Beatrice of Vermandois

Beatrice of Vermandois (c. 880 – after 26 March 931) was a Carolingian aristocrat, queen of Western Francia by marriage to Robert I, and mother of Hugh the Great.

Life

Beatrice,[1] born c. 880 was the daughter of Herbert I, Count of Vermandois.[2] She was also the sister of Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, and was a descendant in the male line of Charlemagne through King Bernard of Italy.[lower-alpha 1][4] Through her marriage to Robert I, she was an ancestress of the Capetian dynasty. On 15 June 923 her husband Robert was killed at the Battle of Soissons shortly after which their son Hugh was offered the crown but refused.[5] Beatrice died after March 931.[2]

Marriage and issue

Béatriceʻs son was Hugh the Great, ancestor of many kings.

She married c. 890, becoming the second wife of Robert, Margrave of Neustria, who became the King of France in 922.[6] They were the parents of:

• Hugh the Great — father of Hugh Capet[6][7]
• Emma of France (possible child)[8] — wife of Rudolph of France

Notes

1. According to the Abbreviatio by Frater Andreas, Beatrice was a great-granddaughter of Bernard, king of Italy. Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, in the 1250s, knew of this descent: MGH SS 23.757.[3]

References

1. Her name is written as Béatrice in modern French.
2. Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band III, Teilband 1 (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 49
3. Andrew W. Lewis, 'Dynastic Structures and Capetian Throne-Right: the Views of Giles of Paris', Traditio, Vol. 33 (1977), pp. 246-47 n.94
4. The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 919-966, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), pp. xvi, 91
5. Pierre Riché, The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe, trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), p. 250
6. Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 10
7. Constance Brittain Bouchard, Those of My Blood: Creating Noble Families in Medieval Francia (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001), p. 112
8. Europäische Stammtafeln calls Emma a child of Robert by lady called Aélis.

Additional references

• Patrick Van Kerrebrouck, Nouvelle histoire généalogique de l'auguste maison de France, vol. 1 : La Préhistoire des Capétiens (par Christian Settipani), 1993