Heribert DE VERMANDOIS

Medieval Lands by Charles Cawley, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy HERIBERT [II], son of HERIBERT [I] Comte de Vermandois & his wife[Liedgardis] --- ([880]-23 Feb 943, bur Saint Quentin). None of thesources so far consulted state explicitly that Héribert [II] and hissister Beatrix were the children of Héribert [I] but this looksprobable. He succeeded his father in [900/907] as Comte de Meaux, deSoissons et de Vermandois. Lay Abbot of St Crépin and St Médard atSoissons. Comte Héribert took part in the rebellion against CharlesIII “le Simple” King of France in 922 and tricked the ex-king intocapture. Héribert consolidated his power by arranging for his youngson to be made Archbishop of Reims. Comte Héribert received Péronnefrom Raoul King of France in 924. Together with forces of Arnoul ICount of Flanders, Héribert captured the Viking stronghold ofEu[1420]. Following this he apparently forged an alliance with ComteRollo in [927][1421], leaving his son Eudes with Rollo as a hostage.Comte Héribert unsuccessfully attempted to capture Laon in 927[1422].He accompanied the king into Burgundy in 928, when his son Eudes wasgranted the county of Vienne by Ugo King of Italy. With help fromHugues "le Grand" [Capet], King Raoul subdued Vermandois and ComteHéribert made his submission to the king[1423]. In 939. Héribertjoined the alliance against Louis IV King of France led by Otto I "derGroße" King of Germany, who raided Frankish territory and forced KingLouis to renounce his claim to the throne of Lotharingia. Togetherwith Hugues "le Grand" [Capet], Héribert besieged Reims, forcing therestoration of his son as archbishop, and also besieged King Louis atLaon. Flodoard records the death of "Heribertus comes" in 943 and hisburial at Saint-Quentin[1424]. The necrology of Reims Cathedralrecords the death "VII Kal Mar" of "Heribertus comes"[1425]. On hisdeath in 943, his territories were divided between his sons by theirmaternal uncle Hugues "le Grand". m (before 21 May 907) [ADELA], daughter of ROBERT Marquis en Neustrie,Comte de Paris [later ROBERT I King of France] & his first wife[Adela] --- (before 898-). The Chronicle of Alberic deTrois-Fontaines refers to "comitis Heriberti gener…Roberti" and in alater passage to the sister of "dux Hugo Cappatus" as the wife of"comitis Heriberti de Peroni, Campanie et Veromandie" but does notname her[1426]. Her origin is confirmed by Flodoard naming "Hugo duxcum nepotibus suis, Heriberti filiis" in 943[1427]. Her birth date isestimated from the birth of her first child in [915]. Her name isdeduced as follows. The 21 May 907 donation of Rebais abbey to thechurch of Paris refers to "comitis Rotberti et Adele comitisse"[1428].Although this phrasing usually indicates husband and wife, Settipanisuggests that the chronology of the life of King Robert's son Hugues(attested as Robert's son by his second wife Béatrix) favours hisbirth, and therefore his father's second marriage, well before 907,which would mean "Adele" could not have been Robert's wife. Thisreasoning appears based firstly on Hugues already being married in[914], and secondly on the probability of his having reached the ageof majority when he was recognised as duke in 922. The 907 documentis explained as referring to Robert and his elder daughter. Theissue, however, is not beyond doubt, especially if the document inquestion was misdated. Her marriage date assumes that thisidentification is correct. Comte Héribert II & his wife had seven children: 1. ODO [Eudes] ([915]-after 19 Jun 946). Flodoard recordsthat "Odonis filii sui [=Heriberto]" was appointed vicecomes when UgoKing of Italy gave his father "provintiam Viennensem" in 928[1429].His father left him in [927] as a hostage with Rollo Comte [deNormandie]. Unlike his father, he swore allegiance to Louis IV"d'Outremer" King of the Franks in 938 and received the guardianshipof the royal residence at Laon. He occupied the town and county ofAmiens, but was expelled in 944[1430]. 2. ADELA de Vermandois ([915]-[Bruges 10 Oct] 960, bur Ghent,St Pieter). The Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis names "Adelam, domniHeriberti comitis filiam" as wife of "comes Arnulfus", specifying thatshe was "duorum Francorum regum, Odonis atque Rotberti, neptem"[1431].Flodoard refers to the wife of "Arnoul" as sister of "Hugo [deVermandois Archbishop of Reims]"[1432]. Her marriage was arranged toseal the alliance made in 934 between her father and her futurehusband[1433]. "Arnulfus Flandrie comes et marchisus" granted use ofproperty "Snellenghem in pago Flandrensi" to Saint-Pierre de Gand, for"uxore mea…Adala atque…filio meo Balduino et filia mea Lietgardis" andfor deceased "Balduino genitore meo et Elstrudis genetrice mea atqueHeeberto filio meo", by charter dated 10 Jul 953[1434]. "Adhelacomitissa" freed two serfs and granted them to the abbey ofSaint-Pierre de Gand, for the soul of "fidelis nostri Amalrici", bycharter dated 8 Sep 954, signed by "Balduini comitis…Odacriadvocati"[1435]. The Annales Blandinienses record the death in 960 of"Adala comitissa"[1436]. m (934) as his second wife, ARNOUL I "leGrand" Count of Flanders, son of BAUDOUIN II "le Chauve" Count ofFlanders & his wife Ælfthryth of Wessex ([885/890]-murdered 27 Mar964, bur Ghent, St Pieter). 3. HERIBERT [III] "le Vieux" ([910/26]-[983/early 985], burLagny). Flodoard names "Heriberti Adalberti fratris" when recordinghis marriage, and in a later passage "nepotes Hugonis, Heribertus etRotbertus"[1437]. His date of birth has been estimated at [910/15] byWerner[1438], whereas Settipani supports a later estimate of[925/26][1439]. The former appears more consistent with Héribert'sparticipation in his father's war from 938. If the latter is correct,comte Héribert would have been more than 20 years younger than hiswife, which seems unlikely. There appears to be no basis for decidingbetween one or the other. He is documented with his father between938 and 942 in the latter's war against King Louis IV, submitting tothe king with his father in 942. Under the division of territoriesorganised after his father's death in 943, Héribert became Comted'Omois and received the fortress of Château-Thierry as well as theabbey of Saint-Médard, Soissons. King Lothaire appointed him comte dupalais (comte palatin). He succeeded his brother Robert in 967 asComte de Meaux et de Troyes. His proposed death date range in[983/early 985] is estimated on the following basis. A letter ofGerbert dated 983 records that "Heriberti Trecassini et Oddoniscomitis filii Tedbaldi" were enemies of "Adelbero Remonisarchiepiscopus"[1440]. However, a letter dated to Apr 985 names"Ottonis et Heriberti", while a letter dated to mid-985 records that"Ottonem, Heribertum" made peace with the archbishop[1441]. Anotherletter of Gerbert dated to [late 986/early 987] records that "O etHeribertus comites" were part of the council of Emma Queen ofFrance[1442]. It is assumed that "Oddonis/Ottonem/O" all refer to thesame person. However, it is suggested that only the first letterapplies to Héribert [III], the change to Héribert [V] (nephew andsuccessor of Héribert [III], son of the latter's brother Robert) beingindicated in the subsequent letters by "Heribertum" being named after"Ottonem" instead of before, which suggests that he was the junior ofthe two from Apr 985. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontainesrecords the burial of "comes Trecensis Heribertus II cognomentoVetulus" in "abbatiam Latiniaci"[1443]. m (951) as her secondhusband, EADGIFU, widow of CHARLES III "le Simple" King of the Franks,daughter of EDWARD I King of Wessex & his second wife Ælfleda ---([902/05][1444]-26 Sep after 951, bur Abbaye de Saint-Médard deSoissons). Flodoard names "Ottogeba regina, mater Ludowici regis"when recording her second marriage[1445]. 4. HUGUES (920-Meaux 962). Flodoard names "Hugone diaconoHeriberti filio", when recording his installation as archbishop ofReims in 940[1446]. His father engineered the grant by Raoul King ofFrance of the temporal administration of the archbishopric of Reims toHugues in 925, the appointment being confirmed by Pope John X, but thegrant was withdrawn by the king in 932 after he besieged thecity[1447]. Hugues entered holy orders in 940. His father, who hadcaptured Reims in [Jun/Jul] 940, forced Hugues's restoration asarchbishop. Besieged at Laon, King Louis IV was obliged to confirmHugues's appointment as archbishop and also appointed Hugues as hisArch-Chancellor. Hugues was expelled from Reims in 946 when the townwas retaken by King Louis. He was finally deprived of hisarchbishopric by the papal legate in 948. He died on returning from apilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela[1448]. 5. LUITGARDIS (before 925-14 Nov after 985, bur Chartres,Abbaye de Saint-Père). Rodulfus Glauber refers to the wife of ComteGuillaume as "sororem [Heribertum Trecorum comitem]", specifying thatshe was childless by her first husband, when recording her secondmarriage to "Tetbaldus"[1449]. The Liber Modernorum Regum Francorumrefers to the wife of "Tetbaudi comitis" as "sorore Herberti Trecorumcomitis"[1450]. "Theobaldi comitis…Ledgardis comitisse" subscribedthe charter dated 950 under which Ragnfred Bishop of Chartres donatedproperty to Chartres Saint-Père, although the relationship between thetwo is not specified[1451]. "Ledgardis" donated property to "SanctiPetri Carnotensis ecclesiam", for the souls of "senioris mei…comitisTedbaldi…patris mei Heirberti, Trecassini comitis", with the consentof "archipresule…Hugone et…comite Odone, filiis meis", by charterdated 5 Feb 978, signed by "…Emma comitissa Pictavæ urbis…"[1452].“Ledgardis comitissa necnon Hugo episcopus et filius meus et itemfilius meus Odo comes” donated property to Saint-Martin de Tours, forthe souls of “Theobaldi comitis quondam senioris mei…Richildis quondamsanctimonialis, eiusque filii Richardi episcopi” (referring to “dicticomitis et fratris sui Theobaldi”, in relation to Bishop Richard), bycharter dated to [980][1453]. "Hugonis ducis, Odonis comitis, Hugonissanctæ Bituricensis archipræsulis, Letgardis comitissæ, Bertæcomitissæ, Gauzfridi vicecomitis…" subscribed the charter dated 985under which "Robertus" donated property to "Sancti Petri Carnotensis",on the advice of "Odonem, simul cum sua matre Ledgarde, pariterquedominam meam Bertam, ipsius æque coniugem"[1454]. The necrology ofChartres cathedral records the death "XVIII Kal Dec" of "Letgardiscomitissa"[1455]. m firstly ([940]) as his second wife, GUILLAUME I“Longuespée” Comte [de Normandie], son of ROBERT I [Rollo] Comte [deNormandie] & his [second] wife Poppa de Bayeux (-murderedPéquigny-sur-Somme 17 Dec 942, bur Rouen, cathédrale de Notre-Dame).m secondly ([942/45]) THIBAUT [II] "le Tricheur" Comte de Blois, sonof THIBAUT [I] "l'Ancien" Comte de Blois, Vicomte de Tours & his firstwife --- (-16 Jan [975/77]). 6. ROBERT (-after 19 Jun 966). "Rodberti filium Heriberticomitis" witnessed a charter of "Gauzfredus comes" dated Jul940[1456]. Under the division of territories organised after hisfather's death in 943, Robert became Comte de Meaux. He became Comtede Troyes in 956 on the death of his father-in-law, by right of hiswife. - COMTES de TROYES. 7. ADALBERT [Albert] (-8 Sep 987). Flodoard names "Adalbertusfilius Heriberti"[1457]. Under the division of territories organisedafter his father's death in 943, Albert became Comte de Vermandois. [1420] Settipani (1993), p. 224. [1421] Annals of Flodoard of Reims, quoted in Houts (2000), p. 45. [1422] McKitterick (1983), p. 312. [1423] McKitterick (1983), p. 312. [1424] Flodoard 943, MGH SS III, p. 389. [1425] 'Obits mémorables tirés de nécrologes luxembourgeois, rémois etmessins', Revue Mabillon VI (1910-1911), p. 273. [1426] Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium 920 and 988, MGH SSXXIII, pp. 756 and 774. [1427] Flodoard 944, MGH SS III, p. 390. [1428] Diplôme de Charles III, no 57, Lauer, quoted in Settipani(1993), p. 407. [1429] Flodoard 928, MGH SS III, p. 378. [1430] Settipani (1993), p. 226. [1431] Genealogiæ Comitum Flandriæ, Witgeri Genealogica ArnulfiComitis MGH SS IX, p. 303. [1432] Flodoard 946, MGH SS III, p. 393. [1433] Nicholas (1992), p. 40. [1434] Lokeren, A. van (1868) Chartes et documents de l´abbaye deSaint Pierre au Mont Blandin à Gand (Gand) ("Gand Saint-Pierre") 22,p. 28. [1435] Gand Saint-Pierre 23, p. 29. [1436] Annales Blandinienses 960, MGH SS V, p. 25. [1437] Flodoard 951 and 952, MGH SS III, p. 401. [1438] Werner, K. F. (1967) 'Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen bis umdas Jahr 1000 (1-8 Generation)', Karl der Große, IV, pp. 403-83, citedin Settipani (1993), p. 229. [1439] Bur, M. (1977) La formation du comte de Champagne, vers 950 -vers 1150 (Lille), p. 509, cited in Settipani (1993), p. 229. [1440] Havet, J. (ed.) (1889) Lettres de Gerbert 983-997 (Paris)("Gerbert") 17, p. 13. [1441] Gerbert 59, p. 58. [1442] Gerbert 97, p. 89. [1443] Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium 989, MGH SS XXIII, p.775. [1444] Birth date range estimated from the birth of Eadgifu's son in[920/21]. [1445] Flodoard 951, MGH SS III, p. 401. [1446] Flodoard 940, MGH SS III, p. 387. [1447] Annales Remenses 932, MGH SS XIII, p. 82. [1448] Settipani (1993), p. 227. [1449] Rodulfi Glabri, Historiarum III.39, p. 165. [1450] Hugonis Floriacensis, Liber qui Modernorum Regum Francorumcontinet Actus 9, MGH SS IX, p. 387. [1451] Chartres Saint-Père, Liber Primus, 130, p. 351. [1452] Chartres Saint-Père I, Liber Tertius, Cap. VIII, p. 63. [1453] Arbois de Jubainville, H. d´ (1859) Histoire des ducs et descomtes de Champagne Tome I (Paris), p. 461. [1454] Chartres Saint-Père I, Liber Tertius, Cap. XVIII, p. 77. [1455] Obituaires de Sens Tome II, Eglise cathédrale de Chartres,Nécrologe du xi siècle, p. 23. [1456] Cluny Tome I, 511, p. 496. [1457] Flodoard 949, MGH SS III, p. 399.

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