Constance of Arles, Queen of the Franks

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_of_Arles

Born ca 986 Constance was the daughter of William I, count of Provence and Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou, daughter of Fulk II of Anjou.

Constance was married to King Robert, after his divorce from his second wife, Bertha of Burgundy. The marriage was stormy; Bertha's family opposed her, and Constance was despised for importing her Provençal kinfolk and customs. Robert's friend, Hugh of Beauvais, tried to convince the king to repudiate her in 1007. Possibly at her request twelve knights of her kinsman, Fulk Nerra, then murdered Beauvais.

In 1010 Robert went to Rome, followed by his former wife Bertha, to seek permission to divorce Constance and remarry Bertha. Pope Sergius IV was not about to allow a consanguineous marriage which had been formally condemned by Pope Gregory V and Robert had already repudiated two wives. So the request was denied. After his return according to one source Robert "loved his wife more."

Robert and Constance had the following children:

1. Hedwig (or Advisa), Countess of Auxerre (c. 1003-after 1063), married Renauld I, Count of Nevers on 25 January 1016 and had issue.

2. Hugh Magnus, co-king (1007-17 September 1025)

3. Henry I, successor (4 May 1008-4 August 1060)

4. Adela, Countess of Contenance (1009-5 June 1063), married (a) Richard III of Normandy and (b) Count Baldwin V of Flanders.

5. Robert (1011-21 March 1076) Duke of Burgundy

6. Odo or Eudes (1013-c.1056), who may have been intellectually disabled and died after his brother's failed invasion of Normandy

7. Constance (1014-1052), married Count Manasses de Dammartin.

At Constance's urging, her eldest son Hugh Magnus was crowned co-king alongside his father in 1017. But later Hugh demanded his parents share power with him, and rebelled against his father in 1025. Constance, however, on learning of her son's rebellion was furious with him, rebuking him at every turn. At some point Hugh was reconciled with his parents but shortly thereafter died, probably about age eighteen.

Robert and Constance quarreled over which of their surviving sons should inherit the throne; Robert favored their second son Henry, while Constance favored their third son, Robert. Despite his mother's protests and her support by several bishops, Henry was crowned in 1027. Constance, however, was not graceful when she didn't get her way.

Constance encouraged her sons to rebel, and they began attacking and pillaging the towns and castles belonging to their father. Son Robert attacked Burgundy, the duchy he had been promised but had never received, and Henry seized Dreux. At last King Robert agreed to their demands and peace was made which lasted until the king's death.

King Robert died on 20 July 1031. Soon afterwards Constance was at odds with both her surviving sons. Constance seized her dower lands and refused to surrender them. Henry fled to Normandy, where he received aid, weapons and soldiers from his brother Robert. He returned to besiege his mother at Poissy but Constance escaped to Pontoise. She only surrendered when Henry began the siege of Le Puiset and swore to slaughter all the inhabitants.

Constance died 28 July 1032. and was buried beside her husband Robert at Saint-Denis Basilica

Constance married Robert II of the Franks, King of the Franks. Robert (son of Hugh Capet, King of the Franks and Adelaide of Aquitaine) was born 27 Mar 972, Orléans, France; died 20 Jul 1031, Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France; was buried , Saint Denis Basilique, Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_I,_Duke_of_Burgundy

Known as Robert the Old and "Tete-Hardi", he was Duke of Burgundy from 1032 to his death. Robert was son of King Robert II of France and brother of Henry I of France.

In 1025, with the death of his eldest brother Hugh Magnus, he and Henry rebelled against their father and defeated him, forcing him back to Paris. In 1031, after the death of his father the king, Robert participated in a rebellion against his brother, in which he was supported by his mother, Constance of Arles. Peace was only achieved when Robert was given Burgundy in 1032.

Throughout his reign, he was little more than a robber baron who had no control over his vassals, whose estates he often plundered, especially those of the Church. He seized the income of the diocese of Autun and the wine of the canons of Dijon. He burgled the abbey of St-Germain at Auxerre. In 1048, he repudiated his wife, Helie of Semur followed by the assassination of her brother Joceran and the murdering her father, his father-in-law, Lord Dalmace I of Semur, with his own hands. In that same year, the Bishop of Langres, Harduoin, refused to dedicate the church of Sennecy so as not "to be exposed to the violence of the duke."

His first son, Hugh, died in battle at a young age and his second son, Henry, also predeceased him. He was succeeded by Henry's eldest son, his grandson, Hugh I.

He married his first wife, Helie of Semur about 1033, and repudiated her in 1048. Robert and Helie had five children:

1. Hugh (1034-1059), killed in battle

2, Henry (1035-ca.1074). He died shortly before his father, thus making his son Robert's heir. His children included Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy (1057-1093), Odo I, Duke of Burgundy (1058-1103), and Henry, Count of Portugal (1066-1112), among others

3. Robert (1040-1113), poisoned; married Violante of Sicily, daughter of Roger I of Sicily

4. Simon (1045-1087)

5. Constance (1046-1093), married Alfonso VI of León and Castile

From his second wife, Ermengarde, daughter of Fulk III of Anjou, he had one daughter:

1. Hildegarde (c.1056-1104), married William VIII of Aquitaine

Robert married Helie of Semur-en-Brionnais. (daughter of Lord Dalmace I of Semur) [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry,_son_of_Robert_I_of_Burgundy

Called the Gallant (le Damoiseau), he was the eldest surviving son and heir of Robert I, Duke of Burgundy and his wife, Helie of Semur, and a grandson of King Robert II of France, thus making him a member of the House of Capet through its Burgundy cadet branch. Little is known about his life and he died shortly before his father, thus failing to succeed in Burgundy. Two of his sons succeeded in succession after the death of his father, while a third son became Count of Portugal through his marriage to Theresa, daughter of King Alfonso VI of León and Castile.

The name of Henry's wife is not known, and they had the following children:

1. Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy (1057-1093)

2. Odo I, Duke of Burgundy (1058-1103)

3. Robert, bishop of Langres (1059-1111)

4. Helie, a nun (b. 1061)

5. Beatrice (b. 1063), married Guy III, Count of Vignory
Reginald/Raynald, abbot of Saint-Pierre de Flavigny (1065-1090)

6. Henry, Count of Portugal (1066-1112), count of Portugal from 1093 and father of Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal

Henry married . Unknown [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_of_Burgundy

The daughter of Duke Robert I of Burgundy and Helie de Semur-en-Brionnais, she was Queen consort of Castile and León by her marriage to Alfonso VI of León and Castile. Also she was the granddaughter of King Robert II of France, the second monarch of the French Capetian dynasty. She was the mother of Urraca of León, who succeeded her father in both Castile and León.

In 1065, Constance married her first husband, Hugh II, Count of Chalon. They were married for fourteen years until Hughes' death in 1079, they had no children.

In late 1079, Constance remarried to Alfonso VI of León and Castile. The marriage appears to have been orchestrated via the Cluniac connections at Alfonso's court. He had previously been married to Agnes of Aquitaine, whom he had either divorced or had been widowed by. The marriage of Constance and Alfonso initially faced papal opposition, apparently due to a kinship between Constance and Agnes.

Constance and Alfonso had several children but only one of these lived to adulthood:

Urraca (b. April 1079-March 8, 1126) Queen of Castile and León in her own right. Married firstly to Raymond of Burgundy, and arried secondly to Alfonso the Battler.

Constance died in 1093 leaving her fourteen-year-old daughter and her husband a widower. He went on to marry three further wives after her death, but only had a son by his Muslim mistress, Zaida of Seville.

After her death, the corpse of Constance was taken to the town of Sahagún and was buried in the Monastery of St. Facundo and Primitivo, where her husband, King Alfonso VI would be buried along with all his wives. The grave that contained the remains of Alfonso VI was destroyed in 1810 during a fire in the Monastery. Today, the remains of Alfonso VI are buried in the Royal Monastery of San Benito in Sahagún, at the foot of the temple, in a stone chest covered with smooth, modern marble and in a tomb near equally plain, lie the remains of several of the king's wives, including those of Constance.

Constance married Alfonso VI of León and Castile, King of León, Castille and Galicia. Alfonso was born ca 1047, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain; died Jul 1109, Toledo, Castilla, Spain; was buried , Sahagun Monastery, Sahagun, Provincia de León Castilla y León, Spain. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_I,_Duke_of_Burgundy

Also known as Eudes, surnamed Borel and called the Red, he was Duke of Burgundy between 1079 and 1103. Odo was the second son of Henry of Burgundy and grandson of Robert I. He became the duke following the abdication of his older brother, Hugh I, who retired to become a Benedictine monk. Odo was a participant in the ill-fated siege of Tudela in 1087 and in the Crusade of 1101.

Odo married Sibylla of Burgundy (1065-1101), daughter of William I, Count of Burgundy, and became the father of:

1. Helie of Burgundy 1080-1141, wife of Bertrand of Toulouse and William III of Ponthieu

2. Florine of Burgundy 1083-1097, wife of Sweyn the Crusader, prince of Denmark

3. Hugh II of Burgundy 1084-1143

4. Henry 1087-1125, a priest


Buried:
Grave location and abbey photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=68212555

Eudes married Sibylla of Burgundy, Duchess of Burgundy. Sibylla (daughter of William I Count of Burgundy, the Great and Stephanie) was born 1065; died 1103. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urraca_of_Le%C3%B3n

Born in Burgos, Urraca was the eldest and only surviving child of Alfonso VI of León with his second wife Constance of Burgundy; for this, she was heiress presumptive of the Kingdoms of Castile and León until 1107, when her father recognized his illegitimate son Sancho as his heir.

Urraca?s place in the line of succession made her the focus of dynastic politics, and she became a child bride at age eight (1087) to Raymond of Burgundy, a mercenary adventurer. Author Bernard F. Reilly suggests that, rather than a betrothal, the eight-year-old Urraca was fully wedded to Raymond of Burgundy, as he almost immediately appears in protocol documents as Alfonso VI's son-in-law, a distinction that would not have been made without the marriage. Reilly doubts that the marriage was consummated until Urraca was 13, as she was placed under the protective guardianship of a trusted magnate. Her pregnancy and stillbirth at age 14 suggest that the marriage was indeed consummated when she was 13 or 14 years old.

Urraca's marriage to Raymond was part of Alfonso VI's diplomatic strategy to attract cross-Pyrenees alliances, and she gave birth two children: a daughter, Sancha Raimúndez and a son, Alfonso Raimúndez, who would become Alfonso VII. However, Raymond died in 1107, leaving Urraca a widow with two small children.

Urraca became again an heiress presumptive after the death of her brother Sancho at the Battle of Uclés in 1108. Alfonso VI reunited the nobles of the Kingdom in Toledo and announced that his widowed daughter was the chosen one to succeeded him.

The nobles agreed with the royal designation but demanded that Urraca should marry again. Several candidates for the hand of the heiress to the thrones of León and Castile appeared immediately. Alfonso VI feared that the rivalries between Castilian and Leonese nobles would be increased if she married any of these suitors and decided that his daughter should wed Alfonso I of Aragon, known as the Battler, opening the opportunity for uniting León-Castile with Aragon.

Marriage negotiations were still underway when Alfonso VI died on 29 June/1 July 1109 and Urraca became queen. Many of Alfonso VI?s advisers and leading magnates in the kingdom formed a ?quiet opposition? to the marriage of the queen to the King of Aragon. According to Bernard F. Reilly, these magnates feared the influence the King of Aragon might attempt to wield over Urraca and over Leonese politics.

Urraca protested against the marriage but honored her late father's wishes (and the Royal Council's advice) and continued with the marriage negotiations, though she and her father's closest advisers were growing weary of Alfonso I's demands. Despite the advisers' opposition, the prospect of Count Henry of Portugal filling any power vacuum led them to go ahead with the marriage which took place in early October 1109 at the Castle of Monzón de Campos. As events unfolded, these advisers underestimated Urraca's political prowess, and later advised her to end the marriage.

The marriage of Urraca and Alfonso I almost immediately sparked rebellions in Galicia and scheming by her illegitimate half-sister Theresa and brother-in-law Henry, the Countess and Count of Portugal. Also, they believed that the new marriage of Urraca could put in jeopardy the rights of the son of her first marriage, Alfonso Raimúndez.

The Galician rebellion against the royal power was only the beginning of a series of political and military conflicts which, with the complete opposite personalities of Urraca and Alfonso I and their mutual dislike, gave rise to a continuous civil war in the Hispanic kingdoms over the following years.

As their relationship soured, Urraca accused Alfonso of physical abuse, and by May 1110 she separated from Alfonso. Additionally, as Urraca was married to someone many in the kingdom objected to, the queen's son and heir became a rallying point for opponents to the marriage.

Estrangement between husband and wife escalated from discrete and simmering hostilities into open armed warfare between the Leonese-Castilians and the Aragonese. By the fall of 1112 a truce was brokered between Urraca and Alfonso with their marriage annulled. Though Urraca recovered Asturias, Leon, and Galicia, Alfonso occupied a significant portion of Castile (where Urraca enjoyed large support), while her half-sister Theresa and her husband Count Henry of Portugal occupied Zamora and Extremadura. Recovering these regions and expanding into Muslim lands would occupy much of Urraca's foreign policy.

She is characterized in her contemporary history Historia Compostelana as prudent, modest, and with good sense. But this source also attributes her "failings" to her gender, "the weakness and changeability of women, feminine perversity, and calls her a Jezebel" for her liaisons with her leading magnates, with at least one relationship producing an illegitimate son. The measure of success for Urraca?s rule was her ability to restore and protect the integrity of her inheritance, that is, the kingdom of her father, and transmit that inheritance in full to her own heir.

Urraca married Raymond of Burgundy. Raymond was born ca 1070, Besançon, County of Burgundy, France; died 24 May 1107, Grajal de Campos, Provincia de León Castilla y León, Spain; was buried , Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Provincia da La Coruña Galicia, Spain. [Group Sheet]