Bertrada of Laon

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox royalty Bertrada of Laon (born between 710 and 727 – 12 July 783), also known as Bertrada the Younger or Bertha Broadfoot (Template:Cf.Template:Langx, i.e. the queen with the goose-foot), was the first Carolingian Frankish queen. An enduring influence in Frankish politics, she was the wife of Pepin the Short and the mother of Charlemagne, Carloman and Gisela, plus five other children.

Nickname

Bertrada's nickname "Bertha Broadfoot" dates back to the 13th century, when it was used in Adenes Le Roi's trouvère Li rouman de Berte aus grands piés.Template:Sfn The exact reason that Bertrada was given this nickname is unclear. It is possible Bertha suffered from bunions, her feet became misshapen and spread because of them. It is also possible but unlikely that Bertrada was born with a clubfoot,Template:Sfn although Adenes does not mention this in his poem.Template:Sfn

Biography

Early life and ancestry

Bertrada was born sometime between 710 and 727 in Laon, in today's Aisne, France, to Count Charibert of Laon.Template:Sfn Charibert's father might have been related to Hugobertides.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Annals of St. Bertin also posit a connection between Bertrada and the previous Merovingian dynasty through Charibert.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> This would have been a desirable match for Pepin in securing his legitimacy of his reign after successfully deposing the Merovingian kings. Charibert's mother was Bertrada of Prüm, who founded Prüm Abbey along with Charibert.

Marriage and children

Bertrada married Pepin the Short, the son of Charles Martel, the Frankish "Mayor of the Palace", in around 740 or 741. However, Pepin and Bertrada were too closely related for their marriage to be legal at that time; the union was not canonically sanctioned until 749, after the birth of Charlemagne.Template:Sfn

According to French historian Léon Levillain, Bertrada was Pepin's first and only wife.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Other sources suggest that Pepin had previously married a "Leutberga" or "Leutbergie", with whom Pepin would have had five children.Template:Sfn

Bertrada and Pepin are known to have had eight children: at least three sons and at least four daughters. Of these, Charlemagne (c. 742 – 814),Template:Sfn Carloman (751–771)Template:Sfn and Gisela (757–811) survived to adulthood. Pepin, born in 756, died young in 762. Bertrada and Pepin also had Berthe, Adelaide, and Rothaide. Gisela became a nun at Chelles Abbey.Template:Sfn

Queen of the Franks

File:Bertrada Broadfoot of Laon Berthe au Grand Pied Versailles.jpg

Bertrada of Laon, at Versailles

In 751, Pepin and Bertrada became King and Queen of the Franks, following Pepin's successful coup against the Frankish Merovingian monarchs.Template:Sfn Pepin was crowned in June 754, and Bertrada, Charlemagne, and Carloman were blessed by Pope Stephen II.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn This was a significant gesture as it solidified the legitimacy of Pepin’s rule. The decision to anoint Bertrada alongside Pepin appears to be a conscious decision to emphasize the connection between himself and the previous Merovingian monarchs.

As Queen of the Franks, Bertrada would have possessed a great deal of influence in matters of marriage negotiations, diplomacy, selection of heirs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After Pepin's death in 768, Bertrada lost her title as Queen of the Franks. Charlemagne and Carloman inherited the two halves of Pepin's kingdom. Bertrada stayed at the court and often tried to stop arguments between the two brothers.Template:Sfn Bertrada’s frequent travels between the brothers’ courts, as well as her diplomatic mission to Lombard Italy and the court of Desiderius, indicate a level of political agency and autonomy previously withheld from her by scholars. Some historians credit Bertrada's support for her elder son Charlemagne over her younger son Carloman, and her diplomatic skills, for Charlemagne's early success.Template:Sfn However, the existence of such favoritism is challenged by others in the historical community.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Although her influence over Charlemagne may have diminished in time, she lived at his court, and, according to Einhard, their relationship was excellent. Despite Pope Stephen III’s strong urging against either Charlemagne or Carloman marrying with the Lombards in Italy in written correspondence, Bertrada facilitated an arrangement in which Charlemagne set aside his legal wife, Himiltrude, and marry Desiderata, a daughter of the Lombard king Desiderius.<ref>Codex Epistolaris Carolinus: Letters from the Popes to the Frankish Rulers, 739-791. Rosamond McKitterick, Dorine van Espelo, Richard Pollard, and Richard Price, (trans. & eds.) (Translated Texts for Historians)., (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2021).</ref> This insubordination to the wishes of the Pope indicate Bertrada wielded enough influence to reject his wishes. Nevertheless, Charlemagne soon divorced Desiderata. This divorce occurred shortly after the death of Carloman in 771, indicating a level of political pragmatism to the relationship. Einhard claims this was the only episode that ever strained relations between mother and son.Template:Sfn

Later life and death

Bertrada retired from the court after Carloman's death in 771 to live in Choisy-au-Bac, where Charlemagne had set aside a royal house for her. Choisy-au-Bac was favorable because of its history of being the home and burial place of several Merovingian kings.Template:Sfn This further supports notions of a genealogical link between Bertrada and the previous-ruling Merovingian dynasty.

Bertrada died on 12 July 783 in Choisy-au-Bac.Template:Sfn Charlemagne buried her in the Basilica of St Denis near Pepin.Template:Sfn

In literature

Bertrada inspired Adenes Le Roi to write the poem Li rouman de Berte aus grands piés in 1270. Adenes referred to her as "Bertha Broadfoot", the earliest known usage of that nickname.Template:Sfn

Bertrada is also referred to as "Bertha Broadfoot" (Template:Lang) in François Villon's 15th-century poem Ballade des dames du temps jadis.Template:Sfn

Bertrada was adapted into the character Berthe in Stephen Schwartz's stage musical Pippin.

References

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