Individual Details
Prince Charles OF FRANCE
(Bef 953 - Abt 21 May 993)
Charles of Lorraine (Laon, 953–993 in Orléans) was the son of Louis IV
of France and Gerberga of Saxony and younger brother of King Lothair.
He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne. Charles was
excluded from the throne of France, and the German Emperor Otto II,
made him Duke of Lower Lorraine in 977.
His father probably gave him royal powers in Burgundy, but Lothair
took them back upon reaching his majority. In 977, he accused
Lothair's wife, Emma, daughter of Lothair II of Italy, of infideility
with Adalberon, Bishop of Laon. The council of Sainte-Macre at Fismes
(near Reims) exonerated the queen and the bishop, but Charles
maintained his claim and 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 paid him homage,
receiving back Lower Lorraine.
In August 978, Lothair invaded Germany and captured the imperial
capital of Aachen, but failed to capture either Otto or Charles. In
October, Otto and Charles in turn invaded France, devastating the land
around Rheims, Soissons, and Laon. 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, Charles' 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
and on the latter's death (987), Hugh Capet. Thus, the House of Capet
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[1]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, where he died a short while
later, in or before 993.
In 1666, the sepulchre of Charles was discovered in the Basilica of
Saint Servatius in Maastricht.[Need quotation to verify] 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) a daughter of Robert of Vermandois,
count of Meaux and Troyes. He married secondly Adelais, the daughter
of low-ranking vassal of Hugh Capet. He may have married thirdly
Bonne, daughter of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun.[citation needed] His
children with his second and first wives were:
Otto, succeeded him as Duke of Lower Lotharingia
Adelaide
Gerberga of Lower Lorraine, countess of Brussels, who married Lambert
I, Count of Leuven
Louis, followed his father to France and died in prison
Charles (b. 989)
Ermengarde, married Albert I, Count of Namur (various sources assign
paternity of Ermengarde alternatively to Charles, or to his son Otto)
of France and Gerberga of Saxony and younger brother of King Lothair.
He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne. Charles was
excluded from the throne of France, and the German Emperor Otto II,
made him Duke of Lower Lorraine in 977.
His father probably gave him royal powers in Burgundy, but Lothair
took them back upon reaching his majority. In 977, he accused
Lothair's wife, Emma, daughter of Lothair II of Italy, of infideility
with Adalberon, Bishop of Laon. The council of Sainte-Macre at Fismes
(near Reims) exonerated the queen and the bishop, but Charles
maintained his claim and 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 paid him homage,
receiving back Lower Lorraine.
In August 978, Lothair invaded Germany and captured the imperial
capital of Aachen, but failed to capture either Otto or Charles. In
October, Otto and Charles in turn invaded France, devastating the land
around Rheims, Soissons, and Laon. 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, Charles' 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
and on the latter's death (987), Hugh Capet. Thus, the House of Capet
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[1]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, where he died a short while
later, in or before 993.
In 1666, the sepulchre of Charles was discovered in the Basilica of
Saint Servatius in Maastricht.[Need quotation to verify] 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) a daughter of Robert of Vermandois,
count of Meaux and Troyes. He married secondly Adelais, the daughter
of low-ranking vassal of Hugh Capet. He may have married thirdly
Bonne, daughter of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun.[citation needed] His
children with his second and first wives were:
Otto, succeeded him as Duke of Lower Lotharingia
Adelaide
Gerberga of Lower Lorraine, countess of Brussels, who married Lambert
I, Count of Leuven
Louis, followed his father to France and died in prison
Charles (b. 989)
Ermengarde, married Albert I, Count of Namur (various sources assign
paternity of Ermengarde alternatively to Charles, or to his son Otto)
Events
| Birth | Bef 953 | Laon, Champagne, France | |||
| Marriage | Bef 979 | Duchess Adelaide OF ARDENNE | |||
| Death | Abt 21 May 993 | Kerker, Orleans, France |
Families
| Spouse | Duchess Adelaide OF ARDENNE (950 - ) |
| Child | Princess Ermengarde OF FRANCE (975 - 1012) |
| Child | Gerberga DE LORRAINE (975 - 1017) |
| Father | King Louis IV "Transmarinus" OF FRANCE (921 - 954) |
| Mother | Queen Gerberge OF FRANCE (913 - 984) |
| Sibling | Princess Mathilde OF FRANCE (943 - 981) |