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Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine

 

 
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Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
 
 
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Charles of Lorraine (Laon
Laon

Laon is a city in Picardie in northern France, capital of the Aisne Departments of France....
, 953–993 in Orléans
Orléans

Orl?ans is a city in north-central France, about 130 km southwest of Paris. It is the capital of the Loiret Departments of France and of the Centre R?gion in France....
) was the son of Louis IV of France
Louis IV of France

File:Louis IV denier Chinon 936 954.jpgLouis IV , called d'Outremer or Transmarinus , reigned as List of French monarchs from 936 to 954....
 and Gerberga of Saxony
Gerberga of Saxony

Gerberga of Saxony was a daughter of Henry the Fowler, king of Germany, and Matilda of Ringelheim.She married first Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine....
 and younger brother of King Lothair
Lothair of France

Lothair , sometimes called Lothair IV, was the Carolingian king of West Francia , son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony....
. He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne
Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
.

Charles was excluded from the throne of France, and the German Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor

Image:HRR 14Jh.jpgThe Roman of the Emperor's title was a reflection of the translatio imperii principle that regarded the Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, a title left unclaimed in the West after the death of Julius Nepos in 480....
 Otto II, made him duke of Lower Lorraine in 977.

His father probably gave him royal powers in Burgundy
Kingdom of Arles

File:Map Kingdom Arelat EN.pngThe Kingdom of Burgundy or of Arles was a Franks dominion surrounding Arles, established in 933, by combining Upper Burgundy and Lower Burgundy....
, but Lothair took them back upon reaching his majority. In 977, he accused Lothair's wife, Emma, daughter of Lothair II of Italy
Lothair II of Italy

Lothair II , often Lothair of Arles, was the King of Italy from 948 to his death. He was of the noble Franks lineage of the Bosonids, descended from Boso of Provence....
, of infideility with Adalberon, Bishop of Laon
Adalberon, Bishop of Laon

Adalberon, or Ascelin was a France bishop and poet. He was a son of Reginar of Bastogne, and a nephew of Adalberon, Archbishop of Reims....
.






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Charles of Lorraine (Laon
Laon

Laon is a city in Picardie in northern France, capital of the Aisne Departments of France....
, 953–993 in Orléans
Orléans

Orl?ans is a city in north-central France, about 130 km southwest of Paris. It is the capital of the Loiret Departments of France and of the Centre R?gion in France....
) was the son of Louis IV of France
Louis IV of France

File:Louis IV denier Chinon 936 954.jpgLouis IV , called d'Outremer or Transmarinus , reigned as List of French monarchs from 936 to 954....
 and Gerberga of Saxony
Gerberga of Saxony

Gerberga of Saxony was a daughter of Henry the Fowler, king of Germany, and Matilda of Ringelheim.She married first Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine....
 and younger brother of King Lothair
Lothair of France

Lothair , sometimes called Lothair IV, was the Carolingian king of West Francia , son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony....
. He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne
Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
.

Charles was excluded from the throne of France, and the German Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor

Image:HRR 14Jh.jpgThe Roman of the Emperor's title was a reflection of the translatio imperii principle that regarded the Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, a title left unclaimed in the West after the death of Julius Nepos in 480....
 Otto II, made him duke of Lower Lorraine in 977.

His father probably gave him royal powers in Burgundy
Kingdom of Arles

File:Map Kingdom Arelat EN.pngThe Kingdom of Burgundy or of Arles was a Franks dominion surrounding Arles, established in 933, by combining Upper Burgundy and Lower Burgundy....
, but Lothair took them back upon reaching his majority. In 977, he accused Lothair's wife, Emma, daughter of Lothair II of Italy
Lothair II of Italy

Lothair II , often Lothair of Arles, was the King of Italy from 948 to his death. He was of the noble Franks lineage of the Bosonids, descended from Boso of Provence....
, of infideility with Adalberon, Bishop of Laon
Adalberon, Bishop of Laon

Adalberon, or Ascelin was a France bishop and poet. He was a son of Reginar of Bastogne, and a nephew of Adalberon, Archbishop of Reims....
. The council of Sainte-Macre at Fismes (near Reims
Reims

The city of Reims lies in the Champagne-Ardenne region in northeastern France 129 km east-northeast of Paris.Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
) exonerated the queen and the bishop, but Charles maintained his claim was driven from the kingdom, finding refuge at the court of his cousin, Otto II. Otto promised to crown Charles as soon as Lothair was out of the way and Charles did homage, receiving back Lower Lorraine.

In August 978, Lothair invaded Germany and captured the imperial capital of Aachen
Aachen

is a historic spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the westernmost city of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, 65 km west of Cologne....
, but failed to capture either Otto or Charles. In October, Otto and Charles in turn invaded France, devastating the land around Rheims, Soissons
Soissons

Soissons is a Communes of the Aisne department in the Aisne Departments of France in Picardie in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about 100 kilometres northeast of Paris....
, and Laon
Laon

Laon is a city in Picardie in northern France, capital of the Aisne Departments of France....
. In the latter city, the chief seat of the kings of France, Charles was crowned by Theodoric I, Bishop of Metz. Lothair fled to Paris and was there besieged. But a relief army of Hugh Capet's forced Otto and Charles to lift the siege on 30 November. Lothair and Capet, the tables turned once more, chased the German king and his liege back to Aachen and retook Laon.

As he had been a vassal also of Lothair, his acts on behalf of Otto were considered treason and he was thereafter excluded from the throne. On Lothair's death (986), the magnates elected his son Louis V
Louis V of France

Louis V , called the Indolent or the Sluggard , was the King of West Francia from 986 until his early death. The son of Lothair of France and his wife Emma of Italy, a daughter of Lothair II of Italy, he was the last Carolingian monarch....
 and on the latter's death (987), Hugh Capet. Thus, the House of Capet
House of Capet

For a full history of the Capetian family, see Capetian dynasty.The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty - itself a derivative dynasty from the...
 came to the throne over the disgraced and ignored Charles. Charles' marriage to the lowborn daughter of a vassal of Hugh was championed by his opponents as a cardinal reason to deny him the throne. In order to have free hand towards France, he resigned his duchy to regency of his eldest son Otto. Charles made war on Hugh, even taking Rheims and Laon. However, on Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles....
991 26 March, he was captured, through the perfidy of the Bishop Adalberon, and with his young second son Louis imprisoned by Hugh in Orléans
Orléans

Orl?ans is a city in north-central France, about 130 km southwest of Paris. It is the capital of the Loiret Departments of France and of the Centre R?gion in France....
, where he died a short while later, in or before 993.

In 1666, the sepulchre of Charles was discovered in the Basilica of Saint-Servais
Saint-Servais

Saint-Servais is the name of two commune in France in France:* Saint-Servais, C?tes-d'Armor, in the C?tes-d'Armor d?partement* Saint-Servais, Finist?re, in the Finist?re d?partement...
 in Maastricht
Maastricht

Maastricht is a city and a municipality in the Netherlands province of Limburg , of which it is the Capital . The city is situated on both sides of the Meuse River river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, near the Belgium and Germany borders....
. His skin appears to have been interred there only in 1001, but that is not the date of his death, as some scholars assumed. Though Charles ruled Lower Lorraine, the Dukes of Lorraine (Upper Lotharingia) counted him as Charles I of Lorraine.

Family

Charles married firstly (970) Adelais daughter of Robert of Vermandois
Robert of Vermandois

Robert of Vermandois was Count of Meaux after his father, Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, and mother, Liegarde of France.He was married to Adelaide of Burgundy, daughter of Gilbert, Duke of Burgundy....
, count of Meaux and Troyes
Troyes

Troyes is a communes of France, the Prefectures in France of the northeastern Aube departments of France in France and is located on the Seine river....
. Among their children were:
  • Otto, succeeded him as Duke of Lower Lotharingia
  • Adelaide
  • Gerberga of Lower Lorraine
    Gerberga of Lower Lorraine

    Gerberga of Lower Lorraine, Countess of Louvain, was the daughter of Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, himself the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony. She married Lambert I of Leuven....
    , countess of Brussels
    Brussels

    Brussels , officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium....
    , who married Lambert I, Count of Leuven
  • Louis, followed his father to France and died in prison
  • Charles (b. 989), died young
  • Ermengarde, married Albert I, Count of Namur
    Albert I, Count of Namur

    Albert I was the son of Robert I, Count of Lomme, and Ermengarde of Lorraine. He became Count of Namur in 998.He married Ermengarde, daughter of Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, and had three children:...
     (various sources assign paternity of Ermengarde alternatively to Charles, or to his son Otto)


He may have married thirdly Bonne, daughter of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun
Godfrey I, Count of Verdun

Godfrey I , called the Prisoner or the Captive , sometimes the Old , was the count of Bidgau and Methingau from 959 and the count of Verdun from 963 to his death....
.

Sources

  • Gwatkin, H. M., Whitney, J. P. (ed) et al. The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III. Cambridge University Press
    Cambridge University Press

    Cambridge University Press is a printer and publisher granted a Royal Letters Patent by Henry VIII of England in 1534. It is the world's oldest continually operating book publisher....
    , 1926.
  • Settipani, Christian
    Christian Settipani

    Christian Settipani is the Technical Director of an Information technology company in the Paris area and a self-taught genealogy and historian....
    . La préhistoire des Capétiens. 1993. ISBN 2-9501509-3-4