Emma of Altdorf, also known as Hemma ( – 31 January 876), a member of the

Elder House of Welf An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

, was Queen consort of East Francia by marriage to King

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

, from 843 until her death.

Life

Her father was

Welf I Welf I or Welfo (died before 876) was a Swabian nobleman. He was a member of the Elder House of Welf. Welf was probably a son of Conrad I of Auxerre, and seems to have taken over his father's offices in Swabia, namely: count of Alpgau, count o ...

(d. 825), Count of

Altorf Altorf (; german: Altdorf; gsw-FR, Àldorf) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Altorfois'' or ''Altorfoises''. The commune has been awarded one ...

in Alamannia; her mother was

Hedwig Hedwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist * Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist * Romanus Adol ...

(Heilwig; c. 775 – after 833), a daughter of the Saxon count Isambart. Emma's elder sister was Judith, who in February 819 married the Carolingian emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

, and thereby became Queen consort of the Franks and

Holy Roman Empress The Holy Roman Empress or Empress of the Holy Roman Empire (''Kaiserin des Heiligen Römischen Reiches'') was the wife or widow of the Holy Roman Emperor. The elective dignity of Holy Roman emperor was restricted to males only, but some empresse ...

. The marriage marked a crucial step forward in the rise of the Welf dynasty. In 827, probably at the instigation of Judith, Hemma married

, the youngest son of Emperor Louis the Pious from his first marriage with

Ermengarde of Hesbaye Ermengarde (or Irmingard) of Hesbaye (c. 778 – 3 October 818), probably a member of the Robertian dynasty, was Carolingian empress from 813 and Queen of the Franks from 814 until her death as the wife of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Piou ...

, and stepson of Hemma's sister Judith. The wedding ceremony possibly took place in Regensburg, where Louis the German resided as

King of Bavaria King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a thousand ...

subordinate to his father. In 833, Hemma received Obermünster Abbey in Regensburg from her husband. Emperor Louis died in 840. After severe innerdynastic struggles, the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...

eventually was divided according to the

Treaty of Verdun The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three years of civil war and ...

in 843. The Kingdom of Bavaria was merged with Louis the German's Kingdom of East Francia (the predecessor of the

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...

), and his wife Hemma became the first East Frankish queen. Hemma is rarely mentioned in contemporary sources; she does not seem to have had much influence on her husband's rule. The ''

Annales Bertiniani ''Annales Bertiniani'' (''Annals of Saint Bertin'') are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the Abbey of Saint Bertin, Saint-Omer, France, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus contin ...

'' written by Archbishop

Hincmar of Reims Hincmar (; ; la, Hincmarus; 806 – 21 December 882), archbishop of Reims, was a Frankish jurist and theologian, as well as the friend, advisor and propagandist of Charles the Bald. He belonged to a noble family of northern Francia. Biography Ea ...

however reproach her for a pride which displeased the people of Italy. She is also said to have inordinately favoured her son Carloman, designated heir of his father in Bavaria, which led to a revolt by his brothers. Hemma suffered a stroke in 874 and subsequently became paralyzed and speechless; King Louis visited her the last time in 875. She died on 31 January 876, a few months before her husband, and was buried in St. Emmeram's Abbey, Regensburg. Her tomb, erected around 1300, is considered a masterpiece of medieval sculpture.

Family

By Louis, she had eight children: * Hildegard (827–856) * Carloman (828–880) * Ermengard ( c. 830-866) *Gisela, married to Berctolf, Count of Swabia. Grandmother of Cunigunde of Swabia, wife of Conrad I. *Emma *

Louis the Younger Louis the Younger (830/835 – 20 January 882), sometimes Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Emma. He succeeded his father as the King of Saxony on 28 August 876 and his elder brother C ...

(830–882) *Bertha (died 877) *

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

(839–888) Her sons became Kings; three of her daughters became nuns.

References

External links

* http://www.france-pittoresque.com/reines-france/emma.htm , - {{s-end Carolingian dynasty Frankish queens consort German queens consort 800s births 876 deaths Year of birth uncertain Women of medieval Germany Burials at St. Emmeram's Abbey 9th-century people from East Francia Women from the Carolingian Empire