Wala of Corbie

Wala (c. 755 – 31 August 836) was a son of Bernard, son of Charles Martel, and one of the principal advisers of his cousin Charlemagne, of Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious, and of Louis's son Lothair I. He succeeded his brother Adalard as abbot of Corbie and its new daughter foundation, Corvey, in 826 or 827.

Originally a count (comes) attached to the palace under Charlemagne (811), Wala was forced to enter the monastery of Corbie in 814 as part of a purging of palace rivals and hangers-on by Louis the Pious. In 816 he and Adalard were given the responsibility of organising the government of the convent of Herford, recently passed into Louis's hands at the Council of Aachen. In the 820s Wala became a strong opponent of royal/imperial control of church benefices. He was back at court in 822 as a concillor (councillor). According to Paschasius Radbertus, Wala alleged on one occasion that the "army of clerics" (i.e. chaplains) resident at the Palace of Aachen (and perhaps itinerant with the emperor) served only for personal gain and did not form a legitimate ecclesiastical institution. In 831 Wala left Corbie; in 834 he was abbot of Bobbio.

Wala was born as a son of a Saxon woman and Count Bernard who was a brother of Pepin the Third and a natural son of Charles Martel. Wala was the first cousin of Charlemagne and a half brother of Adalard the Younger, who served as abbot of Corbie until 826. Wala also had a full brother named Bernarius, and two sisters Gundrada and Theodrada, abbess of Notre-Dame de Soissons. In Wala’s early years, he had been brought up in the school of the royal Palace with his brother Adalard the Younger. At Court, both Wala and his brother Adalard were known as being honest, honorable and zealous. As a youth, Wala incurred the temporary disapproval of his cousin Charles. In 792, it has been supposed that he was in some way involved with the conspiracy of Charles son’, Pepin the hunchback. As a result, he was banned from court and forced to live under the close watch of some of the loyal magnates. During this time, it is presumed that he married daughter of William, count of Toulouse, Rothlindis, and Wala became a brother in-law of Bernard of Barcelona. He was widowed before he became a monk in 814. In his early years, Wala regained royal favor. During Charlemagne’s rule, he rose to become the Emperor’s second-in-command. Charlemagne appears to have appointed his cousin Wala to oversee administration on Saxony, just as he had elevated his brother in law Gerold in Bavaria. During his rule Charlemagne appears to have relied confidently on his capable cousins, including Adalard, Bernarius and Wala.

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