Gauthier, comte de Laon

The Vexin House as a lineage, appeared at the end of the ix th  century, from the Count Raoul I st of Vexin . He died in 1080. The origin of this family is not known, but probably of high lineage, since the mother of the first known member would be a descendant of Louis the Pious .

The first count, Raoul I er is the son of a Heilwis, or Helvide, who remarries in second marriage to the count Roger I er of Laon . This Heilwis is traditionally identified with Heilwis of Frioul, daughter of Eberhard , Marquis of Frioul and of the Carolingian Gisèle . But this identification poses a chronological problem, because born before 850, she would have had at least two children from 895 , which is unlikely.

Another hypothesis has been put forward: Helwis, wife of Roger de Laon, would be the daughter of Hucbald de Gouy and Heilwis de Frioul. Her first husband would be Gautier de Laon , which would explain the appearance of the first name of Gautier among the counts of Vexin.

It is this hypothesis that was used in the reconstruction of this branch of the House of Vexin on Geni. The basis of this reconstruction is onomastics, which is “the study of the history and origin of proper names, especially personal names.” Leading experts Katherine Keats-Rohan and Christian Settipani et. al. have contributed both to this new aspect of genealogical study but also through their studies specifically to this part of “the big tree”. Their work for use in this reconstruction is extracted from https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_de_Vexin but refer for details to their original work Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval, Oxford, Linacre College, Unit for Prosopographical Research, coll. « Prosopographica et Genealogica / 3 », 2000, 310 p. (ISBN 1-900934-01-9)

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From French Wikipedia https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautier_de_Laon

Gautier de Laon Gautier or Walthar, Valgaire killed in 892 , was a Laon count from the end of ix th century . He was the son of Adalhelm , Count of Laon.

For having dared to deny Eudes the title of king at the assembly at Verberie the latter, his uncle or probable first cousin, had him executed in 892 .

The documentation is silent on his marriage and his descendants. Recently has been shown that the identification between Heilwis widowed mother of Raoul I st of Vexin and remarried to Roger I st of Laon , and Heilwis Friuli, woman Hucbald Gouy, was chronologically unlikely. Settipani rather sees the widow Heilwis as a daughter of Hucbald de Gouy and Heilwis of Frioul, her first husband remaining unknown. Or Vexin Raoul, son of the first marriage Heilwis, is probably the father of Gautier I er , count of Vexin, and the count of Laon Gautier is proposed as Heilwis first husband and father of Raoul Vexin.

Sources Edit

Christian Settipani , “The viscounts of Châteaudun and their allies”, in Onomastique et Kinship in the Medieval West , Oxford, Linacre College, Unit for Prosopographical Research, coll. "Prosopographica and Genealogica / 3",2000, 310 p. ( ISBN 1-900934-01-9 ) , p. 247-261

Christian Settipani , La Préhistoire des Capétiens ( New genealogical history of the august house of France , vol. 1) , Villeneuve-d'Ascq, ed. Patrick van Kerrebrouck,1993, 545 p. ( ISBN 978-2-95015-093-6 )

Foundation for Medieval Genealogy Counts of Laon and Basigny

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