Drogo of Metz

Drogo
Decorated initial T from Drogo's personal sacramentary.
Father	Charlemagne
Mother	Regina
Born	(801-06-17)June 17, 801 Aachen, Germany
Died	December 8, 855(855-12-08) (aged 54) River Oignon, at Himeriacum, Bourgogne, Germany

Drogo (June 17, 801 – December 8, 855), also known as Dreux or Drogon, was an illegitimate son of Frankish emperor Charlemagne by the concubine Regina.

Drogo was born on June 17, 801 at Aachen, Gaul (Aix-La-Chappelle). The Annales Weissemburgenses record Drogo’s birth as "802 aut 803 15 Kal Iul".

Aachen was the winter palace of the Carolingian empire located in the north-east section of Gaul, close to the Saxon lands. This area is now in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Einhard names "Drogonem et Hugum" as sons of Charlemagne by his concubine "Reginam". Drogo’s mother, Regina, was one of four concubines taken by Charlemagne in 800 after the death of his Alemannian wife who had borne him no children.

Drogo had many half-brothers and sisters (through his father, Charlemagne) but only one full brother, Hugh, (802-844) who was the younger. He and his brother Hugh, and their half-brother Thierry, were brought up in the palace of their half-brother Louis the Pious (Emperor Louis I) after their father died.

In the collection of Einhard’s Charters, there is one written in 815 by Louis the Pious in which he grants a village (Mulinheim, later Seligenstadt) situated on the banks of the Main River to Einhard and his wife. This property was once owned by a Count Drogo. This person could possibly be identified as Charlemagne's son Drogo, although he was only 14 years old in 815.

Drogo's brother, Hugh, was ordained and served as the abbot of Charroux, St-Quentin, Lobbes, St-Bertin and Noaille. He later served as archchancellor to Louis the Pious from 834 to 840 and became archchaplain to Charles the Bald (son of Louis the Pious) in 841 after the battle of Fontenoy. Hugh was killed in battle at Angoulême in June 844. The Annales Fuldenses record that "Hugo abbas, patruus Karoli et Rihboto abbas, Rhaban quoque signifer" was killed "844 VII Id Jun" in the battle in which "Pippini duces" (Pippin's generals) defeated the army of Charles the Bald, King of the Franks.