Constance of Arles ( 986 – 28 July 1032), also known as Constance of Provence, was

Queen of France This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the French Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning monarchs te ...

as the third wife of King

Robert II of France Robert II ( 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious () or the Wise (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his father on military matters ...

Life

Born Constance was the daughter of

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

, Count of Provence and Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou, daughter of Fulk II of Anjou. She was the sister of Count William II of Provence. Constance was married to King Robert, after his

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

from his second wife,

Bertha of Burgundy Bertha of Burgundy (964 – 16 January 1010) was Queen consort of the Franks as the second wife of King Robert II. Bertha was the daughter of King Conrad of Burgundy Stefan Weinfurter, ''The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transitio ...

. The marriage was stormy; Bertha's family opposed her, and Constance was despised for importing her

Provençal Provençal may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Provence, a region of France ** Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France ** ''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language * Provenca ...

kinfolk and customs. Robert's friend, Hugh of Beauvais, count palatine, tried to convince the king to repudiate her in 1007. Possibly at her request 12 knights of her kinsman

Fulk Nerra Fulk III, the Black ( 970–1040; ) was an early Count of Anjou celebrated as one of the first great builders of medieval castles. It is estimated Fulk constructed approximately 100 castles as well as abbeys throughout the Loire Valley in what is ...

then murdered Beauvais in 1008. In 1010 Robert went to Rome, followed by his former wife Bertha, to seek permission to divorce Constance and remarry Bertha.

Pope Sergius IV Pope Sergius IV (died 12 May 1012) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 31 July 1009 to his death. His temporal power (papal), temporal power was eclipsed by the patrician John Crescentius. Sergius IV may have calle ...

was not about to allow a

consanguineous Consanguinity (from Latin '' consanguinitas'' 'blood relationship') is the characteristic of having a kinship with a relative who is descended from a common ancestor. Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are closely related by blo ...

marriage which had been formally condemned by

Pope Gregory V Pope Gregory V (; c. 972 – 18 February 999), born Bruno of Carinthia, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 3 May 996 to his death. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was made pope by his cousin, Emperor Otto III. Family ...

and Robert had already repudiated two wives. So the request was denied. After his return according to one source Robert "loved his wife more." In 1022, a trial accused clergy members of heresy, Constance's previous confessor Stephen included. Robert had his wife Queen Constance stand at the door to prevent any mob violence. However, as the condemned clerics left the trial the queen "struck out the eye of Stephen... with the staff which she carried". This was seen as Constance venting her frustration at anyone subverting the prestige of the crown. Robert Konstancie

At Constance's urging, her eldest son Hugh Magnus was crowned co-king alongside his father in 1017. But later Hugh demanded his parents share power with him, and rebelled against his father in 1025. Constance, however, on learning of her son's rebellion was furious with him, rebuking him at every turn. At some point Hugh was reconciled with his parents but shortly thereafter died, probably about age eighteen. The royal couple was devastated; there was concern for the queen’s mental health due to the violence of her grief. Robert and Constance quarrelled over which of their surviving sons should inherit the throne; Robert favored their second son

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, while Constance favored their third son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

. Despite his mother's protests and her support by several bishops, Henry was crowned in 1027. Constance, however, was not graceful when she didn't get her way. The ailing Fulbert, bishop of Chartres told a colleague that he could attend the ceremony "if he traveled slowly to Reims—but he was too frightened of the queen to go at all". Constance encouraged her sons to rebel, and they began attacking and pillaging the towns and castles belonging to their father. Her son Robert attacked

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, the duchy he had been promised but had never received, and Henry seized

Dreux Dreux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise (river), Blaise, a tributary of the Eure (river), Eure, about 35 km north of Cha ...

. At last King Robert agreed to their demands and peace was made which lasted until the king's death. King Robert died on 20 July 1031. Soon afterwards Constance fell ill; she was also at odds with both her surviving sons. Constance seized her

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settlement (law), settled on the bride (being given into trust instrument, trust) by agreement at the time of t ...

lands and refused to surrender them. Henry fled to Normandy, where he received aid, weapons and soldiers from his brother Robert. He returned to besiege his mother at

Poissy Poissy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Inhabitan ...

but Constance escaped to

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune north of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official (capital) of the Val-d'Oise '' département'', although in reality the ' ...

. She only surrendered when Henry began the siege of Le Puiset and swore to slaughter all the inhabitants. Constance died after passing out following a coughing fit on 28 July 1032 and was buried beside her husband Robert at

Saint-Denis Basilica The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...

Children

Constance and Robert had: # Advisa, Countess of Auxerre (–after 1063), married Count

Renaud I of Nevers Renauld I (died 29 May 1040) was a French nobleman. He was the Count of Nevers and Count of Auxerre from 1028 until his death at the battle of Seignelay against Robert I, Duke of Burgundy. Family Renauld was the son of Landerich of Monceau and M ...

Hugh Magnus Hugh (, 1007 – 17 September 1025), sometimes called ''Hugh the Great'', was co-king of France under his father, Robert II, from 1017 until his death in 1025. He was a member of the House of Capet, a son of Robert II by his third wife, Con ...

, co-king (–17 September 1026) #

Henri Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * H ...

(17 May 1008 – 4 August 1060) # Adela, Countess of Contenance (1009 – 8 January 1079), married Count Baldwin V of Flanders #

Robert I, Duke of Burgundy Robert I (1011 – 21 March 1076), known as the Old or the Headstrong (), was Duke of Burgundy from 1032 to his death. Robert was the third son of King Robert II of France and Constance of Arles. His brother was Henry I of France. Life In ...

(1011–21 March 1076) # Eudes (1013–1056) # Constance of France (b. 1014), married

Manasses, Count of Dammartin Manasses (died 15 December 1037), Count of Dammartin (Dammartin-en-Goële), son of Hilduin II, Count of Arcis-sur-Aube and Seigneur de Ramerupt. He was a member of the House of Montdidier. Manasses died in the battle of Ornel, near Etain, Bar-le ...

and had issue.

References

Sources

* * * * * *

Additional resources

* Jessee, W. Scott. ''A missing Capetian princess: Advisa, daughter of King Robert II of France'' (Medieval Prosopography), 1990 * Moore, R. I. ''The Birth of Popular Heresy'', 1975. * Lambert, Malcolm. ''Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation'', 1991, 9 - 17. {{DEFAULTSORT:Constance of Arles 980s births 1032 deaths French queen mothers Year of birth uncertain Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis Duchesses of Burgundy Queens consort of France House of Capet 10th-century French women 11th-century French women 10th-century French nobility 11th-century French nobility