Summary for Bertrade de Prüm:

Her birthdate is estimated to have been between 670 and 690. Her husband has been speculated as Martin of Laon or Norbert of Aquitaine, but there are problems with either identification. Martin died in 678 when she was apparently still very young. Norbert died before she was (apparently) born.

Relationships:

Parents and siblings: Unknown (speculated as Theuderic III, king of Neustria and Austrasia, and Clotilda of Heristal, by Maurice Chaume in his Études carolingiennes I: La famille de saint Guillaume de Gellone; according to French and English Wikipedia, the "classic Herbertide genealogy" [Hlawitschka] lists her parents as seneschal and pfalzgraf Hugobert and Irmina of Oeren, which would make her a sister of Plectrude, the second wife of Pépin II d'Héristal.

Settipani argues, on the basis of onomastics and the inheritance of the villa of Rommersheim, that she was daughter of Théodéric III by an otherwise unknown wife Doda: "The king Theoderic III has a wife Doda. This Doda could be a daughter of Ansegisel, son of another Doda. So, Ansegisel, presumably share Rommersheim between his son, Pippin of Herstal and his daughter Doda, king Theoderic's wife. Then Pippin's son, Charles Martel inherited that, and so Berta, Doda's daughter. This would explain why King Clothar IV, son of Theoderic III, was called the cousin of Charles Martel in Ademar of Chabannes' chronicle." (Christian Settipani, Gen-Medieval-L, Nov. 16, 1999).

Spouse: Unknown (Speculated as Martin de Laon, a "dux" or military leader who was recorded as winning a battle in the same period, no citations provided tying him in as father.)

Children:

• 1. Hardrad (d. after 720)
• 2. Charibert, Caribert, or Heribert (d. after 23 June 720, m. unknown)
• 3. Weta (speculative, m. Cario)

Basic Information:

Birth: Unknown. (Based on the birth date of her granddaughter, maybe 670-690. Based on the death dates of her potential parents, no later than 692 if King Thierry III of Neustria, no later than 698 if Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia Hugobert.)

Baptism: Unknown

Marriage: Unknown

Death: Unknown (died after 720, but the actual date could be anywhere from that year to 70 years later)

Burial: Unknown

Occupation: Founder of Prüm Abbey

Timeline:

687: Thierry III, King of Neustria, breaks from Austrasia, creating his own kingdom. Later in the year at the Battle of Tetry, however, Thierry is defeated and forced to submit to Pepin of Herstal.

691: Thierry III, King of Neustria, dies at age 34. Clovis IV of Neustria, age 11, succeeds him, but lives only 4 years more. If Bertrade had been born to Thierry, she could not have been born later than 692.

693: Hugobert becomes Seneschal of Austrasia under King Clovis III.

694, June 3: Clotilde, dit Doda, former Queen of Neustria and widow of Thierry III, dies and is buried at the Abbaye Saint-Vaast d'Arras. If she had been the mother of Bertrade, the girl's siblings would have been:

• 1. Clovis IV, King of Neustria (680-695), successor to her husband.
• 2. Childebert IV, King of Neustria (d. 711), successor to Clovis.
• 3. Clotaire IV, King of Neustria (d. 719), successor to Childebert

697: Abbaye d'Echternach founded by Irmina d'Oeren in the same year that Hugobert becomes Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia under King Childebert IV.

698: Hugobert is known to be dead by this time as Irmina is listed in a charter as a widow. If Bertrade had been born the daughter of Hugobert, she could not have been born later than this year (and was probably born much earlier).

710: Before this date, Irmina d'Oeren died. If she had given birth to Bertrade, the girl's siblings would be:

• *1. Attale or Adela (m. Odon), late in life the Abesse de Pfalzel
  • 2. Roland or Chrodelinde (m. Bernarius or Bernier, son of Comte Thierry and progenitor of the Wilhlmides)
  • 3. Plectrude (m. Pepin de Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, Neustria, and Bourgogne)
  • 4. Regentrude (m. Theodebert, Herzog von Bayern)

720, June 23: Signed a charter donating land to the Abbaye de Prüm, though the abbey had not yet been founded - this is probably the reason she is speculated as having founded the abbey. Also donated land to the Abbaye d'Echternach in the same year according to French Wikipedia. Also in the same year, her granddaughter Bertrada "au Grand Pied" (mother of Charlemagne) is born at Choisy-au-Bac in Austrasia (present Picardie).

Note: her death date is unknown. All that is known is that she was alive to sign the above charter, and probably gave birth to her son some 15-60 years earlier than that date. Based on the birth of her granddaughter, it can be speculated that she was born some 30-100 years earlier. However, her speculative parents' dates of birth limits this to 30-50 years earlier than the granddaughter's birth, or between 670 and 690. Any other information about her birth and death is highly speculative.

722: Abbaye de Prüm founded as a Benedictine abbey.

Alternate Names: Bertrade de Prüm, Bertrade l'ancienne (both posthumous names).

Note, Bertrade de Neustria presumes that she is the daughter of King Thierry III of Neustria, and not Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia Hugobert. Her parentage is unproven.

Christian Settipani's Analysis

Here is Marshall K. Kirk's rough translation of the most relevant part of Settipani's Les ancêtres de Charlemagne (1989), namely his treatment of Bertha of Prum (pp. 29-31):

13 Bertha of Prum, foundress of the abbey of Prum 721.

[list of sources and a bibliography including M. Chaume, E. Hlawitschka, S. de Vajay, N. Gauthier, M. Werner, and C. Bouchard]

Bertrade or Bertha made in 721 an important donation of lands inherited from her ancestors for the foundation of the monastery of Prum. This donation intervenes for the repose of deceased sons, and it is countersigned by her surviving son, Caribert, as well as by three viri magnifici: Bernier, Rolande, and Thierry.

In order to retrieve the ancestors of Bertha, we dispose of two elements: onomastics, and the identification of her properties.

On the level of nomenclature, the names of Bertha, Caribert her son, Thierry her relative, are all characteristic of the Merovingian dynasty. This is the reason for which the majority of historians, especially in France, don't doubt that Bertha belonged to this dynasty. It remains, however, difficult to specify in what fashion to state this. That Thierry and the two other subscribers of the charter, Bernier and Rolande, made part of the close kin of Bertha and of her son Caribert, is what emerges fully from analysis of the testament of Fulrad of Sain-Denis and of the family of Saint William of Gellone. Fulrad names, as co-proprietors of numerous goods which he'd bought from them, Caribert and Thierry, without any doubt the two individuals of the charter of Prum. If they were co-proprietors, then they had, in quite a close degree, a common ancestor. Saint William (d. 804), for his part, had as children a Thierry, a Garnier, a Rolande, and a Caribert, while one of his sisters was called Bertha.

Above all, one notes the fact that in 751, Pepin the Short and his spouse Bertha, granddaughter of our subject, had in common two properties, Rommersheim and Rheinbach, of which they each held a moiety from their respective fathers, Charles Martel and Caribert of Laon. That signifies that Charles Martel and Caribert were directly related and that they had therefore inherited from the same personage a moiety of these two villas. For Caribert, it is known, thanks to the act of foundation of Prum, that Rommersheim came to him from his mother, and thus that it is by way of her that the sought-for alliance passes. E. HLAWITSCHKA has, moreover, excluded -- with reason -- the possibility that Bertha obtained this land from her spouse, since she expressly declares that she is giving goods which came to her from her ancestors. There remain only three options: Bertha was the sister (or cousin) of Pepin, father of Charles; or of Alpaide, his mother; or perhaps of Plectrude, first spouse of Pepin, from whom Charles had inherited the property at the deaths of the last descendants of this last. E. HLAWITSCHKA, who has weighed the various solutions at length, concludes that one can throw out the idea that Bertha was Pepin's sister. In this case, in fact, Bertha would have been a Pepinid, which is ruled out by the silence of the sources, and above all by the fact that the degree of consanguinity between Pepin the Short and his spouse would thus have been prohibited. The two other possibilities are equiprobable, the first having, nevertheless, the advantage of simplicity, unless another argument comes along to reinforce the second. Now, this is precisely what happens. The second subscriber of the donation of Prum is the noble Rolande, namesake of a sister of Plectrude. Whether we're talking about a single person or two related homonyms is of small import. In either case, Bertha was surely related to Plectrude. In order to justify her having divided with the latter a moiety of Rommersheim and Rheinbach, it is necessary that they were cousins german or more probably sisters.

This is the demonstration generally followed by the most recent authors, notably N. GAUTHIER.

The trouble is, that this solution makes no use at all of the onomastic element which strongly suggests, all the same, the relationship of Bertha with the Merovingians. Besides the names even of Bertha and of Caribert, her son, it is necessary, in fact, to add the name of Thierry, borne by a grandson of Bertha, and those of Louis (= Clovis) and Lothar (= Clotaire), borne by two sons of Charlemagne. It has indeed been claimed, most recently by J. JARNUT, that in the latter case, only political motives guided the choice of these names, but that's opposed to all the onomastic habits of the Franks, according to which only a direct blood tie could authorize the re-use of a name. S. de VAJAY thus suggested in 1975 that Bertha of Prum was the daughter of Thierry III, thus sister of Clovis III and Clotaire IV. This is indeed the better solution on the onomastic level, but it doesn't seem, on the other hand, to take stock of the elements imposed by the inheritances. That is to forget that, as M. CHAUME noted, the spouse of Thierry III was Dode, probably sister of Pepin of Heristal. Thus, Bertha of Prum, daughter of Thierry III, would find herself at the same time the cousin german of Charles Martel, which indeed explains, if she held her parts of Rommersheim and Rheinbach from her maternal ancestors, the consanguinity -- in a licit degree this time -- between her granddaughter Bertha of Laon and the latter's spouse, Pepin the Short, son of Charles Martel:

• Quoted by Don Stone, Merovingian ancestors after all ? at soc.genealogy.medieval.(May 18, 2011)

---------------------------

From the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy page for Merovingian Nobility:

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/FRANKSMaiordomi.htm

H. MEROVINGIAN COUNTS, 8th century

1. (Unknown Merovingian Count) .

m BERTRADA, daughter of ---.

The editor of Einhard's Annals in the MGH SS series records that "Pippinus…uxoris pater et Avia Charibertus et Bertradana" founded the monastery of Prüm[533]. This is presumably based on the charter dated 23 Jun 720 under which "Bertrada seu Berta et filius meus Chairibertus" donated property to Prüm, witnessed by "Bernarius, Chrodolande, Theodericus"[534], although the charter is probably spurious as it predates the foundation of the abbey.

It is assumed that this refers to the mother of Charibert, father of Queen Bertrada, although another possibility is that it refers to the wife of Charibert and an otherwise unknown son of Charibert, brother of Queen Bertrada.

The Monumenta Epternacensia record a donation by "Berta, filiis meis Chardradus et Harbertus"[535].

[Three] children:

a) HARDRAD (-after 720).

• The Monumenta Epternacensia record a donation by "Berta, filiis meis Chardradus et Harbertus"[536].

b) CHARIBERT [Heribert] (-after 23 Jun 720).

• "Bertrada seu Berta et filius meus Chairibertus" donated property to Prüm by charter dated 23 Jun 720[537], although the charter is probably spurious as it predates the foundation of the abbey. The Monumenta Epternacensia record a donation by "Berta, filiis meis Chardradus et Harbertus"[538].
• Comte de Laon.
• m ---. The name of Charibert´s wife is not known.
• Charibert & his wife had one child, [ Bertha Broadfoot of Laon, Queen of the Franks Bertrada or Berta "au Grand Pied"] (720 - 783, wife of Pepin "le Bref" and mother of Charlemagne).

c) [[Weta de Laon WETA ].

• "Asuarius" abbot of Prüm noted a donation to the abbey by "filia in Christo Wetane", which names "genetricis tue [Wetane] Bertradane" and "Cario et coniuge tue Wettane", by undated charter dated to [762/804][544].
• It is not certain that "Bertradane" was the same person as the mother of Charibert, although the common connection with Prüm indicates that this is possible. If this is correct, the charter is probably datable to the earliest part of the suggested date range, assuming that the date of Bertrada's 720 charter (see above) is correct and at that date her son Charibert was already an adult.
• m CARIO .]

References:

• [533] MGH SS I, p. 136, footnote 11.
• [534] Mittelrheinisches Urkundenbuch, 8, p. 10.
• [535] Monumenta Epternacensia 720, MGH SS XXIII, p. 63.
• [536] Monumenta Epternacensia 720, MGH SS XXIII, p. 63.
• [537] Mittelrheinisches Urkundenbuch 8, p. 10.
• [538] Monumenta Epternacensia 720, MGH SS XXIII, p. 63.
• [544] Mittelrheinisches Urkundenbuch 14, p. 17.

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From the English Wikipedia on Bertrada of Cologne or Bertrada of Prum:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrada_of_Cologne

Bertrada (b. ca. 670 - d. after 721), also called "Bertha", and perhaps a Merovingian princess, is known to be the mother of Caribert of Laon, with whom she is co-founder and benefactor of the Prüm Abbey. They founded the abbey in 721.

Through Charibert's daughter Bertrada of Laon, wife of Pippin the Younger, Bertrada is the grandmother of Charlemagne.

There is some dispute as to her husband and parents. The following are two of many possible scenarios:

She was daughter of the seneschal and Pfalzgraf Hugobert and Irmina of Oeren. Her husband is unknown.

She was daughter of Theuderic III, king of Neustria and Austrasia, and Clotilda of Heristal. She married Martin of Laon. (This is shown in The Royal Ancestry Bible Royal Ancestors of 300 Colonial American Families by Michel L. Call; Chart 2001)

References

The Royal Ancestry Bible Royal Ancestors of 300 Colonial American Families by Michel L. Call (chart 2001) ISBN 1-933194-22-7 citing Maurice Chaume, "Études carolingiennes I: La famille de saint Guillaume de Gellone", in _Annales de Bourgogne_, vol. I (1929), 27-56 who does not state as fact that she was daughter of Theuderic (Thierry), but only as a hypothesis.

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From the French Wikipedia page on Bertrade de Prum:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrade_de_Pr%C3%BCm

Bertrade de Prüm

Éléments de biographie

Bertrade de Prüm ou Bertrade l'ancienne est connue par plusieurs actes :

Elle fait d'importantes donations de terres pour la fondation du monastère de Prüm (721), pour le repos de ses fils décédés, en présence de son fils survivant Caribert et de trois autres parents : Bernier, Rolande et Thierry.

la même année, et toujours en présence de Caribert, elle fait une donation de terres à l'abbaye d'Echternach, fondée en 697 par Irmina d'Oeren.

Son fils Caribert est le père de Bertrade de Laon, reine des Francs par son mariage avec Pépin le Bref.

Famille

Faits attestés

Pour préciser sa famille, plusieurs faits sont mis en avant:

1.la donation à Echternach faite la même année que la fondation de l'abbaye de Prüm (laquelle aurait dû monopoliser toutes ses libéralités), est le signe d'une proche parenté avec Irmina d'Oeren.

2.la présence des prénoms Caribert et Thierry dans sa famille, ainsi que l'apparition des prénoms de Louis (=Clovis) et de Lothaire (=Clotaire) parmi les Carolingiens après le mariage de Pépin le Bref et de Bertrade de Laon sont le signe d'une parenté avec les Mérovingiens. Bertrade serait également à rapprocher de Bertrude, femme de Clotaire II et mère de Dagobert Ier.

3.Pépin le Bref et Bertrade de Laon possédaient en commun deux propriétés à Rommersheim et à Rumbach, dont chacun tenait sa moitié de leur père respectif. On sait par l'acte de fondation de Prüm que Caribert tenait sa moitié de sa mère. Cela indique une parenté entre Bertrade de Prüm et les Pippinides.

Hypothèses

Informations historiques et généalogiques hypothétiques.

Certaines informations historiques et généalogiques contenues dans cet article sont hypothétiques, à cause de la rareté des documents relatifs à cet époque. D'autre part les connaissances et les hypothèses sur la noblesse du Haut Moyen Âge évoluent relativement rapidement et le contenu de cet article peut se trouver dépassé par de nouvelles découvertes.

À partir de ces faits, plusieurs hypothèses ont été proposées :

Considérant que Plectrude, fille du sénéchal Hugobert et probablement d'Irmina d'Oeren, épousa Pépin de Herstal, une première généalogie s'appuyant sur les faits 1 et 3 avait été établie, faisant de Bertrade une fille d'Hugobert et d'Irmina. C'est la généalogie classique des Hugobertides qui apparaît encore dans les livres d'histoire sur l'époque carolingienne.

• fait 1 : Bertrade est la fille d'Irmina
• fait 3 : les propriétés de Rommersheim et de Rumbach ont été partagées entre Bertrade et Plectrude. La part de Plectrude est passée à ses fils, puis a été usurpée par son beau-fils Charles Martel qui l'a transmis à son fils Pépin le Bref.

En 1975, une autre filiation tenant compte des trois arguments a été proposée : Bertrade est fille de Thierry III et de Clotilde Doda, donc sœur de Clovis IV et de Clotaire IV. Cette Dode serait elle-même fille d'Ansegisel et de Begga, et petite-fille de saint Arnoul et de sainte Dode.

• fait 1 : c'est l'époux anonyme de Bertrade qui est apparenté aux Hugobertides
• fait 2 : en tant que fille de Thierry III, Bertrade est mérovingienne
• fait 3 : les propriétés de Rommersheim et de Rumbach ont été partagées entre Pépin de Herstal (qui transmet ses parts à Charles Martel) et Dode (qui transmet ses parts à Bertrade)

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In English:

Bertrada de Prum

Biography

Bertrade de Prum or Bertrade l'Ancienne (Bertrada the Ancient) is known from several acts:

1. She made important donations of land for the foundation of Prum Monastery (721) for the repose of her deceased son, and was attended by her surviving son Caribert and three other ancestors: Bernier, Rolande, and Thierry.

2. In the same year, and always in the presence of Caribert, she donated land to the Abbey of Echternach, founded in 697 by Irmina d'Oeren.

Her son Caribert is the father of Bertrade de Laon, Queen of the Franks, through her marriage with Pepin.

Family

To clarify her family, several facts are brought forward:

1. The donatioin made at Echternach was made in the same year as the foundation of the Abbey of Prum (which should have monopolized all her gifts), which indicates a sign of a close relationship with Irmina d'Oeren.

2. The presence of the names Caribert and Thierry in her family, and the appearance of names Louis (or Clovis), and Lothar (or Clotaire) among the Carolingians after the marriage of Pepin the Short and Bertrade de Laon is a sign of kinship with the Merovingians. The name Bertrada is also close to Bertrude, wife of Clotaire II and mother of Dagobert.

3. Pepin the Short and Bertrada de Laon had in common two properties - Rommershein and Rumbach - each holding his or her half of their respective father's holdings. We know by the founding act of Prum that Caribert kept half of the property of his mother. This indicates a relationship between Bertrade de Prum and the Pippinids.

Assumptions:

Hypothetical historical and genealogical information: Some historical and genealogical information contained in this article are hypothetical, because of the scarcity of documents relating to this period. On the other hand, the knowledge and assumptions about the nobility of the High Middle Ages changes relatively quickly, and the contents of this article may be superseded by new discoveries.

From these few facts, several hypotheses have been proposed:

1. Whereas Plectrude, daughter of Seneschal Hugobert and probably Irmina d'Oeren, married Pepin of Herstal, a first genealogy based on facts 1 and 3 have been established, making Bertrade a daughter of Hugobert and Irmina. This is the classic pedigree of the Hugobertides, which still appears in history books on the Carolingian period:

• Fact 1: Bertrada is daughter of Irmina.
• Fact 3: The properties of Rommersheim and Rumbach were shared between Plectrude and Bertrada. The share passed on by Plectrude to her son was usurped by her step-son Charles Martel, who passed them along to Pepin the Short.

2. In 1975, another genealogy that took into account three arguments was proposed - that Bertrada was the daughter of Theirry III and Clotilde Doda, so that she was sister of Clovis IV and Clotaire IV. This presumes that Dode herself is the daughter of Ansegisel and Begga, and granddaughter of St. Arnulf and St. Dode.

• Fact 1: Bertrada's husband is anonymous, and related to the Hugobertides.
• Fact 2: As the daughter of Thierry III, Bertrada is Merovingian.
• Fact 3: The properties of Rommersheim and Rumbach were shared between Pepin of Herstal (who transferred his shares to Charles Martel), and Dode (who transmitted her shares to Bertrada).

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Sources

Christian Settipani, the Ancestors of Charlemagne, Paris 1989, 170 pp. (ISBN 2-906483-28-1)

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From the English Wikipedia page on Prum Abbey:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prum_Abbey

Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm/Lorraine, now in the Diocese of Trier (Germany), founded by a Frankish widow Bertrada, and her son Charibert, count of Laon, on 23 June 720. The first abbot was Angloardus.

History

Abbey's early period up to the 13th century

Bertrada's granddaughter was Bertrada of Laon, wife of King Pippin III (751-68). Prüm became the favourite monastery of the Carolingians and received large endowments and privileges. Pepin rebuilt the monastery and bestowed great estates upon it by a deed of gift dated 13 August 762. The king brought monks from Meaux under Abbot Assuerus to the monastery.

The church, dedicated to the Saviour (Salvator), was not completed until the reign of Charlemagne, and was consecrated on 26 July 799 by Pope Leo III. Charlemagne and succeeding emperors were liberal patrons of the abbey. Several of the Carolingians entered the religious life at Prüm; among these was Lothair I, who became a monk in 855. His grave was rediscovered in 1860; in 1874, the Emperor Wilhelm I erected a monument over it.

In 882 and 892, the monastery was plundered and devastated by the Normans, but it soon recovered. The landed possessions were so large that the abbey developed into a principality.

At times during the 11th and 12th centuries, the monastery contained over 300 monks. The period of its internal prosperity extends to the 13th century. The monks were energetic cultivators of the land.

About 836, Abbot Marquard founded a new monastery at Münstereifel. In 1017, Abbot Urald founded at Prüm a collegiate foundation for 12 priests. In 1190, Abbot Gerhard founded a house for ladies of noble birth at Niederprüm.

The monastery cared for the poor and sick. Learning was also cultivated. Among those who taught in the school of the monastery were Ado, later Archbishop of Vienne (860-875). Another head of the school, Wandelbert (813-870), was a distinguished poet. Abbot Regino of Prüm (893-99) made a name for himself as historian and codifier of canon law. Cæsarius of Heisterbach is only brought into the list of authors of this monastery by being confounded with Abbot Cæsarius of Prüm (1212-16).

After the 13th century

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the monastery declined, partly from the oppression of its secular administrators, but more from internal decay. It reached such a pass that the monks divided the revenues among themselves and lived apart from one another.

Consequently the archbishops of Trier sought to incorporate the abbey into the archdiocese. In 1376, Charles IV gave his consent to this, as did Boniface IX in 1379, but the pope's consent was recalled in 1398.

Sixtus IV in about 1473 also gave his approval to the incorporation. But the abbots refused to submit and even in 1511 carried on war against the archbishop. Finally, when the abbey was near ruin, Gregory XIII issued the decree of incorporation, dated 24 August 1574, which was carried into effect in 1576 after the death of Abbot Christopher von Manderscheid.

After this, the archbishops of Trier were "perpetual administrators" of the abbey. The abbey was now brought into order within and without, and once more flourished to such a degree that the two French Benedictine antiquarians Edmond Martène and Ursin Durand, who visited the monastery in 1718, stated in their Voyage littéraire that of all the monasteries in Germany, Prüm showed the best spirit, and study was zealously pursued. The monks made efforts even in the 18th century to shake off the supremacy of Trier.

In 1801, Prüm fell to France, was secularized, and its estates sold; Napoleon gave its buildings to the city. In 1815, Prüm passed into the possession of Prussia, and in the course of time became part of modern Germany, in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The church, built in 1721 by the Elector Ludwig, is now a parish church. The remaining monastic buildings are now used for the secondary school named the Regino-Gymnasium after the Abbot Regino of Prüm.

Abbey relics

The sandals of Christ are considered to be the most notable of the many relics of the church; they are mentioned by Pepin in the deed of 762. He is said to have received them from Rome as a gift of Pope Zachary or Pope Stephen II.

External links

1. Interior of Abbey Church

http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/uploads/pics/st_goar_a_1_01.jpg

2. Regino-Gymnasium official website

http://www.regino-gym.de/

3. "Prüm". Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12519a.htm.

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

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From the Skaggs Files:

http://familytrees.genopro.com/Azrael/ind06345.htm

Bertha de Neustra

Bertha was born in year 0676.[1] Bertha's father was Theuderic de Neustra and her mother was Clotilde of Heristal of Metz. Her paternal grandparents were King of the Franks Clovis Merovingian II and Bathilde of England; her maternal grandparents were Bishop of Metz Ansigisen Austrasia and Beggue (St. Beggue) Landen.

She was the oldest of two children. She had a sister named Bertrada. She died, at the age of 64 years, in year 0740.[1]

Bertha's family with Huoching of Germany

They had a son named Nbi.

Nbi of Germany

Nbi was born in year 0705.[1] He died, at the age of 83 years, in year 0788.[1]

References:

1 A list is given at:

http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=jdp-fam&id=I82493&...

However, it is difficult to decipher which source is claiming what assertion (particularly which is the one that suggests that she is the wife of Huoching).

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Founder of the abbey in Prum 721 http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrada

---

Co-founder and benefactor of the Prum Abby.

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http://www.our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p335.h...

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Her birthdate is estimated to have been between 670 and 690. His husband has been speculated as Martin of Laon or Norbert of Aquitaine, but there are problems with either identification. Martin died in 678 when she was apparently still very young. Norbert died before she was (apparently) born.

Summary for Bertrade de Prüm:

Relationships:

Parents and siblings: Unknown (speculated as Theuderic III, king of Neustria and Austrasia, and Clotilda of Heristal, by Maurice Chaume in his Études carolingiennes I: La famille de saint Guillaume de Gellone; according to French and English Wikipedia, the "classic Herbertide genealogy" [Hlawitschka] lists her parents as seneschal and pfalzgraf Hugobert and Irmina of Oeren, which would make her a sister of Plectrude, the second wife of Pépin II d'Héristal.

Settipani argues, on the basis of onomastics and the inheritance of the villa of Rommersheim, that she was daughter of Théodéric III by an otherwise unknown wife Doda: "The king Theoderic III has a wife Doda. This Doda could be a daughter of Ansegisel, son of another Doda. So, Ansegisel, presumably share Rommersheim between his son, Pippin of Herstal and his daughter Doda, king Theoderic's wife. Then Pippin's son, Charles Martel inherited that, and so Berta, Doda's daughter. This would explain why King Clothar IV, son of Theoderic III, was called the cousin of Charles Martel in Ademar of Chabannes' chronicle." (Christian Settipani, Gen-Medieval-L, Nov. 16, 1999).

Spouse: Unknown (Speculated as Martin de Laon, a "dux" or military leader who was recorded as winning a battle in the same period, no citations provided tying him in as father.)

Children:

1. Hardrad (d. after 720) 2. Charibert, Caribert, or Heribert (d. after 23 June 720, m. unknown) 3. Weta (speculative, m. Cario) Basic Information:

Birth: Unknown. (Based on the birth date of her granddaughter, maybe 670-690. Based on the death dates of her potential parents, no later than 692 if King Thierry III of Neustria, no later than 698 if Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia Hugobert.)

Baptism: Unknown

Marriage: Unknown

Death: Unknown (died after 720, but the actual date could be anywhere from that year to 70 years later)

Burial: Unknown

Occupation: Founder of Prüm Abbey

Timeline:

687: Thierry III, King of Neustria, breaks from Austrasia, creating his own kingdom. Later in the year at the Battle of Tetry, however, Thierry is defeated and forced to submit to Pepin of Herstal.

691: Thierry III, King of Neustria, dies at age 34. Clovis IV of Neustria, age 11, succeeds him, but lives only 4 years more. If Bertrade had been born to Thierry, she could not have been born later than 692.

693: Hugobert becomes Seneschal of Austrasia under King Clovis III.

694, June 3: Clotilde, dit Doda, former Queen of Neustria and widow of Thierry III, dies and is buried at the Abbaye Saint-Vaast d'Arras. If she had been the mother of Bertrade, the girl's siblings would have been:

1. Clovis IV, King of Neustria (680-695), successor to her husband. 2. Childebert IV, King of Neustria (d. 711), successor to Clovis. 3. Clotaire IV, King of Neustria (d. 719), successor to Childebert 697: Abbaye d'Echternach founded by Irmina d'Oeren in the same year that Hugobert becomes Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia under King Childebert IV.

698: Hugobert is known to be dead by this time as Irmina is listed in a charter as a widow. If Bertrade had been born the daughter of Hugobert, she could not have been born later than this year (and was probably born much earlier).

710: Before this date, Irmina d'Oeren died. If she had given birth to Bertrade, the girl's siblings would be:

• 1. Attale or Adela (m. Odon), late in life the Abesse de Pfalzel 2. Roland or Chrodelinde (m. Bernarius or Bernier, son of Comte Thierry and progenitor of the Wilhlmides) 3. Plectrude (m. Pepin de Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, Neustria, and Bourgogne) 4. Regentrude (m. Theodebert, Herzog von Bayern) 720, June 23: Signed a charter donating land to the Abbaye de Prüm, though the abbey had not yet been founded - this is probably the reason she is speculated as having founded the abbey. Also donated land to the Abbaye d'Echternach in the same year according to French Wikipedia. Also in the same year, her granddaughter Bertrada "au Grand Pied" (mother of Charlemagne) is born at Choisy-au-Bac in Austrasia (present Picardie).

Note: her death date is unknown. All that is known is that she was alive to sign the above charter, and probably gave birth to her son some 15-60 years earlier than that date. Based on the birth of her granddaughter, it can be speculated that she was born some 30-100 years earlier. However, her speculative parents' dates of birth limits this to 30-50 years earlier than the granddaughter's birth, or between 670 and 690. Any other information about her birth and death is highly speculative.

722: Abbaye de Prüm founded as a Benedictine abbey.

Alternate Names: Bertrade de Prüm, Bertrade l'ancienne (both posthumous names).

Note, Bertrade de Neustria presumes that she is the daughter of King Thierry III of Neustria, and not Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia Hugobert. Her parentage is unproven.

Christian Settipani's Analysis

Here is Marshall K. Kirk's rough translation of the most relevant part of Settipani's Les ancêtres de Charlemagne (1989), namely his treatment of Bertha of Prum (pp. 29-31):

13 Bertha of Prum, foundress of the abbey of Prum 721.

[list of sources and a bibliography including M. Chaume, E. Hlawitschka, S. de Vajay, N. Gauthier, M. Werner, and C. Bouchard]

Bertrade or Bertha made in 721 an important donation of lands inherited from her ancestors for the foundation of the monastery of Prum. This donation intervenes for the repose of deceased sons, and it is countersigned by her surviving son, Caribert, as well as by three viri magnifici: Bernier, Rolande, and Thierry.

In order to retrieve the ancestors of Bertha, we dispose of two elements: onomastics, and the identification of her properties.

On the level of nomenclature, the names of Bertha, Caribert her son, Thierry her relative, are all characteristic of the Merovingian dynasty. This is the reason for which the majority of historians, especially in France, don't doubt that Bertha belonged to this dynasty. It remains, however, difficult to specify in what fashion to state this. That Thierry and the two other subscribers of the charter, Bernier and Rolande, made part of the close kin of Bertha and of her son Caribert, is what emerges fully from analysis of the testament of Fulrad of Sain-Denis and of the family of Saint William of Gellone. Fulrad names, as co-proprietors of numerous goods which he'd bought from them, Caribert and Thierry, without any doubt the two individuals of the charter of Prum. If they were co-proprietors, then they had, in quite a close degree, a common ancestor. Saint William (d. 804), for his part, had as children a Thierry, a Garnier, a Rolande, and a Caribert, while one of his sisters was called Bertha.

Above all, one notes the fact that in 751, Pepin the Short and his spouse Bertha, granddaughter of our subject, had in common two properties, Rommersheim and Rheinbach, of which they each held a moiety from their respective fathers, Charles Martel and Caribert of Laon. That signifies that Charles Martel and Caribert were directly related and that they had therefore inherited from the same personage a moiety of these two villas. For Caribert, it is known, thanks to the act of foundation of Prum, that Rommersheim came to him from his mother, and thus that it is by way of her that the sought-for alliance passes. E. HLAWITSCHKA has, moreover, excluded -- with reason -- the possibility that Bertha obtained this land from her spouse, since she expressly declares that she is giving goods which came to her from her ancestors. There remain only three options: Bertha was the sister (or cousin) of Pepin, father of Charles; or of Alpaide, his mother; or perhaps of Plectrude, first spouse of Pepin, from whom Charles had inherited the property at the deaths of the last descendants of this last. E. HLAWITSCHKA, who has weighed the various solutions at length, concludes that one can throw out the idea that Bertha was Pepin's sister. In this case, in fact, Bertha would have been a Pepinid, which is ruled out by the silence of the sources, and above all by the fact that the degree of consanguinity between Pepin the Short and his spouse would thus have been prohibited. The two other possibilities are equiprobable, the first having, nevertheless, the advantage of simplicity, unless another argument comes along to reinforce the second. Now, this is precisely what happens. The second subscriber of the donation of Prum is the noble Rolande, namesake of a sister of Plectrude. Whether we're talking about a single person or two related homonyms is of small import. In either case, Bertha was surely related to Plectrude. In order to justify her having divided with the latter a moiety of Rommersheim and Rheinbach, it is necessary that they were cousins german or more probably sisters.

This is the demonstration generally followed by the most recent authors, notably N. GAUTHIER.

The trouble is, that this solution makes no use at all of the onomastic element which strongly suggests, all the same, the relationship of Bertha with the Merovingians. Besides the names even of Bertha and of Caribert, her son, it is necessary, in fact, to add the name of Thierry, borne by a grandson of Bertha, and those of Louis (= Clovis) and Lothar (= Clotaire), borne by two sons of Charlemagne. It has indeed been claimed, most recently by J. JARNUT, that in the latter case, only political motives guided the choice of these names, but that's opposed to all the onomastic habits of the Franks, according to which only a direct blood tie could authorize the re-use of a name. S. de VAJAY thus suggested in 1975 that Bertha of Prum was the daughter of Thierry III, thus sister of Clovis III and Clotaire IV. This is indeed the better solution on the onomastic level, but it doesn't seem, on the other hand, to take stock of the elements imposed by the inheritances. That is to forget that, as M. CHAUME noted, the spouse of Thierry III was Dode, probably sister of Pepin of Heristal. Thus, Bertha of Prum, daughter of Thierry III, would find herself at the same time the cousin german of Charles Martel, which indeed explains, if she held her parts of Rommersheim and Rheinbach from her maternal ancestors, the consanguinity -- in a licit degree this time -- between her granddaughter Bertha of Laon and the latter's spouse, Pepin the Short, son of Charles Martel:

Quoted by Don Stone, Merovingian ancestors after all ? at soc.genealogy.medieval.(May 18, 2011) ---------------------------

From the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy page for Merovingian Nobility:

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/FRANKSMaiordomi.htm

H. MEROVINGIAN COUNTS, 8th century

1. (Unknown Merovingian Count) .

m BERTRADA, daughter of ---.

The editor of Einhard's Annals in the MGH SS series records that "Pippinus…uxoris pater et Avia Charibertus et Bertradana" founded the monastery of Prüm[533]. This is presumably based on the charter dated 23 Jun 720 under which "Bertrada seu Berta et filius meus Chairibertus" donated property to Prüm, witnessed by "Bernarius, Chrodolande, Theodericus"[534], although the charter is probably spurious as it predates the foundation of the abbey.

It is assumed that this refers to the mother of Charibert, father of Queen Bertrada, although another possibility is that it refers to the wife of Charibert and an otherwise unknown son of Charibert, brother of Queen Bertrada.

The Monumenta Epternacensia record a donation by "Berta, filiis meis Chardradus et Harbertus"[535].

[Three] children:

a) HARDRAD (-after 720).

The Monumenta Epternacensia record a donation by "Berta, filiis meis Chardradus et Harbertus"[536]. b) CHARIBERT [Heribert] (-after 23 Jun 720).

"Bertrada seu Berta et filius meus Chairibertus" donated property to Prüm by charter dated 23 Jun 720[537], although the charter is probably spurious as it predates the foundation of the abbey. The Monumenta Epternacensia record a donation by "Berta, filiis meis Chardradus et Harbertus"[538]. Comte de Laon. m ---. The name of Charibert´s wife is not known. Charibert & his wife had one child, Bertrada or Berta "au Grand Pied" (720 - 783, wife of Pepin "le Bref" and mother of Charlemagne). c) [WETA .

"Asuarius" abbot of Prüm noted a donation to the abbey by "filia in Christo Wetane", which names "genetricis tue [Wetane] Bertradane" and "Cario et coniuge tue Wettane", by undated charter dated to [762/804][544]. It is not certain that "Bertradane" was the same person as the mother of Charibert, although the common connection with Prüm indicates that this is possible. If this is correct, the charter is probably datable to the earliest part of the suggested date range, assuming that the date of Bertrada's 720 charter (see above) is correct and at that date her son Charibert was already an adult. m CARIO .] References:

[533] MGH SS I, p. 136, footnote 11. [534] Mittelrheinisches Urkundenbuch, 8, p. 10. [535] Monumenta Epternacensia 720, MGH SS XXIII, p. 63. [536] Monumenta Epternacensia 720, MGH SS XXIII, p. 63. [537] Mittelrheinisches Urkundenbuch 8, p. 10. [538] Monumenta Epternacensia 720, MGH SS XXIII, p. 63. [544] Mittelrheinisches Urkundenbuch 14, p. 17.

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From the English Wikipedia on Bertrada of Cologne or Bertrada of Prum:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrada_of_Cologne

Bertrada (b. ca. 670 - d. after 721), also called "Bertha", and perhaps a Merovingian princess, is known to be the mother of Caribert of Laon, with whom she is co-founder and benefactor of the Prüm Abbey. They founded the abbey in 721.

Through Charibert's daughter Bertrada of Laon, wife of Pippin the Younger, Bertrada is the grandmother of Charlemagne.

There is some dispute as to her husband and parents. The following are two of many possible scenarios:

She was daughter of the seneschal and Pfalzgraf Hugobert and Irmina of Oeren. Her husband is unknown.

She was daughter of Theuderic III, king of Neustria and Austrasia, and Clotilda of Heristal. She married Martin of Laon. (This is shown in The Royal Ancestry Bible Royal Ancestors of 300 Colonial American Families by Michel L. Call; Chart 2001)

References

The Royal Ancestry Bible Royal Ancestors of 300 Colonial American Families by Michel L. Call (chart 2001) ISBN 1-933194-22-7 citing Maurice Chaume, "Études carolingiennes I: La famille de saint Guillaume de Gellone", in _Annales de Bourgogne_, vol. I (1929), 27-56 who does not state as fact that she was daughter of Theuderic (Thierry), but only as a hypothesis.

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From the French Wikipedia page on Bertrade de Prum:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrade_de_Pr%C3%BCm

Bertrade de Prüm

Éléments de biographie

Bertrade de Prüm ou Bertrade l'ancienne est connue par plusieurs actes :

Elle fait d'importantes donations de terres pour la fondation du monastère de Prüm (721), pour le repos de ses fils décédés, en présence de son fils survivant Caribert et de trois autres parents : Bernier, Rolande et Thierry.

la même année, et toujours en présence de Caribert, elle fait une donation de terres à l'abbaye d'Echternach, fondée en 697 par Irmina d'Oeren.

Son fils Caribert est le père de Bertrade de Laon, reine des Francs par son mariage avec Pépin le Bref.

Famille

Faits attestés

Pour préciser sa famille, plusieurs faits sont mis en avant:

1.la donation à Echternach faite la même année que la fondation de l'abbaye de Prüm (laquelle aurait dû monopoliser toutes ses libéralités), est le signe d'une proche parenté avec Irmina d'Oeren.

2.la présence des prénoms Caribert et Thierry dans sa famille, ainsi que l'apparition des prénoms de Louis (=Clovis) et de Lothaire (=Clotaire) parmi les Carolingiens après le mariage de Pépin le Bref et de Bertrade de Laon sont le signe d'une parenté avec les Mérovingiens. Bertrade serait également à rapprocher de Bertrude, femme de Clotaire II et mère de Dagobert Ier.

3.Pépin le Bref et Bertrade de Laon possédaient en commun deux propriétés à Rommersheim et à Rumbach, dont chacun tenait sa moitié de leur père respectif. On sait par l'acte de fondation de Prüm que Caribert tenait sa moitié de sa mère. Cela indique une parenté entre Bertrade de Prüm et les Pippinides.

Hypothèses

Informations historiques et généalogiques hypothétiques.

Certaines informations historiques et généalogiques contenues dans cet article sont hypothétiques, à cause de la rareté des documents relatifs à cet époque. D'autre part les connaissances et les hypothèses sur la noblesse du Haut Moyen Âge évoluent relativement rapidement et le contenu de cet article peut se trouver dépassé par de nouvelles découvertes.

À partir de ces faits, plusieurs hypothèses ont été proposées :

Considérant que Plectrude, fille du sénéchal Hugobert et probablement d'Irmina d'Oeren, épousa Pépin de Herstal, une première généalogie s'appuyant sur les faits 1 et 3 avait été établie, faisant de Bertrade une fille d'Hugobert et d'Irmina. C'est la généalogie classique des Hugobertides qui apparaît encore dans les livres d'histoire sur l'époque carolingienne.

fait 1 : Bertrade est la fille d'Irmina fait 3 : les propriétés de Rommersheim et de Rumbach ont été partagées entre Bertrade et Plectrude. La part de Plectrude est passée à ses fils, puis a été usurpée par son beau-fils Charles Martel qui l'a transmis à son fils Pépin le Bref. En 1975, une autre filiation tenant compte des trois arguments a été proposée : Bertrade est fille de Thierry III et de Clotilde Doda, donc sœur de Clovis IV et de Clotaire IV. Cette Dode serait elle-même fille d'Ansegisel et de Begga, et petite-fille de saint Arnoul et de sainte Dode.

fait 1 : c'est l'époux anonyme de Bertrade qui est apparenté aux Hugobertides fait 2 : en tant que fille de Thierry III, Bertrade est mérovingienne fait 3 : les propriétés de Rommersheim et de Rumbach ont été partagées entre Pépin de Herstal (qui transmet ses parts à Charles Martel) et Dode (qui transmet ses parts à Bertrade) ---

In English:

Bertrada de Prum

Biography

Bertrade de Prum or Bertrade l'Ancienne (Bertrada the Ancient) is known from several acts:

1. She made important donations of land for the foundation of Prum Monastery (721) for the repose of her deceased son, and was attended by her surviving son Caribert and three other ancestors: Bernier, Rolande, and Thierry.

2. In the same year, and always in the presence of Caribert, she donated land to the Abbey of Echternach, founded in 697 by Irmina d'Oeren.

Her son Caribert is the father of Bertrade de Laon, Queen of the Franks, through her marriage with Pepin.

Family

To clarify her family, several facts are brought forward:

1. The donatioin made at Echternach was made in the same year as the foundation of the Abbey of Prum (which should have monopolized all her gifts), which indicates a sign of a close relationship with Irmina d'Oeren.

2. The presence of the names Caribert and Thierry in her family, and the appearance of names Louis (or Clovis), and Lothar (or Clotaire) among the Carolingians after the marriage of Pepin the Short and Bertrade de Laon is a sign of kinship with the Merovingians. The name Bertrada is also close to Bertrude, wife of Clotaire II and mother of Dagobert.

3. Pepin the Short and Bertrada de Laon had in common two properties - Rommershein and Rumbach - each holding his or her half of their respective father's holdings. We know by the founding act of Prum that Caribert kept half of the property of his mother. This indicates a relationship between Bertrade de Prum and the Pippinids.

Assumptions:

Hypothetical historical and genealogical information: Some historical and genealogical information contained in this article are hypothetical, because of the scarcity of documents relating to this period. On the other hand, the knowledge and assumptions about the nobility of the High Middle Ages changes relatively quickly, and the contents of this article may be superseded by new discoveries.

From these few facts, several hypotheses have been proposed:

1. Whereas Plectrude, daughter of Seneschal Hugobert and probably Irmina d'Oeren, married Pepin of Herstal, a first genealogy based on facts 1 and 3 have been established, making Bertrade a daughter of Hugobert and Irmina. This is the classic pedigree of the Hugobertides, which still appears in history books on the Carolingian period:

Fact 1: Bertrada is daughter of Irmina. Fact 3: The properties of Rommersheim and Rumbach were shared between Plectrude and Bertrada. The share passed on by Plectrude to her son was usurped by her step-son Charles Martel, who passed them along to Pepin the Short. 2. In 1975, another genealogy that took into account three arguments was proposed - that Bertrada was the daughter of Theirry III and Clotilde Doda, so that she was sister of Clovis IV and Clotaire IV. This presumes that Dode herself is the daughter of Ansegisel and Begga, and granddaughter of St. Arnulf and St. Dode.

Fact 1: Bertrada's husband is anonymous, and related to the Hugobertides. Fact 2: As the daughter of Thierry III, Bertrada is Merovingian. Fact 3: The properties of Rommersheim and Rumbach were shared between Pepin of Herstal (who transferred his shares to Charles Martel), and Dode (who transmitted her shares to Bertrada). ---

Sources

Christian Settipani, the Ancestors of Charlemagne, Paris 1989, 170 pp. (ISBN 2-906483-28-1)

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From the English Wikipedia page on Prum Abbey:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prum_Abbey

Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm/Lorraine, now in the Diocese of Trier (Germany), founded by a Frankish widow Bertrada, and her son Charibert, count of Laon, on 23 June 720. The first abbot was Angloardus.

History

Abbey's early period up to the 13th century

Bertrada's granddaughter was Bertrada of Laon, wife of King Pippin III (751-68). Prüm became the favourite monastery of the Carolingians and received large endowments and privileges. Pepin rebuilt the monastery and bestowed great estates upon it by a deed of gift dated 13 August 762. The king brought monks from Meaux under Abbot Assuerus to the monastery.

The church, dedicated to the Saviour (Salvator), was not completed until the reign of Charlemagne, and was consecrated on 26 July 799 by Pope Leo III. Charlemagne and succeeding emperors were liberal patrons of the abbey. Several of the Carolingians entered the religious life at Prüm; among these was Lothair I, who became a monk in 855. His grave was rediscovered in 1860; in 1874, the Emperor Wilhelm I erected a monument over it.

In 882 and 892, the monastery was plundered and devastated by the Normans, but it soon recovered. The landed possessions were so large that the abbey developed into a principality.

At times during the 11th and 12th centuries, the monastery contained over 300 monks. The period of its internal prosperity extends to the 13th century. The monks were energetic cultivators of the land.

About 836, Abbot Marquard founded a new monastery at Münstereifel. In 1017, Abbot Urald founded at Prüm a collegiate foundation for 12 priests. In 1190, Abbot Gerhard founded a house for ladies of noble birth at Niederprüm.

The monastery cared for the poor and sick. Learning was also cultivated. Among those who taught in the school of the monastery were Ado, later Archbishop of Vienne (860-875). Another head of the school, Wandelbert (813-870), was a distinguished poet. Abbot Regino of Prüm (893-99) made a name for himself as historian and codifier of canon law. Cæsarius of Heisterbach is only brought into the list of authors of this monastery by being confounded with Abbot Cæsarius of Prüm (1212-16).

After the 13th century

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the monastery declined, partly from the oppression of its secular administrators, but more from internal decay. It reached such a pass that the monks divided the revenues among themselves and lived apart from one another.

Consequently the archbishops of Trier sought to incorporate the abbey into the archdiocese. In 1376, Charles IV gave his consent to this, as did Boniface IX in 1379, but the pope's consent was recalled in 1398.

Sixtus IV in about 1473 also gave his approval to the incorporation. But the abbots refused to submit and even in 1511 carried on war against the archbishop. Finally, when the abbey was near ruin, Gregory XIII issued the decree of incorporation, dated 24 August 1574, which was carried into effect in 1576 after the death of Abbot Christopher von Manderscheid.

After this, the archbishops of Trier were "perpetual administrators" of the abbey. The abbey was now brought into order within and without, and once more flourished to such a degree that the two French Benedictine antiquarians Edmond Martène and Ursin Durand, who visited the monastery in 1718, stated in their Voyage littéraire that of all the monasteries in Germany, Prüm showed the best spirit, and study was zealously pursued. The monks made efforts even in the 18th century to shake off the supremacy of Trier.

In 1801, Prüm fell to France, was secularized, and its estates sold; Napoleon gave its buildings to the city. In 1815, Prüm passed into the possession of Prussia, and in the course of time became part of modern Germany, in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The church, built in 1721 by the Elector Ludwig, is now a parish church. The remaining monastic buildings are now used for the secondary school named the Regino-Gymnasium after the Abbot Regino of Prüm.

Abbey relics

The sandals of Christ are considered to be the most notable of the many relics of the church; they are mentioned by Pepin in the deed of 762. He is said to have received them from Rome as a gift of Pope Zachary or Pope Stephen II.

External links

1. Interior of Abbey Church

http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/uploads/pics/st_goar_a_1_01.jpg

2. Regino-Gymnasium official website

http://www.regino-gym.de/

3. "Prüm". Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12519a.htm.

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

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From the Skaggs Files:

http://familytrees.genopro.com/Azrael/ind06345.htm

Bertha de Neustra

Bertha was born in year 0676.[1] Bertha's father was Theuderic de Neustra and her mother was Clotilde of Heristal of Metz. Her paternal grandparents were King of the Franks Clovis Merovingian II and Bathilde of England; her maternal grandparents were Bishop of Metz Ansigisen Austrasia and Beggue (St. Beggue) Landen.

She was the oldest of two children. She had a sister named Bertrada. She died, at the age of 64 years, in year 0740.[1]

Bertha's family with Huoching of Germany

They had a son named Nbi.

Nbi of Germany

Nbi was born in year 0705.[1] He died, at the age of 83 years, in year 0788.[1]

References:

1 A list is given at:

http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=jdp-fam&id=I82493&...

However, it is difficult to decipher which source is claiming what assertion (particularly which is the one that suggests that she is the wife of Huoching).

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Founder of the abbey in Prum 721 http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrada

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Co-founder and benefactor of the Prum Abby. -------------------- http://www.our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p335.h...

read more

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Info from Findagrave.com: Birth: unknown, France Death: unknown, France

Birth:670 Death:720

Countess, Fondatrice de L'Abbaye de Prüm, Co-founder and benefactor of the Prüm Abbey, Gräfin von Laon

Family links:

Parents:

 Theuderic III de Neustria

Spouse:

 Martin de Laon*

Children:

 Chrodelinde de Laon d'Aquitaine d'Autun*

 Charibert de Laon*

Sibling:

 Chrotelinde de Neustria de Haspengau*

 Bertrade de Prüm de Laon

*Calculated relationship

Burial: Unknown

Edit Virtual Cemetery info [?]

Created by: Memerizion Record added: May 06, 2015 Find A Grave Memorial# 146139249

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(Wiki)

Bertrada (b. ca. 670; d. after 721), also called Berthe or Bertree, and perhaps a Merovingian princess, is known to be the mother of Charibert of Laon, with whom she is co-founder and benefactor of the Prüm Abbey. They founded the abbey in 721.

Through Charibert's daughter Bertrada of Laon, wife of Pippin the Short, Bertrada is the great-grandmother of Charlemagne. Her husband is unknown for certain.

Two alternative solutions to the question of her parentage have been suggested: She was daughter of the seneschal and Pfalzgraf Hugobert and Irmina of Oeren. She was daughter of Theuderic III, king of Neustria and Austrasia, and Clotilda of Heristal.

Hugobert and Irmina had several daughters, including:

Plectrude, 691/717 witnessed, the first wife of Pippin of Herstal and founder of the Abbey St. Maria im Kapitol in Cologne Adela of Pfalzel (b. ca. 660, d. ca. 735) founder of the convent Pfalzel Reginlind, whose second marriage after the death of her husband was to the duke Theudebert of Bavaria Chrodelind possibly* Bertrada of Prüm (b. ca. 670, d. after 721), the founder of the Prüm Abbey and mother of count Caribert of Laon, who was father of Bertrada of Laon, who in turn was mother of Charlemagne.