Queen consort of the Franks

This is a list of the women who have been Queens consort of the Frankish people. As all monarchs of the Franks have been required by law and tradition to be male, there has never been a Queen regnant of the Franks (although some women have governed as regents).

A timeline of consorts Frankish rulers is difficult since the realm was, according to old Germanic practice, frequently divided among the sons of a leader upon his death and then eventually reunited. Another factor is the practice of polygamy in the Frankish society, and it is unclear who was a concubine, a mistress, or a legal wife. Most of early Merovingian queens are nothing but names, and almost nothing is known about them.

This list starts from the earliest dates of Frankish history from the early Queen of the Salian Franks, to Saint Clotilde, the first Queen of All the Franks, until the three-way split up of the Frankish Empire in the Treaty of Verdun in 843 and then from there to the rise of Hugh Capet in Western Francia and Otto the Great in Eastern Francia.

The marital status of some wives of early Frankish kings are unclear and polygamy was practiced.

Clovis I united all the Frankish petty kingdoms as well as most of Roman Gaul under his rule, conquering the Domain of Soissons of the Roman general Syagrius as well as the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse. He took his seat at Paris, which along with Soissons, Reims, Metz, and Orléans became the chief residences. Upon his death, the kingdom was split among his four sons:

The Frankish kingdom was then divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Lothair I was allowed to keep his imperial title and his kingdom of Italy, and granted the newly created Kingdom of Middle Francia, a corridor of land stretching from Italy to the North Sea, and including the Low Countries, the Rhineland (including Aachen), Burgundy, and Provence. Charles the Bald was confirmed in Aquitaine, where Pepin I's son Pepin II was opposing him, and granted West Francia (modern France), the lands west of Lothair's Kingdom. Louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted East Francia (modern Germany), the lands east of Lothair's kingdom. Ermentrude of Orléans (first wife of Charles II) became the Queen of Western Francia (eventually France); Emma of Altdorf (wife of Louis II) became the Queen of Eastern Francia (eventually Germany); and Ermengarde of Tours (wife of Lothair I) became the Queen of Middle Francia (eventually Lotharingia). The title of Queen of the Franks continued on to the 12th and 13th century in France.

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Wikipedia