Aquitainian queens consort 9th-century French women 9th-century French people