Hildegard of Vinzgouw
| Hildegard of the Vinzgau | |
|---|---|
Hildegard from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum
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| Spouse(s) | Charlemagne |
| Noble family | Udalriching dynasty |
| Father | Gerold of Kraichgau |
| Mother | Emma of Alemannia |
| Born | 758 |
| Died | 30 April 783 Thionville |
| Buried | Abbey of Saint-Arnould, Metz |
Hildegard (ca. 758 – 30 April 783 at Thionville,Moselle), was the second wife of Charlemagne and mother of Louis the Pious. Little is known about her life, because, like all women of Charlemagne, she became important only from a political background, recording her parentage, wedding, death and her role as a mother.
She was the daughter of the Germanic Count Gerold of Kraichgau (founder of the Udalriching family) and his wife Emma, in turn daughter of Duke Nebe (Hnabi) of Alemannia and Hereswintha vom Bodensee (of Lake Constance). Hildegard's father had extensive possessions in the dominion of Charlemagne's younger brother Carloman, so this union was of significant importance for Charlemagne, because he could strengthen its position in the east of the Rhine and also could bind the Alemannian nobility to his side.
It is unknown if Charlemagne planned his marriage before the sudden death of Carloman or was just a part of the purposeful incorporation of his younger brother's Kingdom, in detriment of the claims of his nephews. In any event, the wedding between Charlemagne and Hildegard took place at Aix-la-Chapelle certainly before 30 April 771, after the repudiation of the Lombardian princess Desiderata, Charlemagne's previous wife.
As no exact date of birth of Hildegard was recorded, it was assumed that at the time of her wedding she could be between 12 and 14 years old. A marriage at this age is not unusual for that time, since the age of marriage was set at puberty. In Roman law, which was very well received by the Church, the minimum age for marriage for girls of 12 years has been established.
An intense physical relationship between the spouses was demonstrated by the fact that, during her 12 years of marriage, Hildegard had 8 pregnancies (including one set of twins) and remarkably chronicles never mentioned either miscarriages or stillbirths. She accompanied Charlemagne on many of his military campaigns: she gave birth her second child and first daughter, Adelaide, during the siege of Pavia, capital of the Kingdom of the Lombards (September 773/June 774), but she died during the return journey to France. In 778, Hildegard accompanied her husband as far as Aquitaine, where she gave birth the twins Louis and Lothair. In 780/781 she traveled with Charlemagne and four of their children to Rome, where the sons Louis and Carloman (renamed Pepin after his baptism by Pope Adrian I) were appointed sub-kings of Aquitaine and Italy, respectively. This contributed to the strengthening of the alliance between the Carolingians and the Papacy. Because of her frequent pregnancies, can be presumed that Hildegard accompanied her husband on further campaigns, at least temporarily.
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