Bertrada of Laon (born between 710 and 727 – 12 July 783), also known as Bertrada the Younger or Bertha Broadfoot ( cf. Latin: ''Regina pede aucae'' i.e. the queen with the goose-foot), was a Frankish queen. She was the wife of

Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

and the mother 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 Em ...

, Carloman and Gisela, plus five other children.

Nickname

Bertrada's nickname "Bertha Broadfoot" dates back to the 13th century, when it was used in Adenes Le Roi's

trouvère ''Trouvère'' (, ), sometimes spelled ''trouveur'' (, ), is the Northern French ('' langue d'oïl'') form of the '' langue d'oc'' (Occitan) word ''trobador'', the precursor of the modern French word ''troubadour''. ''Trouvère'' refers to poet ...

''Li rouman de Berte aus grands piés''. The exact reason that Bertrada was given this nickname is unclear. It is possible that Bertrada was born with a

clubfoot Clubfoot is a birth defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of cases, clubfoot aff ...

, although Adenes does not mention this in his poem. The nickname might have been a reference to an ancient legend about a Germanic goddess named Perchta, to real and mythological queens named Bertha, or to several similarly named Christian queens. Many myths and legends exist in Europe and Asia, in which clubfooted people are described as the link between the world of the living and the spirit world. The tavern sign in

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie Franç ...

's novel '' At the Sign of the Reine Pédauque'' alludes to this queen.

Biography

Early life and ancestry

Bertrada was born sometime between 710 and 727 in

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territori ...

, in today's Aisne, France, to Count Charibert of Laon. Charibert's father might have been related to Hugobertides. Charibert's mother was Bertrada of Prüm, who founded

Prüm Abbey Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm, now in the diocese of Trier (Germany), founded by the Frankish widow Bertrada the elder and her son Charibert, Count of Laon, in 721. The first abbot was Angloardus. The Abbey ruled over a ...

along with Charibert. Bertrada Broadfoot of Laon Berthe au Grand Pied Versailles

Marriage and children

Bertrada married

, the son of

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish state ...

, the Frankish " Mayor of the Palace", in 741. However, Pepin and Bertrada were too closely related for their marriage to be legal at that time; the union was not canonically sanctioned until 749, after the birth of Charlemagne. According to French historian Léon Levillain, Bertrada was Pepin's first and only wife. Other sources suggest that Pepin had previously married a "Leutberga" or "Leutbergie", with whom Pepin would have had five children. Bertrada and Pepin are known to have had eight children: at least three sons and at least four daughters. Of these,

(c. 742 – 814), Carloman (751–771) and Gisela (757–811) survived to adulthood. Pepin, born in 756, died young in 762. Bertrada and Pepin also had

Berthe Saint Bertha or Saint Aldeberge (c. 565 – d. in or after 601) was the queen of Kent whose influence led to the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England. She was canonized as a saint for her role in its establishment during that period of E ...

, Adelaide, and Rothaide. Gisela became a nun at Chelles Abbey.

Queen of the Franks

In 751, Pepin and Bertrada became King and Queen of the Franks, following Pepin's successful coup against the Frankish

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

monarchs. Pepin was crowned in June 754, and Bertrada, Charlemagne, and Carloman were blessed by Pope Stephen II. After Pepin's death in 768, Bertrada lost her title as Queen of the Franks. Charlemagne and Carloman inherited the two halves of Pepin's kingdom. Bertrada stayed at the court and often tried to stop arguments between the two brothers. Some historians credit Bertrada's support for her elder son Charlemagne over her younger son Carloman, and her diplomatic skills, for Charlemagne's early success. Although her influence over Charlemagne may have diminished in time, she lived at his court, and, according to Einhard, their relationship was excellent. Bertrada recommended that Charlemagne set aside his legal wife, Himiltrude, and marry

Desiderata "Desiderata" (Latin: "things desired") is an early 1920s prose poem by the American writer Max Ehrmann. Although he copyrighted it in 1927, he distributed copies of it without a required copyright notice during 1933 and , thereby forfeiting his ...

, a daughter of the Lombard king

Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Des ...

, but Charlemagne soon divorced Desiderata. Einhard claims this was the only episode that ever strained relations between mother and son.

Later life and death

Bertrada retired from the court after Carloman's death in 771 to live in Choisy-au-Bac, where Charlemagne had set aside a royal house for her. Choisy-au-Bac was favorable because of its history of being the home and burial place of several Merovingian kings. Bertrada died on 12 July 783 in Choisy-au-Bac. Charlemagne buried her in the Basilica of St Denis near Pepin.

In literature

Bertrada inspired Adenes Le Roi to write the poem ''Li rouman de Berte aus grands piés'' in 1270. Adenes referred to her as "Bertha Broadfoot", the earliest known usage of that nickname. Bertrada is also referred to as "Bertha Broadfoot" in

François Villon François Villon ( Modern French: , ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these ...

's 15th-century poem '' Ballade des dames du temps jadis''.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrada of Laon 8th-century births 783 deaths Year of birth uncertain 8th-century Frankish women People from Picardy Queen mothers Frankish queens consort Carolingian dynasty Burgundian queens consort Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis