Judith (Countess of Flanders)

Origin

Judith was the eldest daughter of King Karl Lysy and his wife, Irmentrude of Orleans . Her brothers were Louis Zaika and Charles III . Judith's date of birth is unknown. Since Judith’s parents married on December 14, 842, and Judith was their eldest child, and the next child, Louis, was born on November 1, 846, the birth of Judith is dated 843-845 years ^[1] .

First marriage. First Queen

In 855, King Ethelwulf made a pilgrimage to Rome with his youngest son, Alfred , who was about six years old. On the way back, in 856, he lingered at the court of Karl Lysy. Back in July, on the way to Rome, Ethelwulf arranged a marriage with Judith, who was about 14 ^[2] or even 12 years old ^[3] , while the bridegroom was over fifty. It was a diplomatic alliance - both kings suffered from Viking attacks ^[4] , and for ельthelwulf marriage had the added advantage of an alliance with the Caroling ^[5] . The royal ceremony, magnificent, was held on October 1, 856 in the palace of Verbury-sur- Oise . Ginkmar , the archbishop of Reims , was instructed to write the order of service for the wedding and anointing of Judith, which occurred simultaneously. During the ceremony, the bride was put on a wedding ring and presented with gifts. Part of the ritual was the laying of a diadem on her head with the blessing of the bishop. At the coronation, Judith was anointed with the world . Ethelwulf honored her by calling her queen after the ceremony ^[6] . The peculiarity of this step was that the appropriation of the title of queen was not accepted among the Western Saxons. According to their customs (described by the chronicler as “perverted and disgusting”), the wife of King Wessex could not be called a queen. She did not sit on the throne with her husband, but was simply called the king’s wife or mistress ^[7] . However, all chroniclers pay attention to the fact that Karl insisted on the crowning of his daughter ^[8] .

Judith, married to ельthelwulf, was the first crowned queen of Wessex. Carolingian kings and queens have been crowned and anointed since the year 751, and Judith's father probably thought that the coronation would make her position in England more reliable ^[10] .

It seems that after Judith the queens in Wessex have not been crowned for more than a hundred years. Next came Elfrita, crowned by her husband, Edgar , in Bath in 973. Since that time, queens have usually been crowned with husbands if they were already married, or separately if the marriage was concluded by the ruling king. With the coronation of the queen received official status. For centuries, the essence of the ceremony - the anointing and the wedding, accompanied by solemn church service - remained unchanged ^[12]

After the triumphs Ethelwulf with Judith and Alfred went to England. But there were problems in Wessex. Ethelwulf’s son, Ethelbald , together with , bishop of , and Eanwulf, an Eldormen from Somerset , conspired to take the crown from Ethelwulf and deprive him of the right to enter the country ^[13] . Marriage with Judith may have played a role in this conspiracy. Ethelbald was probably afraid that his father’s new young wife, the great-granddaughter of Charlemagne , would give birth to a more highly born heir than Ethelbald himself. In addition, Ethelbald, and perhaps some nobles, were indignant that Judith was crowned and called the Queen, which was contrary to customs. However, other Saxon tans did not agree to oust Ethelwulf, because they did not want to participate in the riots ^[1] . There is a version that Ethelbald’s rebellion was not provoked by marriage. According to this point of view, Ethelwulf’s son rebelled against his father not because of marriage, but before her. Ethelwulf knew about this, lingered at the court of Karl and married Karl's daughter for this reason. The marriage with Karl's daughter was intended to demonstrate to subjects that Ethelwulf has strong supporters abroad ^[5] . As a result, the father and son agreed on a compromise, according to which Ethelwulf received the eastern regions of the kingdom, and Ethelbald received the western. It is not known whether this meant that Ethelwulf took Kent, and Ethelbald Wessex, or even Wessex itself was divided ^[1] .

Judith had no children from Ethelwulf, who died on January 13, 858 ^[1] .

Second marriage

After ельthelwulf’s death, the new king, ельthelbald, married Judith. By agreeing to this marriage, she probably tried to avoid the usual fate of the princesses - the monastery ^[14] . Ethelbald, this marriage gave weight due to the belonging of Judith to the Carolingian family. Marriage allowed him to raise his status, put himself above his brothers and reign in the possession of his father ^[1] . The name Judith appears in several charters of the reign of Ethelbald. This confirms her exceptional status as a queen. Her personal prestige explains why, after Ethelwulf’s death, her stepson, Ethelbald, according to Asser’s description, “against the prohibition of God's and Christian dignity, as well as contrary to the practice of all pagans, went to his father’s wedding bed and married Judith, daughter of Karl, king of the Franks; to the shame of all who heard about it ” ^[15] . Asser’s additional commentary on “great shame” ^{[15] was} not reflected in the Frankish record of the event ^[1] . Asser’s claim that marriage is contrary even to pagan practice is refuted by the report of the Honorable Beda about the marriage of Edbald from Kent to the widow of his father in 616 ^[1] . Then Augustine from Canterbury turned to Pope Gregory with the question of the legality of this marriage with his stepmother ^[1] . As you can see, similar cases occurred earlier. Obviously, the widow queen was considered in a sense the embodiment of the rights of her late husband, and her marriage allowed her to claim the kingdom ^[1] . Judith remained a childless widow when Ethelbald died in 860 after two and a half years of reign ^[15] .

Third marriage

Escape the Baldwin

Ethelbald's death in 860 did not leave Judith a future in Wessex. She was no more than seventeen years old, and she was still childless. “Having sold the property she acquired,” she returned to her father. According to the “ Bertin Annals ” and Flodoard , her father placed her in “Silvanect with due respect to the queen under the paternal and royal, as well as episcopal guardianship, until, if she can not restrain herself, according to the apostle’s decree, she will not be combined with a lawful and worthy marriage” ^{[16 ]} .

Karl was supposedly going to have another marriage for his daughter. Some historians have argued that neither the first nor the second marriage were consummated . There are also statements that are more similar to the legend that the future Earl of Flanders, Baudouin, became interested in Karl’s daughter before her first marriage ^[17] . But, most likely, Baudouin met with Judith in 861, when he visited the abbey. The British Encyclopedia claims that Baudouin fell in love with Karl’s daughter ^[18] . Around Christmas 861 ^[19] (or at the beginning of 862 ^[1] ) Judith either fled with Baudouin, or was abducted by him. According to the chronicles, Judith did not mind being abducted. In the chronicles, she is depicted not as a passive victim of the abduction, but as an active participant acting together with Baudouin and, apparently, with the consent of her brother, Louis Zaika ^[19] . The “Bertin Annals” in the records for 862 report that she “followed, changing her way of life, to Count Baldwin, when he himself harassed her, and this was facilitated by her brother Louis” ^[20] . Flodoard’s message is similar: Judith “followed Count Baldwin with the assistance and consent of her brother Louis” ^[9] . The couple took refuge in a monastery in Senlis , where a wedding may have taken place ^[1] .

Karl's anger. Excommunication

Karl Lysy was enraged ^[1] . He immediately organized a search party to bring Judith home and capture Baudouin. Chronicler Flodoard mentioned the message of Archbishop Ginkmar to Hunger Utrecht . In this message, Ginkmar informed Hunger of excommunication from Baudouin's church because he had abducted Judith and married her ^[21] .

According to chronicles, in 862, Karl held advice with the bishops and nobles of his kingdom. According to Ginkmar, the king ordered the bishops ^[20] (asked Flodoard ^[9] ) to pronounce a canonical sentence on Baudouin and Judith, according to the decrees of blessed Gregory ^[22] : “ if anyone marries, kidnapping, a widow, he will be anathematized, himself, as well as those who contributed to this ” ^[20] . Louis was also punished: he had the abbey of St. Martin ^[20] .

Apparently, Baudouin and Judith sought refuge from the Viking Rorik , the ruler of Frisia ^[1] . In any case, their pursuers did not exclude this possibility. It is known that the royal daughter and Baudouin went to the court of Judith’s cousin, Lothar II of Lorraine , and then to Pope Nicholas I to ask about his case ^[1] .

Reconciliation. County of Flanders

Having fled to Rome, Baudouin and Judith tried to negotiate with Pope Nicholas I and asked him to speak in their defense in conflict with Charles. The pope listened to their arguments and sent his legates to King Charles: bishop Porto Rhoald and bishop John Cervia ^[20] . At the command of the pope, the bishops of the legate asked Karl to declare the marriage legal and to accept the couple: “together, as far as they could, stood up for the named Judith before her father and mother” ^[9] . But King Karl and Ginkmar were not easy to convince. In the end, in a letter dated November 23, 862 to Karl Lysom, the pope expressed concern that Baudouin, after weaning from the church, might retire to the “ Yutsk Prince Rörik ”. Rorik was considered unreliable. He had already fought against Karl Lysy on the side of his brother, Lothar I. After the conclusion of the Verdun Treaty, Lothar tried to get rid of the dangerous assistant and imprisoned Rörik, accusing him of treason. Rorik fled and began to hunt in raids on the Middle Frankish kingdom . Unable to cope with the Viking, Lothar gave him Frisia on protection against the rest of the Normans. According to Flodoard, in 863, “Hingmar, Archbishop of Reims, reminded Hunger that Norman Rorik could help Baldwin, who had abducted the beautiful Judith.” According to the late chronicler Albert Stadsky, fearing, Hunger turned to Rurik Jutland, urging him not to provide any support to Baudouin ^[21] .

Karl could not do anything, so in the end he reluctantly forgave the couple ^[1] and allowed Judith and Baudouin to get married. They returned to France and married on December 13, 862 in Auxerre . Karl did not want to attend ^[9] (according to the Annals of Ginkmar, this happened in 863 ^[20] ). He created the title Earl of Flanders for Baudouin, gave him the abbey of St. Peter in Ghent and counties of Flanders and Vaasland. Some scholars have suggested that Karl hoped for Baudouin's death, giving him land right south of the Scheldt River. This area was known as the Flanders Mark , although it was smaller than the Flanders County in the High Middle Ages . This land was a buffer during the Norman attacks on the kingdom of Charles. The region was often attacked by the Vikings. Baudouin managed to push them back, which, presumably, he earned from his contemporaries the nickname "Iron", which subsequent generations replaced with the nickname "Iron Hand". Baudouin even managed to expand his territory and became a loyal supporter of King Charles. His possessions became known as the county of Flanders, one of the most powerful in France ^[23] .

In Flanders, Baudouin chose for his residence a small island formed at the confluence of the Boterbeke and Roya rivers. From early times there was a fortified camp, built, perhaps by the Vikings and surrounded by a small number of huts. The Vikings gave this place the name "Brugge" (Bryghia - berth, place for loading ships, brugge - bridgehead). Not far from the confluence of the rivers there was a small ancient sanctuary, the construction of which was attributed to Saint Amanda . Upstream Boterbeke was a larger church. They said that it was built by St. Eligius . The camp fell into decline long ago, and Baldwin built a new fortified burg with a residence, a chapel, retinue houses and a st. Donatiana , where the relics of this saint were placed. The residence of Baudouin and Judith stood on the site now occupied by the Palace of Justice and the Town Hall , and the cathedral was located on the north side of the . The burg was surrounded by a high wall with four gates, fortified with rising gratings and drawbridges. The remains of the buildings of the times of Judith in Bruges remained, perhaps in the Chapel of Baptism behind the crypt of St. Basil, and in this case they can be identified with the chapel of Amanda. There was a mint in the burg ^[23] .

Judith’s death date is not known exactly. It is believed that this happened no earlier than the year 870 ^[1] . Between 893 and 899, her son from the Earl of Baudouin, who bore the same name , married Elftrit , daughter of the Wessex king Alfred ^[1] . If Judith was alive, she probably helped in the negotiations ^[1] .

Baudouin I died in 879 and was buried in the abbey of Saint-Bertin ^[1] .

Judith's behavior was called scandalous (marriage to stepson, escape from Baudouin) and violating church prohibitions. But in the middle of the 10th century, Judith was described by the drafters of the genealogy of the counts of Flanders as “the wisest and most beautiful”, who brought the Carolingian blood to the dynasty of counts, while scandalous stories were forgotten ^[1] .

Asser said that he expressed surprise to Alfred the Great in connection with the lack of status for the wives of the kings of the Western Saxons. In response, Alfred outlined the story of Edburha, daughter of Offa of Mercia , to explain why the Western Saxons did not have queens. Edburha was the wife and queen of King Beortrick . Edburha's defiant behavior culminated in her alleged poisoning of her husband and the subsequent escape to the court of Charlemagne in search of protection. Undoubtedly, her story was embellished, and the guilt was exaggerated in the interests of later propaganda in Wessex against Mercia, against Beorthrick and to justify the limited role of royal wives ^[24] . Judith's anointing (coronation) made it possible to restore the status of queens and improve the position of the wives of kings of the West Saxons ^[24] .

Judith gave birth to several children, of whom two sons survived ^[25] .

• Baudouin II (865/867 - September 10, 918). Second Earl of Flanders. He was married to the daughter of Alfred the Great .
• Raul (Rodulf) (867/870 - June 17, 896).Count of Cambrai (888). He died in the battle with Herbert I of Vermandois in 896.

Attributed children

• Karl (864/865), died young ^[26] .
• Daughter, married to Bethred I of Barcelona . According to Weir, her name was Gunhild. Weir does not cite a data source ^[27] .

Sources

• Бертинские Анналы (Анналы Пруденция) (неопр.) . Восточная литература . Дата обращения 1 апреля 2018.
• Бертинские Анналы (Анналы Гинкмара) (неопр.) . Восточная литература . Дата обращения 1 апреля 2018.
• Флодоард . История Реймсской церкви (неопр.) . Восточная литература . Дата обращения 1 апреля 2018.
• Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Bertin / France Saint-Bertin (Benedictine Abbey) Saint-Omer, Benjamin Edme Charles Guérard, François Morand. — Paris : Impr. de Crapelet, 1840. — 602 с.

• Próspero de Bofarull y Mascaró. Los condes de Barcelona vindicados, y cronología y genealogía delos reyes de España considerados como soberanos independientes de su marca . — J. Oliveres y Monmany, 1836. — 726 с.
• Asser. Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources / Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge eds.. — Penguin UK, 2004. — 560 с. — ISBN 9780141909424 .
• Antonius Sanderus. Flandria illustrata, sive provinciae ac comitatus hujus descriptio. Comitum, usque ad Carolum VI...series chronologica atque historica... nec non episcoporum, praelatorum... partitiones... hagiologium Flandriae, sive de sanctis ejus Pro . — apud Carolum de Vos et Joannem-Baptistam de Vos, 1735. — P. 27. — 634 p.

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