- Himiltrude
Himiltrude (c. 742-c.780?) was the mother of
Charlemagne 's first-born sonPippin the Hunchback .Life
Little is known about Himiltrude's origins.
Paulus Diaconus calls her a "noble girl".Silvia Konecny, "Die Frauen des karolingischen Königshauses. Die politische Bedeutung der Ehe und die Stellung der Frau in der fränkischen Herrscherfamilie vom 7. bis zum 10. Jahrhundert.", [http://www.mittelalter-genealogie.de/karolinger_familie_karls/himiltrud_frankenkoenigin_769.html p. 65] .] Her appearance of her name in fraternity books of Alemannian monasteries may suggest an affiliation to the Alemannian or Alsatian nobility,Dieter Hägermann, "Karl der Große. Herrscher des Abendlands", Ullstein 2003, p. 82f.] while other sources make her the daughter of a Burgundian count and a granddaughter of Grimbert I, Count of Paris.Gerd Treffer, "Die französischen Königinnen. Von Bertrada bis Marie Antoinette (8.-18. Jahrhundert)", [http://www.mittelalter-genealogie.de/karolinger_familie_karls/himiltrud_frankenkoenigin_769.html p. 30] .] It is not possible, however, to extrapolate any political ramifications from Charlemagne's relationship with Himiltrude.Himiltrude probably entered into a relationship with Charlemagne during the lifetime of his father,
Pepin the Short . When Charlemagne acceded to the throne in 768, Himiltrude remained unnamed in official sources – contrary to the example set by Charlemagne's mother Bertrada. Himiltrude bore Charles a daughter called Amaudru, who would later marry a Count of Paris, and at the end of 769 a son called Pepin. Shortly after Pepin's birth, an alliance was formulated between Charlemagne and the King of the Lombards,Desiderius : to seal the alliance, it was agreed that Charlemagne should marry Desiderius' daughter (called Desiderata by modern scholars).Himiltrude was dismissed at that time and disappears from historical records. A grave excavated in the monastery of
Nivelles was found to contain the corpse of a forty-year old woman, possibly identifiable with Himiltrude; if so, Himiltrude would appear to have died long after 770, although if and when she retired to Nivelles cannot be deduced.Her son Pepin, who suffered from a spinal deformity and was called "the Hunchback", was eclipsed by Charlemagne's sons from his later marriage to Hildegard. Following an attempted rebellion against his father, he was confined to a monastery.
Marital status
The nature of Himiltrude's relationship to Charlemagne is a matter of dispute. Charlemagne's biographer
Einhard calls her a "concubine" [Einhard, "Vita Karoli Magni ", ch. 20] andPaulus Diaconus speaks of Pippin's birth "before legal marriage"; whereas a letter byPope Stephen III refers to Charlemagne and his brother Carloman as being already married (to Himiltrude and Gerberga), and advises them not to dismiss their wives.Historians have interpreted the information in different ways. Some, such as
Pierre Riché , follow Einhard in describing Himiltrude as a concubine. [Pierre Riché, "The Carolingians", p.86.] Others, for example Dieter Hägemann, consider Himiltrude a wife in the full sense. Still others subscribe to the idea that the relationship between the two was "something more than concubinage, less than marriage" and describe it as aFriedelehe , a form of marriage unrecognized by the Church and easily dissolvable. Russell Chamberlin, for instance, compared it with the English system of common-law marriage. [Russell Chamberlin, "The Emperor Charlemagne", p. 61.] This form of relationship is often seen in a conflict between Christian marriage and more flexible Germanic concepts.References
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