Constance of Arles (also known as Constance of Provence) (986 - 25 July 1034) was the third wife and queen of King
Robert II of FranceRobert II , called the Pious or the Wise, was King of France from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine....
. She was the daughter of
William IWilliam I , called the Liberator, was Count of Provence from 968 to his abdication. In 975 or 979, he took the title of marchio or margrave. He is often considered the founder of the county of Provence...
, count of Provence and Adelais of Anjou, daughter of
Fulk II of AnjouFulk II of Anjou , son of Fulk the Red, was count of Anjou from 942 to 960. He was often at war with the Bretons. He seems to have been a man of culture, a poet and an artist. In 960 he was succeeded by his son Geoffrey Greymantle....
. She was the half-sister of Count
William II of ProvenceWilliam II or III , called the Pious, was the Count of Provence, succeeded his father, William I, on the latter's retirement to a monastery just before his death in late 993. He did not succeed in the margravial title, which went to his uncle Rotbold II...
.
In 1003, she was married to King Robert, after his
divorceDivorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons...
from his second wife,
Bertha of BurgundyBertha of Burgundy was the daughter of Conrad the Peaceful, King of Burgundy and his wife Matilda, daughter of Louis IV, King of France and Gerberga of Saxony. She was named for her father's mother, Bertha of Swabia.She first married Odo I, Count of Blois in about 983...
. The marriage was stormy; Bertha's family opposed her, and Constance was despised for importing her
ProvençalProvence is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
kinfolk.
Constance of Arles (also known as Constance of Provence) (986 - 25 July 1034) was the third wife and queen of King
Robert II of FranceRobert II , called the Pious or the Wise, was King of France from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine....
. She was the daughter of
William IWilliam I , called the Liberator, was Count of Provence from 968 to his abdication. In 975 or 979, he took the title of marchio or margrave. He is often considered the founder of the county of Provence...
, count of Provence and Adelais of Anjou, daughter of
Fulk II of AnjouFulk II of Anjou , son of Fulk the Red, was count of Anjou from 942 to 960. He was often at war with the Bretons. He seems to have been a man of culture, a poet and an artist. In 960 he was succeeded by his son Geoffrey Greymantle....
. She was the half-sister of Count
William II of ProvenceWilliam II or III , called the Pious, was the Count of Provence, succeeded his father, William I, on the latter's retirement to a monastery just before his death in late 993. He did not succeed in the margravial title, which went to his uncle Rotbold II...
.
Biography
In 1003, she was married to King Robert, after his
divorceDivorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons...
from his second wife,
Bertha of BurgundyBertha of Burgundy was the daughter of Conrad the Peaceful, King of Burgundy and his wife Matilda, daughter of Louis IV, King of France and Gerberga of Saxony. She was named for her father's mother, Bertha of Swabia.She first married Odo I, Count of Blois in about 983...
. The marriage was stormy; Bertha's family opposed her, and Constance was despised for importing her
ProvençalProvence is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
kinfolk. Robert's friend, Hugh of Beauvais, tried to convince the king to repudiate her in 1007. Constance's response was to have Beauvais murdered by the knights of her kinsman,
Fulk NerraFulk III , called Nerra after his death, was Count of Anjou from 21 July 987 to his death. He was the son of Geoffrey Greymantle and Adelaide of Vermandois....
. In 1010 Robert even went to Rome, accompanied by his former wife Bertha, to seek permission to divorce Constance and remarry Bertha. Constance encouraged her sons to revolt against their father, and then favored her younger son, Robert, over her elder son, Henri.
During the famous trial of Herefast de Crepon (who was alleged to be involved with a heretical sect of canons, nuns, and clergy in 1022), the crowd outside the church in Orleans became so unruly that, according to Moore:
- At the king's command, Queen Constance stood before the doors of the Church, to prevent the common people from killing them inside the Church, and they were expelled from the bosom of the Church. As they were being driven out, the queen struck out the eye of Stephen, who had once been her confessor, with the staff
A sceptre or scepter is a symbolic ornamental staff held by a ruling monarch, a prominent item of royal regalia. While some sceptres resemble a mace, their use is quite different.-Antiquity:...
which she carried in her hand.
The symbolism, or reality, of putting an eye out is used often in medieval accounts to show the ultimate sin of breaking of one's oath, whether it be heresy, or treason to ones lordship, or in this case both. Stephen's eye was put out by the hand of a Queen wielding a staff (royal scepters were usually tipped with a cross) thus symbolically providing justice for the treasoned lord on earth and in heaven.
At Constance's urging, her eldest son Hugh Magnus was crowned co-king alongside his father in 1017. Hugh Magnus demanded his parents share power with him, and rebelled against his father in 1025. He died suddenly later that year, an exile and a fugitive. Robert and Constance quarrelled over which of their surviving sons should inherit the throne; Robert favored their second son
HenriHenry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...
, while Constance favored their third son,
RobertRobert I Capet or Robert I of Burgundy, known as Robert the Old was duke of Burgundy between 1032 to his death...
. Despite his mother's protests, Henry was crowned in 1027. Fulbert, bishop of Chartres wrote a letter claiming that he was "
frightened away" from the consecration of Henry "
by the savagery of his mother, who is quite trustworthy when she promises evil."
Constance encouraged her sons to rebel, and
HenriHenry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...
and
RobertRobert I Capet or Robert I of Burgundy, known as Robert the Old was duke of Burgundy between 1032 to his death...
began attacking and pillaging the towns and castles belonging to their father.
RobertRobert I Capet or Robert I of Burgundy, known as Robert the Old was duke of Burgundy between 1032 to his death...
attacked
BurgundyThe Duchy of Burgundy was a feudal territory in Medieval Europe. It roughly conforms to the modern Bourgogne, although it grew to have considerable possessions in the Low Countries as well...
, the duchy he had been promised but had never received, and
HenryHenry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...
seized
DreuxDreux is a town and commune in northwest France, in the Eure-et-Loir département.-Politics:Dreux came to national attention, in 1983, when the National Front party made its first electoral breakthrough, winning control of the city council and deputy mayorship...
. At last King Robert agreed to their demands and peace was made which lasted until the king's death.
King Robert died in 1031, and soon Constance was at odds with both her elder son
HenriHenry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...
and her younger son
RobertRobert I Capet or Robert I of Burgundy, known as Robert the Old was duke of Burgundy between 1032 to his death...
. Constance seized her
dowerDower or morning gift was a provision accorded by law to a wife for her support in the event that she should survive her husband...
lands and refused to surrender them. Henri fled to Normandy, where he received aid, weapons and soldiers from his brother Robert. He returned to besiege his mother at
PoissyPoissy is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris. from the center....
but Constance escaped to
PontoisePontoise is a commune in the north-western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 28.4 km from the center of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise.-Administration:...
. She only surrendered when Henri began the siege of
Le PuisetLe Puiset is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in north-central France. Its postal code is 28310.-Demographics:As of 1999 it had a population of 371, and 174 households, 29.9% of which are two-person households. There are 191 homes, 98.6% of which are individual houses...
and swore to slaughter all the inhabitants.
Constance died in 1034, and was buried beside her husband Robert at Saint-Denis Basilica.
Children
Constance and Robert had seven children:
- Advisa, Countess of Auxerre, (c.1003-after 1063), married Count Renaud I of Nevers
- Hugh Magnus, co-king (1007-17 September 1025)
- Henri
Henry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...
(4 May 1008 – 4 August 1060)
- Adela, Countess of Contenance (1009-5 June 1063), married (1) Duke Richard III of Normandy (2) Count Baldwin V of Flanders
- Robert I, Duke of Burgundy
Robert I Capet or Robert I of Burgundy, known as Robert the Old was duke of Burgundy between 1032 to his death...
(1011-21 March 1076)
- Eudes (1013-1056)
- Constance (1014-unknown), married Manasses de Dammartin
Sources
- Jessee, W. Scott. A missing Capetian princess: Advisa, daughter of King Robert II of France (Medieval Prosopography), 1990
- Nolan, Kathleen D. Capetian Women, 2003.
- Moore, R.I. The Birth of Popular Heresy, 1975.
- Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Lines: 53-21, 101-21, 107-20, 108-21, 128-21, 141-21, 141A-21, 185-2.
- Lambert, Malcolm. Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation, 1991, 9 - 17.
External links