FYI:
Charles the Simple (Charles III of France, l. 879-929 CE, r. 893-923 CE) was king of West Francia (roughly modern-day France) toward the end of the period of Viking raids in the region. His epithet the simple' refers to his habit of being straightforward and honest, not simple-minded or slow.Nov 14, 2018

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Charles III the Simple, King of the Franks

• Son of Louis II the Stammerer, king of the West Franks and Adélaïs of Paris

Project MedLands, CAROLINGIANS

CHARLES III 893-922

CHARLES, son of LOUIS II "le Bègue" King of the West Franks & his second wife Adelais (posthumously 17 Sep 879-Péronne 7 Oct 929, bur Péronne, monastère de Saint-Fursy). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Karolum quoque postumum et Irmintrudim" as children of "Hlodovicus rex…ex Adelheidi regina"[312]. His parentage is also given in the Annalista Saxo[313]. Regino specifies that he was born posthumously[314]. On the death of King Louis II, Emperor Charles III "le Gros" was elected King of the West Franks, and on the latter's death in 888, Eudes [Capet] was elected king. Louis II's son, Charles, sought refuge with Ramnulf II Comte de Poitou[315]. Regino names "Folcone episcopo, Heriberto et Pippino comitibus in Remorum civitate" when recording that they supported the accession of Charles as king in 892 in opposition to King Eudes[316]. Supported by Fulco Archbishop of Reims, he was crowned 28 Jan 893 at Reims as CHARLES III "le Simple" King of the West Franks, as anti-king to Eudes, who later agreed to appoint him as his successor and whom he succeeded from 1 Jan 898. The early years of his reign appear to have been dominated by Viking raids in the north which led to the treaty with Rollo in 911 and the grant of territory in the future duchy of Normandy. He was chosen as CHARLES King of Lotharingia 1 Nov 911, in succession to Ludwig IV "das Kind" King of the East Franks and Lotharingia, representing a significant extension of the royal domain. He used the title "King of the Franks/rex francorum", and later "King of France/rex franciæ". He captured Alsace early in 912, and fought the army of Konrad I King of Germany three times in Lotharingia[317]. From [920], he fell under the influence of Haganon, a Lotharingian described in a charter of 921 as his cousin on his mother's side[318]. This triggered the revolt of Robert Marquis en Neustrie [Capet] and other nobles during which King Charles was obliged to seek refuge with Heriveus Archbishop of Reims. Although the king was restored after seven months, tension continued and Charles's award of the monastery of Chelles to Haganon in 922 triggered another revolt which led to the king's deposition 30 Jun 922 in favour of Robert, who was elected as Robert I King of France. Ex-king Charles fled to Lotharingia. He returned, but was be defeated at Soissons 15 Jun 923, although King Robert was killed in the battle. Raoul de Bourgogne was elected king of France 13 Jul 923. Ex-king Charles was tricked into capture by Héribert II Comte de Vermandois and imprisoned at Château-Thierry. He was transferred in 924 to the château de Péronne, where he remained captive for the rest of his life[319]. He was briefly declared king once more in 927 by Comte Heribert during the latter's unsuccessful attempt to capture Laon[320]. According to Thietmar of Merseburg, Heinrich I King of Germany secured his release from prison and in return was rewarded with "the right hand of St Denis and the entire kingdom of the Lotharingians"[321]. married firstly ([1/18] Apr 907) FREDERUNA, sister of BOVO [II] Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne, daughter of --- (-10 Feb 917, bur Reims, église abbatiale de Saint-Rémi). The charter of "Karolus…rex" dated "907 XIII Kal Mai" refers to "quondam nobili prosapia puellam…Frederunam" who had recently become his wife[322]. The charter of "Karolus…rex" dated "917 VII Kal Aug" refers to "nostra uxor Frideruna…frater eius Bovo Catalannensis Antistes Ecclesiæ"[323]. Nothing definite is known about the origins of Bovo, although Flodoard refers to "Berengario Transrhenensi clerico" as "nepoti Bovonis Catalaunensis quondam episcopi" when recording his appointment as Bishop of Cambrai in 956[324]. McKitterick assumes that she was of Lotharingian origin[325]. Settipani speculates that Queen Frederuna was probably a close relation of Mathilde, second wife of Heinrich I King of Germany[326]. This could be explained if Mathilde's mother, Reginlind, was Queen Frederuna's sister, as hypothesised in GERMAN NOBILITY. The charter of "Karolus…rex" dated "918 IV Id Feb" refers to the death of "nostræ…coniugis Friderunæ"[327], and the charter dated "918 II Id Mar" that she had died "IV Id Feb"[328]. The necrology of Reims Saint-Rémi records the death "IV Id Feb" of "Frederuna regina"[329]. Married secondly ([917/19]%29 as her first husband, EADGIFU, daughter of EDWARD I "the Elder" King of England & his second wife Ælfleda ([902/05]-after 951, bur église Saint-Médard de Soissons). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names "Otgiva" wife of "Karolus rex" after the death of "Frederuna regina"[330]. She fled with her two-year-old son to England in 923 after her husband was deposed, returning to France in 936 after the death of King Raoul. Abbess of Notre-Dame de Laon, this was taken from her 951 by her son on her second marriage. Flodoard names "Ottogeba regina, mater Ludowici regis" when recording her second marriage[331]. She married secondly (951) Héribert Comte "le Vieux" [de Vermandois] (-980/84).

Mistresses: ---. The names of King Charles III's mistresses are not known.

King Charles III & his first wife FREDERUNA had six children:

• 1. ERMENTRUDE ([908/16]-). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Hyrmintrudim, Frederunam, Adelheidim, Gislam, Rotrudim et Hildegardim" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex Frederuna regina"[332]. Hlawitschka suggests[333] that Ermentrude, daughter of King Charles III, was the wife of Gottffied Graf im Jülichgau. This appears to be based on the combined reading of four strings of entries in the Liber Memorialis of Remiremont: (1) "Dumnus Gislibertus dux…Dumna Girberga, Ainricus, Haduidis…", which is followed by (2) "Gottefridus comes cum infantibus…suis, Ermentridis comitissa"[334]; (3) "Gotefridus, Ermendrudis, Gotefridus, Gebardus, Gerardus, Adelardus, Girberga" assumed to be Gottfried, his wife, four sons and daughter[335], and (4) "…Caroli imperatoris…Hludowici imperatoris, Hlotarii, Caroli, Ermentrudis"[336], which may represent an abbreviated attempt to set out the ancestry of Ermentrude wife of Graf Gottfried. However, the connection between entries (1) to (3) and entry (4) appears to be speculation. [m (before [934]%29 GOTTFRIED Graf im Jülichgau, son of Graf GERHARD [Matfride] & his wife Oda [Ottonen] (-26 Mar after 949).]
• 2. FREDERUNA ([908/16]-). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Hyrmintrudim, Frederunam, Adelheidim, Gislam, Rotrudim et Hildegardim" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex Frederuna regina"[337].
• 3. ADELAIS ([908/16]-). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Hyrmintrudim, Frederunam, Adelheidim, Gislam, Rotrudim et Hildegardim" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex Frederuna regina"[338]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines records that "comes Rodulfus" (referring to Raoul [II]%29 was "nepos…ex sorore" of Louis IV King of France[339]. It appears chronologically unlikely for any of King Louis's sisters, whose dates of birth can be estimated to [908/17], to have been the mother of Raoul [II] who was killed in battle in 944, presumably when he was already adult. It appears more likely that the family relationship was one generation further back, and that a member of the Unruochingi family, descended from the sister of Charles II "le Chauve" King of the West Franks and who originated in the same area in northern France, would provide a good match. Nevertheless, the earlier primary source on which Alberic based his information has not yet been identified and it is possible that the source is inaccurate in its report. However, the poem Raoul de Cambrai states that "Raoul Taillefer" married "Aalais", sister of King Louis IV[340] which, if correct, would mean that his wife could be identified with Adelais, daughter of Charles III "le Simple" King of the West Franks by his first marriage. This would mean that Raoul [II] was an infant when his father died. It would also mean that Raoul [I] and his wife were closely related, as the Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines also implies that Raoul's mother was the daughter of Adelais's paternal great aunt Gisela who married Eberhard, ancestor of the Marchesi of Friulia. The poem Raoul de Cambrai cannot claim to be historically accurate. Nevertheless, it is not impossible that the detail of Raoul's marriage was not fabricated. [married [920/24]) RAOUL [I] Comte de Gouy, son of HUCBERT Comte [d'Ostrevant] & his wife Heilwig [of Friulia] (-926).]
• 4. GISELA ([908/16]-). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Hyrmintrudim, Frederunam, Adelheidim, Gislam, Rotrudim et Hildegardim" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex Frederuna regina"[341]. Guillaume of Jumièges records that Charles III "le Simple" King of the West Franks granted Rollo "tout le territoire maritime qui s´étend depuis la rivière d´Epte jusqu´aux confines de la Bretagne" together with "sa fille…Gisèle", and their marriage which took place after Rollo´s baptism[342]. Her marriage is recorded in the Norman annals for 912, which state that she died without issue, presumably soon after the marriage when Gisla must still have been an infant. The chronicle of Dudo of Saint-Quentin[343] describes her as of "tall stature, most elegant…", which is of course inconsistent with her supposed birth date range. The Liber Modernorum Regum Francorum records the marriage of "filiam suam [=rex Karolus] nomine Gillam" to "Rollo"[344]. Settipani considers that the marriage did not occur, and that the Norman sources confused it with the marriage of Gisela, daughter of Lothaire II King of Lotharingia, to the Viking leader Gotfrid[345]. married ([912]%29 as his third wife, ROLLO of Normandy, later known as ROBERT I Comte [de Normandie], son of [RAGNVALD "the Wise" Jarl of Möre in Norway & his wife Ragnhild] ([846]-[928]).

• 5. ROTRUDE ([908/16]-). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Hyrmintrudim, Frederunam, Adelheidim, Gislam, Rotrudim et Hildegardim" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex Frederuna regina"[346].
• 6. HILDEGARDE ([908/16]-). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Hyrmintrudim, Frederunam, Adelheidim, Gislam, Rotrudim et Hildegardim" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex Frederuna regina"[347].

King Charles III & his second wife EADGIFU had one child:

• 7. LOUIS ([10 Sep 920/10 Sep 921]-Reims 10 Sep 954, bur Reims, Abbaye de Saint-Rémi). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names "Hludovicum" as son of "Karolus rex [ex] Otgivam"[348]. He succeeded in 936 as LOUIS IV "d´Outremer" King of the Franks.

King Charles III had illegitimate children by his Mistresses.

• 8. ARNULF. The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Arnulfum, Drogonem, Roriconem et Alpaidem" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex concubina"[349].
• 9. DROGO. The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Arnulfum, Drogonem, Roriconem et Alpaidem" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex concubina"[350].
• 10. RORICO (-20 Dec 976, bur Laon Saint-Vincent). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Arnulfum, Drogonem, Roriconem et Alpaidem" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex concubina"[351]. Elected Bishop of Laon 949.
• 11. ALPAIS . The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names (in order) "Arnulfum, Drogonem, Roriconem et Alpaidem" as the children of "Karolus rex…ex concubina"[352]. same person as…? ALPAIS . "Erleboldus…et uxor mea Alpaidis" founded the monastery of Salles "in pago…Haynau in loco…Macons" by charter dated 8 Sep 887 which names "filius noster Wiermiundus"[353]. Secondary sources suggest that she was the wife of Erlebold was the illegitimate daughter of Charles III "le Simple" King of the West Franks, but the primary source on which this is based has not yet been identified. If it is correct, the 887 charter quoted above must be misdated (assuming that it is genuine). married ERLEBOLD Comte de Castres, son of --- (-killed in battle 920). He possessed territories in pagus Lommensis (near Namur), pagus Castricensis (near Mézières), Charpaigne, and probably also the Saulnois (near Metz)[354].

Charles III of France, by Wikipedia

Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin Karolus Simplex), was the undisputed King of France from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919/23. He was a member of the Carolingian dynasty, the third and posthumous son of Louis the Stammerer by his second wife, Adelaide of Paris.

As a child, Charles was prevented from succeeding to the throne at the time of the death in 884 of his half-brother Carloman. The nobles of the realm instead asked his cousin, Charles the Fat, to rule them. He was also prevented from succeeding the unpopular Charles, who was deposed in November 887 and died in January 888, although it is unknown if his deposition was accepted or even made known in West Francia before his death. The nobility elected Odo, the hero of the Siege of Paris, king, though there was a faction that supported Guy III of Spoleto. Charles was put under the protection of Ranulf II, the Duke of Aquitaine, who may have tried to claim the throne for him and in the end used the royal title himself until making peace with Odo. Finally, in 893 Charles was crowned by a faction opposed to Odo at Reims Cathedral. He only became the effectual monarch with the death of Odo in 898.

In 911 Charles defeated the Viking leader Rollo, had him sign the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte that made Rollo his vassal and converted him to Christianity. Charles then gave him land around Rouen, the heart of what would become Normandy and his daughter Gisela in marriage. In the same year as the treaty with the Vikings, Louis the Child, the King of Germany, died and the nobles of Lotharingia, who had been loyal to him, under the leadership of Reginar Longneck, declared Charles their new king, breaking from Germans who had elected Conrad of Franconia king. Charles tried to win their support by marrying a Lotharingian woman named Frederuna, who died in 917. He also defended the country against two attacks by Conrad, King of the Germans.

On 7 October 919 Charles re-married to Eadgifu, the daughter of Edward the Elder, King of England. By this time Charles' excessive favouritism towards a certain Hagano had turned the aristocracy against him. He endowed Hagano with monasteries which were already the benefices of other barons, alienating these barons. In Lotharingia he earned the enmity of the new duke, Gilbert, who declared for the German king Henry the Fowler in 919. Opposition to Charles in Lotharingia was not universal, however, and he retained the support of Wigeric. In 922 some of the West Frankish barons, led by Robert of Neustria and Rudolph of Burgundy, revolted. Robert, who was Odo's brother, was elected by the rebels and crowned in opposition to Charles, who had to flee to Lotharingia. On 2 July 922,Charles lost his most faithful supporter, Herve, Archbishop of Rheims, who had succeeded Fulk in 900 .

He returned the next year (923) with a Norman army but was defeated on 15 June near Soissons by Robert, who died in the battle. Charles was captured and imprisoned in a castle at Péronne under the guard of Herbert II of Vermandois. Rudolph was elected to succeed him. In 925 the Lotharingians accepted Rudolph as their king. Charles died in prison on 7 October 929 and was buried at the nearby abbey of Saint-Fursy. Though he had had many children by Frederuna, it was his son by Eadgifu who would eventually be crowned in 936 as Louis IV of France. In the initial aftermath of Charles's defeat, Eadgifu and Louis fled to England.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Article Titled Charles III, King of France

"byname CHARLES THE SIMPLE, French CHARLES LE SIMPLE, king of France (893-922), whose authority came to be accepted by Lorraine and who settled the Northmen in Normandy but who became the first Carolingian ruler of the western kingdom to lose his crown.

"The posthumous son of Louis II the Stammerer, Charles was too young to assume the throne on the death of his half-brother, Carloman, in 884 or that of his cousin, Charles the Fat, in 888. On Jan. 28, 893, however, he was crowned king by Fulk, archbishop of Reims; and, although he renounced his rights after civil war in 897, the death of King Eudes in the following year brought him general recognition as king.

"Charles was strongly under the influence of Robert, brother of the dead Eudes. It was Robert's victory against the Northmen at Chartres in 911 which paved the way for the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte later that year, by which Charles ceded territory, in the area later known as Normandy, to the Viking leader Rollo and his men; in return, Rollo became a Christian and Charles's vassal. The Normans who had such an impact on Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries were the final product of this settlement.

"In 911 also, the magnates of Lorraine (Lotharingia) accepted the authority of Charles on the death of the last Carolingian king of the East Franks, Louis the Child. Charles's preoccupation with Lotharingian affairs and councillors alienated the nobles of Neustria, however, and in 922 they elected Robert king. Charles killed Robert in battle in 923 but was soon taken prisoner by Herbert, count of Vermandois, who used him for his own gain against Rudolf, Robert's son-in-law and the new king."

Links

• http://www.our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p245.h...
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_the_Simple
• http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III_de_France
• http://www.friesian.com/francia.htm#caroling
• https://finnholbek.dk/getperson.php?personID=I26988&tree=2
• http://www.authome.be/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26
• http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_III._%28Frankreich%29#Ehen_und_Na...
• http://www.rpi.edu/~holmes/Hobbies/Genealogy/ps05/ps05_316.htm

Sources

• References: [WallopFH],[Moncreiffe],[AR7],[MRL],[Paget1],[ES], [RFC]
• Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten , Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: JA Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 1
• Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of Oderic Vitalis , ed. Marjorie Chibnall, Volume II, Books III and IV (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1993), p. 9
• Jim Bradbury, The Capetians; Kings of France 987–1328 (New York; London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), p. 33
• John E. Morby, "The Sobriquets of Medieval European Princes", Canadian Journal of History, 13:1 (1978), p. 6.
• a b c d e f g h i j k l m Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 1
• The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919–966, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. xv
• Pierre Riché, The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe, trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), p. 216
• a b c d Michel Parisse, "Lotharingia", The New Cambridge Medieval History, III: c. 900–c. 1024, ed. Timothy Reuter (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 313–15.
• Ordericus Vitalis [1075 – c. 1142 CE], trans. Thomas Forester, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Volume 1 (London: H.G. Bohn, 1853), 379-81. More-recent discussion of critical sourcing in Leah Shopkow, "Dudo of St.-Quentin and His Patrons", in Thomas E. Burman et al., Religion, Text, and Society in Medieval Spain and Northern Europe: Essays in Honor of J.N. Hillgarth (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2002), 307-11. ISBN 9780888448163
• Bradbury, J. (2007). The Capetians: Kings of France 987–1328. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8264-2491-4. Retrieved 2 August 2018
• Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. III—Germany and the Western Empire, eds. H. M. Gwatking; J. P. Whitney, et al. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1922), p. 74
• Genealogiæ Comitum Flandriæ, Witgeri Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis MGH SS IX, p. 303.
• a b c Pierre Riché, The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe, trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), p. 250
• Jean Dunbabin, "West Francia: The Kingdom", The New Cambridge Medieval History, III: c. 900–c. 1024, ed. Timothy Reuter (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 378–79.
• The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919–966, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. xvi
• a b The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919–966, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. xvii
• Depreux 2002, pp. 128–129.
• Isaïa 2009, p. 82.
• Depreux 2002, pp. 131–132.
• Depreux 2002, p. 129.
• Richer de Reims: Gallica Histoire de son temps Book I, p. 87 Archived 19 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
• Isaïa 2009, p. 87.
• Toussaint-Duplessis: Annales de Paris. Jusqu'au règne de Hugues Capet, 1753, p. 201.
• Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis, ed. Marjorie Chibnall, Volume II, Books III And IV (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1993), p. 9