Rotrude (or sometimes referred to as Hruodrud/Hruodhaid) (c.775 – 6 June 810) was a Frankish princess, the second daughter of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

from his marriage to Hildegard.

Early life

Few clear records remain of Rotrude's early life. She was educated in the Palace School by

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

, who affectionately calls her Columba in his letters to her.Gaskoin, C. J. B. Alcuin: His Life and His Work. New York: Russell & Russell, 1966 When she was six, her father betrothed her to the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI, whose mother

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United State ...

was ruling as regent. The Greeks called her ''Erythro'' and sent a scholar monk called Elisaeus to educate her in Greek language and manners.Runciman, Steven. "The Empress Irene the Athenian." Medieval Women. Ed. Derek Baker. Oxford: Ecclesiastical History Society, 1978. However, the alliance fell apart by 786 when she was eleven and Constantine's mother, Irene, broke the engagement in 788. She had a relationship with Rorgo of Rennes and had one son with him, Louis, Abbot of Saint-Denis (800 – 9 January 867). She never married.

Later life

Rotrude eventually became a nun, joining her aunt Gisela, abbess of Chelles. The two women authored a letter to

Alcuin of York Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student ...

, who was at Tours at the time, requesting that he write a commentary explaining the ''

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

''."Epistola Christi Familarum Gislae atque Rechtrudae ad Albinum Magistrum." Patrologia Latina 100:738D-740C. As a result, Alcuin eventually produced his seven-book ''Commentaria in Iohannem Evangelistam'', a more accessible companion to the gospel than

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

's massive and challenging ''Tractatus'' in St. John. Commentators have dated the letter to the spring of 800, four years before Alcuin's death and ten before Rotrude's.Ed. Dümmler, Monumenta Germanicae Historica: Epistolae aevi Carolini II, pp 323-325 In contemporary views of history, most scholars discriminate between the two phases of Rotrude's life. Political histories of her father Charlemagne discuss her as a princess who was potentially a pawn and a woman of questionable morals,rotrud_tochter_karls_des_grossen_+_810
/ref> while religious histories discuss her as the second nun in the letter from Chelles.Commentaria

Ancestry

References

{{Authority control 770s births 810 deaths Frankish princesses Children of Charlemagne 8th-century Frankish women 9th-century French women Daughters of emperors Daughters of kings