Saint Begga of Landen

Family/Spouse: Duke Ansgise of the Palace to Siegbert. Ansgise (son of Bishop Saint Arnulf of Metz and Clothilde of Metz) was born in 602; died in 685. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Frankish Nobility. He was born around 635 as the son of Ansegisel, a son of Saint Arnulf of Metz and Begga, a daughter the of Austrasian majordomo (mayor of the palace) Pepin of Landen. With the fall and execution of his uncle, the Frankish majordomo Grimoald, the family had seemingly come to an end. After spending several years fighting, he finally gained the rule over the whole realm after the Battle of Terty in 687. From then on he de facto ruled Francia as the majordomo of Austrasia, Neustria (from 688) and Burgundy. He secured his power by leaving his opponent Berchar in office as majordomo of Neustria. In addition he left the Merovingian kings on the throne. Around 696 he named his son Grimoald majordomo of Neustria and his eldest son Drogo Dux of Burgundy, but retained the real power in the kingdom. Even before his death a conflict over his succession broke out. His wife Plectrudis supported her grandsons interests against Pepins sons by his mistress Chalpaida. He died after a long illness on December 16th, 714. Plectrude was defeated by his son Charles Martel a few years later. During his reign he was able to establish his family, the Arnulfings, as the strongest in Francia and initiated the rise of the Carolingians.
Bio by: Lutetia (Find a Grave)

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Frankish Monarch. The grandfather of Charlemagne, he is best remembered for winning the Battle of Tours in 732, which prevented Moslem (The meaning of MOSLEM is formerly common but now an old-fashioned, increasingly rare, and sometimes offensive variant of Muslim.) advance from getting any farther into Europe than Spain. His Frankish army defeated an Arab and Berber army fighting to spread Islam, which had swept through southern Asia and North Africa, before conquering most of the Iberian peninsula and much of southern France. Although it took another two generations for the Franks to drive all the Arab garrisons out of what is now France and across the Pyrenees, Charles Martel's halt of the invasion of French soil turned the tide of Islamic advance, and the unification of the Frankish kingdom under him, his son Pippin the Short, and his grandson Charlemagne prevented the Ummayad kingdom from expanding over the Pyrenees. He was the son of Pippin of Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, and his concubine Alpaida. On Pippin's death in 714, the succession passed to an infant grandson, Theodoald. The faction of Austrasian nobles who supported Theodoald was led by his stepmother, Pippin's widow, Plectrude. Charles, who was already an adult, led a rival faction and prevailed in a series of battles against both invading Neustrian Franks and the forces of Plectrude. Between 718 and 723, he secured his power through a series of victories and by winning the loyalty of several important clerics. This he accomplished in part by donating lands and money for the foundations of abbeys such as Echternach. In the subsequent decade, he led the Frankish army against the eastern duchies, Bavaria and Alemannia, and the southern duchies, Aquitaine and Provence. He dealt with the ongoing conflict with the Saxons to his northeast with some success, but full conquest of the Saxons and their incorporation into the Frankish empire would have to wait for his grandson Charlemagne.
Bio by: Mongoose (Find a Grave)

Family/Spouse: Chrotrudis de Treves. Chrotrudis (daughter of Saint Leudwinus of Reims) was born in 690 in Trèves, Gard, Occitanie, France; died on 22 Oct 724 in Trier, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; was buried in Abbaye de Saint-Arnould, Metz, Moselle, Grand Est, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Swanhilde of Bavaria. Swanhilde was born est 690. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

King of the Franks. Descendant of the Franconian upper middle class of the Carolingian dynasty and Lord of Neustria, Burgundia and Provence, he owes his ascent to the throne (751 AD) aimed at contrasting the advance of the Longobards thanks to the intervention of Pope Zacharias at the expense of his brother Carloman, relegated to a convent, and of the legitimate king Childeric III. After 754 AD, the policy of Pepin the Short in agreement with the new Pope Stephen II, was characterized by an interminable series of small wars aimed at stabilizing the territories threatened by the invaders and the definitive conquest of Aquitaine (768 AD). His successor was first-born son Charlemagne, future emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (800 AD) and King of the Longobards.
Bio by: Lucy & Chris (Find a Grave)

Family/Spouse: Bertha of Laon. Bertha was born est 715. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Accession: 25 Dec 800; Holy Roman Emperor

Notes:

Frankish Emperor. Born Karolus, the eldest son of Pepin III and his wife Bertrada (Berthe) Broadfoot of Laon. When Pepin died in 768, both Karolus and his brother, Carloman, were jointly proclaimed king, and were intended to rule the kingdom together, though their relationship was never easy. In the year 769, after his brother refused to participate, he led armies to put down a rising of the Aquitaines and Gascons. In 770, he made a political marriage with a Lombard princess. Carloman died unexpectedly in 771, leaving him sole ruler of the kingdom. He then repudiated his wife, and married Hildegard of Vinzgau with whom he had at least four children; one of whom became known to history as Louis I, King of the Franks. In 772, he began a brutal and drawn out war with the Saxons, and he attacked and defeated the Lombards. In 781, after a pilgrimage to Rome, he had his son proclaimed King of Italy. In 787, he issued orders that bishops were to open schools supported by their orders. The following year he took control of Bavaria. Between 791 and 795, he crushed the Slavic Avars (Huns) and added their territory to his own. Since he had long sworn himself protector of the Roman Church, the pope rewarded him by crowning him Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day in the year 800. By 804, the Saxon war ended and his kingdom, Francia, absorbed the Saxon territory. He married at least twice more and had at least one more legitimate son, though there were at least fifteen illegitimate children, all of whom he reportedly acknowledged and educated. At its greatest, his empire included the Spanish March in northern Spain, and what is today France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, northern Italy, and Luxembourg. He ruthlessly crushed all Teutonic resistance and extended Christianity to his entire realm. He attempted to create unity within the empire, and built a central capital. He divided his empire under the rule of his three legitimate sons, two, however, predeceased him, leaving Louis his sole heir upon his death at about age 71. In the early 12th century, he was canonized. The modern church, however, does not recognized him as a Blessed. A Frankish scholar and contemporary of his, Einhard, wrote a biography of the emperor after his death entitled "Vita Karoli Magni (The Life of Charles the Great). He has been known as Karolus Magnus, Karl den store, Charlemagne, Carlos Magno, Karl der Grosse, and Charles the Great.

Bio by: Iola (findagrave.com)

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6623/charlemagne

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Charlemagne married Hildegarde of Swabia about 771. Hildegarde (daughter of Count Gerold of the Anglachau and Emma of Alamannia) was born in 758; died on 30 Apr 783. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count Girard of Paris. Girard was born est 730. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Accession: 814; Holy Roman Emperor (814-840) King of France (814-840) King of Germany (814-840) King of Aquitaine (781-840)

Notes:

Louis I, called The Pious (778-840), Holy Roman emperor (814-840), king of France (814-840), king of Germany (814-840), and king of Aquitaine (781-840). He was the son and sole successor of Charlemagne. In 817 Louis made plans for an orderly succession among his sons: Lothair I, Louis II (Louis the German), and Pepin of Aquitaine. Later he wanted to include in the succession Charles II (Charles the Bald), his son by a second marriage. Dissatisfied, his older sons rebelled (830, 833) against him and fought among themselves for supremacy as well. Pepin died in 838, and in 843 the empire was divided among the three surviving brothers.

Louis I, "The Pious" was the only surviving son of Charlemagne.

The Bridge to Modern Europe: He was the King of the Franks and the Holy Roman Emperor. His reign was the last time the massive empire of Charlemagne remained unified.

The Division of Nations: Upon his death, his sons signed the Treaty of Verdun (843), which split the empire into three parts. These divisions effectively created the borders that would become France and Germany.

A Scholarly Ruler: Unlike many of the "warrior kings" of the era, Louis was deeply invested in church reform, education, and law, earning him the nickname "The Pious."



Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84022206/louis_i-of_the_franks

Family/Spouse: Count Ermengarde of Hasbaye. Ermengarde (daughter of Count Ingerman of Hasbaye) was born in 778; died on 3 Oct 818 in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France; was buried in Cathedrale Saint-Maurice d'Angers, Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Theodelinde de Sens. Theodelinde was born in 790 in Sens, Departement de l'Yonne, Bourgogne, France; died in 840 in France; was buried in Abbey de Sainte Colombe de Sens, Sens, Yonne, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Judith of Bavaria. Judith (daughter of Duke Welf I of Bavaria) was born est 800. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Accession: Count of Paris Marquis of Septimanie

Family/Spouse: Alpaïs de Paris. Alpaïs (daughter of Emperor Louis I of the Franks and Theodelinde de Sens) was born in 795; died in 852 in Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; was buried in Abbaye Saint-Pierre-les-Dames, Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Ermengarde of Tours. Ermengarde (daughter of Count Hugh II of Tours) was born est 800; died on 20 Mar 851. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Illegitimate daughter of Louis I
Abbesse de Saint Pierre, à Reims
An illegitimate daughter of Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, Alpaïs de Paris, abbess of St-Pierre de Reims. She had one brother, Arnulf de Sens.

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147243444/alpa%C3%AFs-de_paris

Family/Spouse: Count Begue de Paris. Begue (son of Count Girard of Paris and Rotrude of the Palace in Austrasia) was born in 760; died on 28 Oct 816 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Margrave Eberhard of Friuli. Eberhard (son of Margrave Hunroch of Friuli and Engeltron of Paris) was born est 820; died about 864. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Ermentrude of the Franks. Ermentrude (daughter of Count Odo of Orleans and Engeltrude of Orleans) was born est 820; died on 06 Oct 869. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Irmentrude of France. Irmentrude (daughter of Emperor Louis II of West Francia and Adelaide de Paris) was born in 870. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Bernard married Cunigunde of Italy about 815. Cunigunde was born est 800; died about 835. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Margrave Hunroch of Friuli. Hunroch was born est 800. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count Gieselbert II of Darnau. Gieselbert (son of Count Gieselbert I of the Massgua) was born est 820. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Waldrada of Lorraine. Waldrada was born est 840; died in 863. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Margrave Hunroch of Friuli. Hunroch was born est 800. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Adelaide de Paris. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count Baldwin I of Flanders. Baldwin was born est 850; died in 879. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count Hugh of Bourges. Hugh was born est 870. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Count Regnier I of Hainault. Regnier (son of Count Gieselbert II of Darnau and Ermengarde of Lorraine) was born est 880; died about 915. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Gisele of Friuli. Gisele (daughter of Emperor Louis I of the Franks and Judith of Bavaria) was born in 820; died on 01 Jul 874. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]