King Louis VI France

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_VI_of_France

He was the son of of Philip I and his first wife, Bertha of Holland. Louis married Lucienne de Rochefort, a French crown princess, in 1104, but repudiated her three years later. They had no children.

Louis married Adelaide of Maurienne, daughter of Humbert II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy, and niece of Pope Callixtus II. They had eight children. Adelaide was one of the most politically active of all France's medieval queens. Her name appears on 45 royal charters from the reign of Louis VI. During her tenure as queen, royal charters were dated with both her regnal year and that of the king.

Louis was the first member of the House of Capet to make a lasting contribution to the centralizing institutions of royal power. He spent almost all of his twenty-nine-year reign fighting either the "robber barons" who plagued Paris or the Norman kings of England for their continental possession of Normandy. Nonetheless, Louis VI managed to reinforce his power considerably and became one of the first strong kings of France since the division of the Carolingian Empire in 843.

When Louis ascended the throne the Kingdom of France was a collection of feudal principalities. Beyond the Isle de France the French Kings had little authority over the great Dukes and Counts of the realm but slowly Louis began to change this and assert Capetian rights. This process would take two centuries to complete but began in the reign of Louis VI.

The second great challenge facing Louis was to counter the rising power of the Anglo-Normans under their capable new King, Henry I of England. Louis was involved with a coalition of Norman and French seigneurs opposed to Henry. The plan was to drive the English King from Normandy and replace him.

Louis was a warrior king but by his forties his weight had become so great that it was increasingly difficult for him to lead in the field.

As Louis VI approached his end there seemed reasons for optimism. He made great strides in exercising his royal authority over his barons. William X, Duke of Aquitaine, on his deathbed, had appointed Louis VI guardian of his fifteen-year-old daughter and heiress, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor was suddenly the most eligible heiress in Europe and Louis wasted no time in marrying her to his own heir, the future Louis VII. At a stroke Louis had added one of the most powerful Duchies in France to the Capetian domains.

Henry I of England was dead and Stephen of Blois had seized the English Crown, reneging on the oath he had sworn to support Empress Matilda. So England was in turmoil. That was not to last as Matilda married Geoffrey of Anjoy [ Plantagenet] and fought to regain the throne for her son, Henry II. Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine and added to the hostilities between France and England for Louis descendants.

Source:

GenealogieOnline. Coret Genealogie. http://www.genealogieonline.nl/en/

Name: Louis VI France
Gender: m (Male)
Birth Date: 1 dec 1081
Birth Place: Paris, France
Death Date: 1 aug 1137
Death Place: Béthisy-Saint-Pierre, France
Death Age: 55
Father: Philip I France
Mother: Bertha Holland
Spouse: Adelaide Maurienne
Children: Louis VII France
Robert I Dreux
Peter Courtenay
Constance France



Buried:
Grave location, biography, historical portraits, and photo of tomb effigy:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21089

Louis married Adelaide of Maurienne, de Savoy. Adelaide (daughter of Umberto II of Savoy, the Fat and Gisela of Burgundy, Marchioness of Montferrat) was born 1092, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, France; died 18 Nov 1154, Abbey of Montmartre, France; was buried , Church of St. Pierre, Montmartre, France. [Group Sheet]

1. King Louis VII of France was born 1120, Paris, France; died 18 Sep 1180, Saint-Pont, Auvergne, France; was buried , Saint Denis Basilique, Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France.
2. Pierre/Peter of France, de Courtenay was born Sep 1126, Reims, France; died 10 Apr 1183, Acre, Holy Land; was buried , Exeter Cathedral, Devon, England.

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_I_of_France

Unusual at the time for Western Europe, his name was of Greek origin, being bestowed upon him by his mother. Although he was crowned king at the age of seven, until age fourteen (1066) his mother acted as regent, the first queen of France ever to do so.

The was called the Amorous because of his marital difficulties.

Philip first married Bertha of Holland in 1072. Although the marriage produced the necessary heir, Philip fell in love with Bertrade de Montfort, the wife of Fulk IV, Count of Anjou. He repudiated Bertha (claiming she was too fat) and married Bertrade on 15 May 1092. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban II. Several times the ban was lifted as Philip promised to part with Bertrade, but he always returned to her, but in 1104 Philip made a public penance and must have kept his involvement with Bertrade discreet.

A great part of his reign, like his father's, was spent putting down revolts by his power-hungry vassals. In 1077, he made peace with William the Conqueror, who gave up attempting the conquest of Brittany.






Buried:
Grave location, biography, portrait and effigy:
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Philip married Bertha of Holland. Bertha (daughter of Floris I of Holland and Gertrude of Saxony) was born ABT. 1055, Vlaardingen, Netherlands; died 30 Jul 1093, Montreuil, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_of_Holland

Also known as Berthe or Bertha of Frisia,Bertha was the daughter of Count Floris I of Holland and his wife, Gertrude of Saxony. Her father ruled a territory vaguely described as "Friesland west of the Vlie", which is where Bertha spent her childhood. He was assassinated in 1061, and and two years later her mother remarried Count Robert the Frisian of Flanders.

Her stepfather became involved in a war with King Philip I of France over succession to the County of Flanders. Bertha was given in marriage to King Philip as part of the peace negotiations. At the time, she was the lowest ranking woman to marry a French king.

Bertha was queen consort of the Franks from 1072 until 1092. She did not have a happy marriage. After six years of childlessness, the royal couple had three children, including Philip's successor, Louis VI, the Fat, Constance, Princess of Antioch [married Bohemund I of Antioch] and Henry, but he appears to have died in infancy or childhood.

Philip, however, grew tired of his wife by 1090, and repudiated her in 1092 in order to marry the already married Bertrada of Montfort. That marriage was a scandal since both Philip and Bertrada were already married to other people.

The marriage began breaking apart. The King became tired of his wife but the reasons are unclear. Contemporary chroniclers give different explanations. According to the English historian William of Malmesbury, Philip complained that Bertha was "too fat", though he was himself becoming too obese to ride a horse.

The repudiated queen withdrew to the fortress of Montreuil-sur-Mer, which was part of her dower land where she died in 1093. The son of the queen who had been repudiated ostensibly for her obesity ascended the French throne as Louis VI. He was known as Louis, the Fat. Berta's nephew and King Louis' cousin, Count Floris II of Holland, was also nicknamed "the Fat."

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I_of_France

The son of King Robert II (972?1031) and Constance of Arles (986?1034), he was crowned King of France at the Cathedral in Reims on 14 May 1027. In the tradition of the House of Capet, his father still lived, but he had little influence and power until he became sole ruler on his father's death.

The reign of Henry I, like those of his predecessors, was marked by territorial struggles. In an early strategic move, Henry came to the rescue of his very young nephew-in-law, the newly appointed Duke William of Normandy (who would go on to become William the Conqueror), to suppress a revolt by William's vassals. In 1051, William married Matilda, the daughter of the count of Flanders, which Henry saw as a threat to his throne. In 1054, and again in 1057, Henry invaded Normandy, but on both occasions he was defeated. Henry I's twenty-nine-year reign saw feudal power in France reach its pinnacle.

Henry married Matilda of Frisia, but she died in 1044, following a Caesarean section. He then married Anne of Kiev on 19 May 1051. They had four children:

Philip I (23 May 1052-30 July 1108).
Emma (1054-1109?).
Robert (c. 1055-c. 1060).
Hugh "the Great" of Vermandois (1057-1102).

King Henry I died on 4 August 1060 in Vitry-en-Brie, France, and was interred in Basilica of St Denis. He was succeeded by his son, Philip I of France, who was 7 at the time of his death; for six years Henry's queen Anne of Kiev ruled as regent.



Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and effigy:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21076

Henry married Anna Agnesa Yaroslavna of Kiev. Anna was born 1036, Kiev, Ukraine; died 05 Sep 1075, France; was buried , Abbey De Villiers La Ferte-Alais Departement de l'Essonne Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Kiev

Her parents were Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev and Novgorod, and Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden, his second wife.

After the death of his first wife, Matilda of Frisia, King Henry of France searched the courts of Europe for a suitable bride, but could not locate a princess who was not related to him within legal degrees of kinship. At last he sent an embassy to distant Kiev, which returned with Anne (also called Agnes).

Anna could ride a horse, was knowledgeable in politics, and actively participated in governing France, especially after her husband died. Many French documents bear her signature, written in old Slavic language.

Anna is often credited with introducing the name "Philip" to royal families of Western Europe, as she bestowed it on her first son; she might have imported this Greek name (Philippos, from philos and hippos, meaning "loves horses") from her Eastern Orthodox culture).

For six years after Henry's death in 1060, she served as regent for Philip, who was only eight at the time. She was the first queen of France to serve as regent. Her co-regent was Count Baldwin V of Flanders. Anne was a literate woman, rare for the time, but there was some opposition to her as regent on the grounds that her mastery of French was less than fluent.

A year after the king's death, Anne, acting as regent, took a passionate fancy for Count Ralph III of Valois, a man whose political ambition encouraged him to repudiate his wife to marry Anne in 1062. Accused of adultery, Ralph's wife appealed to Pope Alexander II, who excommunicated the couple. The young king Philip forgave his mother, which was just as well, since he was to find himself in a very similar predicament in the 1090s. Ralph died in September 1074, at which time Anne returned to the French court. She died in 1075, was buried at Villiers Abbey, La Ferte-Alais, Essonne and her obits were celebrated on 5 September. All subsequent French kings were her progeny.

Buried:
Grave location and historical portrait:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7645955

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floris_I,_Count_of_Holland

Son of Dirk III and Othelindis, he was was Count of Holland, then called Frisia west of the Vlie, from 1049 to 1061. He succeeded his brother Dirk IV, Count of Holland, who was murdered in 1049.

He married ca. 1050 Princess Gertrude of Saxony, daughter of Bernard II, Duke of Saxony and Eilika of Schweinfurt, and had at least three children by her:

Dirk V (c. 1052, Vlaardingen - 17 June 1091).

Bertha (c. 1055-1094, Montreuil-sur-Mer), who married Philip I of France in 1072.

Floris (b. c. 1055), a canon at Liége.

He was involved in a war of a few Lotharingian vassals against the imperial authority. On a retreat from Zaltbommel he was ambushed and killed in battle at Nederhemert (called Hamerth at the time), on 28 June 1061.

After his death, his wife, Gertrude, Robert the Frisian, Count of Flanders,who acted as regent for his stepson, Dirk V, until 1071 when he became Count of Holland.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, history portraits, and tomb photo:
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Floris married Gertrude of Saxony. Gertrude was born ca 1030; died 04 Aug 1113, Veurne, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium; was buried , Sint-Walburgakerk Veurne Arrondissement Veurne West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_of_Saxony

Daughter of Bernard II, Duke of Saxony and Eilika of Schweinfurt. She married Floris I, Count of Holland (c. 1017-June 28, 1061). Upon his death, her son Dirk V became Count of Holland. Since he was still young, she became regent.

In 1063 Gertrude married Robert of Flanders (Robert the Frisian), the second son of Baldwin V of Flanders. She and her husband then acted as co-regents for the young count until he became of age to rule in his own.

She had a total of seven children with Floris I:

Albert (b. c. 1051), a canon in Liege.

Dirk V (c. 1052, Vlaardingen?17 June 1091).

Peter (b. c. 1053), a canon in Liége.

Bertha (c. 1055-1094, Montreuil-sur-Mer), who married Philip I of France in 1072.

Floris (b. c. 1055), a canon in Liége.

Matilda (b. c. 1057)

Adela (b. c. 1061), who married Count Baudouin I of Guînes.


From her second marriage to Robert I she had five children:

Robert II of Flanders (c. 1065-October 5, 1111).

Adela (d. 1115), who first married king Canute IV of Denmark, and was the mother of Charles the Good, later count of Flanders. She then married Roger Borsa, duke of Apulia.

Gertrude, who married Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine, and was the mother of Thierry of Alsace, also later count of Flanders.

Philip of Loo, whose illegitimate son William of Ypres was also a claimant to the county of Flanders.

Ogiva, abbess of Messines.



Buried:
Grave location:
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