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Birth:           720 of Laon, Aisne, France
Death:          12 Jul  783 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrada_of_Laon
Bertrada of Laon (born between 710 and 727 – 12 July 783), also known as Bertrada 
the Younger or Bertha Broadfoot (cf. Latin: Regina pede aucae i.e. the queen with the 
goose-foot), was a Frankish queen. She was the wife of Pepin the Short and the 
mother of Charlemagne, Carloman and Gisela.
Nickname[edit]

Bertrada's nickname "Bertha Broadfoot" dates back to the 13th century, when it was 
used in Adenes Le Roi's trouvère Li rouman de Berte aus grands piés.[1] The exact 
reason that Bertrada was given this nickname is unclear. It is possible that Bertrada 
was born with a clubfoot,[2] although Adenes does not mention this in his poem.[1] 
The nickname might have been a reference to an ancient legend about a Germanic 
goddess named Perchta, to real and mythological queens named Bertha, or to several 
similarly-named Christian queens.[3] Many myths and legends exist in Europe and Asia, 
in which clubfooted people are described as the link between the world of the living 
and the spirit world.[4]

Biography[edit]

Early life and ancestry[edit]

Bertrada was born sometime between 710 and 727 in Laon, in today's Aisne, France, 
to Count Charibert of Laon.[5] Charibert's father might have been related to 
Hugobertides.[6][7] Charibert's mother was Bertrada of Prüm, who founded Prüm 
Abbey along with Charibert. Bertrada of Prüm was possibly the daughter of Theuderic 
III.[5]
Marriage and children[edit]

Bertrada married Pepin the Short, the son of Charles Martel, the Frankish "Mayor of 
the Palace", in 741. However, Pepin and Bertrada were too closely related for their 
marriage to be legal at that time; the union was not canonically sanctioned until 749, 
after the birth of Charlemagne.[8]

According to French historian Léon Levillain, Bertrada was Pepin's first and only wife.
[9][10][11] Other sources suggest that Pepin had previously married a "Leutberga" or 
"Leutbergie", with whom Pepin would have had five children.[12]

Bertrada and Pepin are known to have had seven children: three sons and four 
daughters. Of these, Charlemagne (c. 742 – 814),[13] Carloman (751 – 771)[14] and 
Gisela (757 – 811) survived to adulthood. Pepin, born in 756, died in his infancy in 
762. Bertrada and Pepin also had Berthe, Adelaide, and Rothaide. Gisela became a 
nun at Chelles Abbey.[15]

Pepin tried to divorce Bertrada a few years after their marriage, but the Pope opposed 
the divorce.[16] The reason is still unknown, but according to historian Christian 
Settipani, Pepin might have wanted to marry a woman named Angla, who was the 
daughter of Theodrade.[14]

Queen of the Franks[edit]
In 751, Pepin and Bertrada became King and Queen of the Franks, following Pepin's 
successful coup against the Frankish Merovingian monarchs.[17] Pepin was crowned 
in June 754, and Bertrada, Charlemagne, and Carloman were blessed by Pope 
Stephen II.[18][19]

After Pepin's death in 768, Bertrada lost her title as Queen of the Franks. 
Charlemagne and Carloman inherited the two halves of Pepin's kingdom. Bertrada 
stayed at the court and often tried to stop arguments between the two brothers.[14] 
Some historians credit Bertrada's support for her elder son Charlemagne over her 
younger son Carloman, and her diplomatic skills, for Charlemagne's early success.[20] 
Although her influence over Charlemagne may have diminished in time, she lived at his 
court, and, according to Einhard, their relationship was excellent. Bertrada 
recommended that Charlemagne set aside his legal wife, Himiltrude, and marry 
Desiderata, a daughter of the Lombard king Desiderius, but Charlemagne soon 
divorced Desiderata. Einhard claims this was the only episode that ever strained 
relations between mother and son.[14]

Later life and death[edit]

Bertrada retired from the court after Carloman's death in 771 to live in Choisy-au-Bac, 
where Charlemagne had set aside a royal house for her. Choisy-au-Bac was favorable 
because of its history of being the home and burial place of several Merovingian 
kings.[14]

Bertrada died on 12 July 783 in Choisy-au-Bac.[14] Charlemagne buried her in the 
Basilica of St Denis near Pepin.[21]

Parents
____ Caribert (Cambert) (Charibert) I (ABT  680 - AFT  747)
____ Bertrada (ABT  680 - )

Siblings
DE LAON Bertha (Bertrade) "Broadfoot" ( 720 - 12 Jul  783)

Marriage To ____ Pepin III "Le Bref" ("the Short") ( 715 - 24 Sep  768)
    m. ABT  740 

Notes

Parents
MARTEL Charles (Karl) "the Hammer" ( 689 - 22 Nov  741)
____ Chrotrude (Rotrude) (ABT  690 -  724)

Children by ____ Pepin III "Le Bref" ("the Short")  715 - 24 Sep  768
____ Charlemagne (2 Apr  747 - 28 Jan  814)
OF THE CAROLINGIANS Raedburh (Raedberg) (BEF  768 - )

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