Bertha of Burgundy
From the Genealogy of the Ottonians (late 12th century)
Queen consort of the Franks
Tenure996–1001
Born964
Died16 January 1010
SpouseOdo I, Count of Blois
Robert II of France
IssueTheobald II of Blois
Odo II, Count of Blois
HouseElder House of Welf
FatherConrad of Burgundy
MotherMatilda of France

Bertha of Burgundy (964 – 16 January 1010) was Queen consort of the Franks as the second wife of King Robert II.

Bertha was the daughter of King Conrad of Burgundy[1] and his wife Matilda, daughter of King Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony. She was named for her father's mother, Bertha of Swabia. She first married Count Odo I of Blois in about 983.[2] They had several children, including Theobald II and Odo II.[1]

After the death of her husband in 996, Bertha's second cousin Robert, the eldest son of King Hugh Capet of France, wished to marry her. He had recently repudiated his first wife, Susanna, who was many years his senior. The union was opposed by King Hugh, who feared that political problems could be caused by religious authorities due to their consanguinity. The marriage nevertheless went ahead around the time of Hugh's death in October 996, which left Robert as sole king. Pope Gregory V and his successor Pope Sylvester II pronounced anathemas against Robert for his "incestuous" marriage and the pair were forced to separate, but Robert several times attempted to rejoin her.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Stefan Weinfurter, The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition, transl. Barbara M. Bowlus, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 46.
  2. ^ Burgundy and Provence 879-1032, Constance Brittain Bourchard, The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. III, ed. Timothy Reuter (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 342.
  3. ^ Bourchard, Constance (1981). "Consanguinity and Noble Marriages in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries". Speculum. 56: 276–77. ISSN 0038-7134.


French royalty Preceded bySusanna of Italy Queen consort of the Franks 996–1000 Succeeded byConstance of Arles
Categories