Gertrudis (Unknown) de Bourgogne (abt. 560 - 649)

Born about 0560 in Hamage, Franconia, Germany

Wife of Richomer (Orleans) de Bourgogne — married 0563 in Franconia, Baden, Germany

Descendants

Died Dec 0649 at about age 89 in Moselle, Lorraine, France

Biography

Garritrude (Unknown) de Bourgogne has German Roots.

Name

• Gertrudis, Abbess of Hamage (d. 649) ^[1]

Note: She became "of hamage" when she became Abbess, so this is not the first name she would have been known by, which would more likely have been a family name, or the family place.

• Gertrude d'Hamage^[2]
• Abbesse d'Hamage, sainte ^[2]
• Gertrude de Cambrai ^[2]
• Gertrudis
• (unproven) Gertrude of Nivelles[2]

560 Birth

Gertrude d'Hamage was born about 560.^[2]

Parents

The parentage of Gertrude is speculative. Andreas Silvius, a monk of the Marchiennes Abbey, writing at the end of the 12th century in his "Synopsis Franco Merovingicae," stated that Gertrude was the daughter of Theodebald, duke of Douai. ^[2]

Settipani notes that even if the existence of Theodebald is not questioned, the reference to him as "Duke of Douai" may be seriously questioned.^[3]

Settipani also notes that names such as Theodebald, Gertrude, and Gertrude's daughter Gerberge, indicate membership in the Agilofings, and that chronologically, Theodebald could be a brother of Garibald, the first Duke of Bavaria. ^[4]

The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. They are mentioned as the leading dynasty in the Lex Baiuvariorum (c. 743). Their Bavarian residence was at Regensburg. ^[5]

The dynasty's eponymous ancestor is Agilulf (Proto-Germanic Agilwulfaz), a semi-legendary prince of the Suebi and descendant of Hermeric, the 5th-century Suevic king of Galicia, possibly identical with one Agilulf, a steward of the Visigothic king Theoderic II, who was executed in 457.[1] ^[5]

The first duke identified with the Agilolfing line in German historiography is Garibald I (Gariwald). However, doubt has been cast on Garibald's membership in the Agilolfing family in modern scholarship,[2] which makes Tassilo I (r. 591–610) the first ascertained member of the dynasty.^[5]

The Agilolfings had close ties to the Merovingians. Garibald I himself married Waldrada, the widow of Merovingian king Theudebald, in 555, after her marriage to Chlothar I was annulled on grounds of consanguinity. As they had their fate intertwined with the Merovingian dynasty, they opposed the rise of the Carolingian majordomos, who finally deprived the Agilolfings of their power.^[5]

Frankish Kings During Her Lifetime

During the period 560 to 649, the Frankish Lands had the following rulers:^[7]

Neustria (Merovingian Kings). Key cities Paris and Soissons

• Chlothar I, 558-561
• Charibert I, 561-567
• Chilperic I, 567-584
• Chlotar II, 584-629
• Dagobert I, 629-639
• Clovis II, 639-657

Austrasia (Merovingian Kings). Key cities

• Childebert I, 558-561
• Sigebert I, 561-575
• Childebert II, 575-595
• Theudebert II, 595-612
• Theuderic II, 612-613
• Sigebert II, 613
• Chlotar II, (584)-629 (same as Neustria)
• Dagobert I, 629-639 (same as Neustria)
• Sigebert III, 639-656

580 Marriage to Richomer

Gertrude was married to Richomer, and probably was the mother of Bertrude, queen of the Franks.^[2]

Richomer was cited as a patrician of Burgundy (patrice de Burgondie) in 607. ^[2]

Marriage Year Estimation: If she was born about 560, estimate her marriage year as, say, 580, with her children born in 581 and a two year intervals thereafter. Such dates are highly speculative and useful only for placing people in the right time period.

m. Ricomer, patrician of Burgundy. Issue:[4]

• (disputed) Gariberga "Gerberta" (Erchinoald's mother)[5]
• Bertrude (d. 618/9)

m. Chlothar II

Founder of Hamage Abbey

As a widow, Gertrude retired to religious life and founded the Abbey of Hamage on the advice of St. Amand. ^[2]

Gertrude d'Hamage or Gertrude de Cambrai was the founder and first abbess of the Hamage Abbey. She is a saint of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, celebrated on December 6th.^[2]

The town of Hamage is located today near the northeast border of France with Belgium and would have been part of the kingdom or duchy of Neustria at the time Gertrude lived.

• (unproven) Abbess of Hamage[6]

649 Death

She died December 6, 649 at Hamage.^[2]

Gertrude died on December 6, 649, and her great granddaughter, Saint Eusebius (living in 636 and died 16 March 689) succeeded her as abbess. ^[8][9]

St. Gertrude's relics were transferred to Marchiennes on October 28, 686 or 691 ^[8]

d. (unproven) 649[7]

Issue

Gertrude and Richomer were the parents of:

1. Son, born, say, 581. a son for whom the historian Jacques Pycke proposes the name of Richomer^[8] but according to Settipani, this second Richomer is the result of an error having split a single character.^[10]
2. Gerberge, born, say, 583, a daughter, mother of: ^[3] Estimate her year of marriage as 603 and her children born the folloowing year:
   1. Adalbald, born, say, 604. Died 642. Duke, married to St. Rictrude, Abbess of Marchiennes and father of Mauront, St. Eusebian, Clodsinde and Adalsinde. ^[11]
   2. Erchinoald, born, say, 606. Died 658. Mayor of the palace of Neustria ^[12]
3. Bertrude, born, say, 585. Probably a daughter, Bertrude, married to King Clotaire II and mother of Dagobert I, king of the Franks. ^[13][14]

Research Notes

Alternate Gertrudes

Yaniv Fox ^[1] identifies several contemporaneous persons named Gertrude and speculates as to whether they may be the same person as Gertrude de Hamage.

Duplicate Marriages on WikiTree

It is likely that research will reveal the following, all married to Ricomer Orleans to be the same person.

1. Gertrudis (Bayern) Bourgogne, born 560
2. Gertrude (Franconia) de Bourgogne born Franconia, Germany, 563
3. Gertrudis (De Hamage) Bourgogne, born Hamage, Franconia, Germany, 560.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Yaniv Fox. Power and Religion in Merovingian Gaul: Columbanian Monasticism and the Frankish Elites, (pp. 125-126). Cambridge University Press, 2014. Google Books; citing Vita Rictrudis, (10th century)page125 Accessed July 21, 2018 jhd
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9} Wikipedia (French Language). Gertrude d'Hamage Accessed July 21, 2018 jhd
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Christian Settipani, Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne, Paris, 1989, 170 p. (ISBN 2-906483-28-1) page 109. Cited by Wikipedia (French Language). Gertrude d'Hamage Accessed July 21, 2018 jhd
4. ↑ Settipani, pages 102, 4-5
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Wikipedia: Agilofings Accessed July 22, 2018. jhd
6. ↑ Even the most fanciful genealogies of the Merovingians, Arnulfings, and Carolingians have no record of this person, it would seem.

   Notice of resolution of ambiguous parentage: Edited according principles of the European Aristocracts project. The lack of parents were determined by consulting primary sources, especially collected by FMG's Medieval Lands project.[1].

7. ↑ Wikipedia: List_of_Frankish_kings Accessed July 22, 2018 jhd
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} J. Pycke, « Gertrude de Hamay (sainte) » dans Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. XX. (Gatianensis - Giry), Paris, Librairie Letouzey et Ané, 1984 (ISBN 2-7063-0157-0) , col. 1062-3. Cited by Wikipedia (French Language). Gertrude d'Hamage Accessed July 21, 2018 jhd
9. ↑ Settipani, pages 108-9
10. ↑ Settipani, page 108
11. ↑ According to the Vita Rectrudis, dating from the early tenth century. Cited by Wikipedia (French Language). Gertrude d'Hamage Accessed July 21, 2018 jhd
12. ↑ According to the Chronologium Marchianensis (twelfth century) which specifies that Erchinoald was brother of Adalbald. Cited by Wikipedia (French Language). Gertrude d'Hamage Accessed July 21, 2018 jhd
13. ↑ La Chronique de Frédégaire précise qu'il est cousin de Dagobert Ier par la mère de ce dernier. Cited by Wikipedia (French Language). Gertrude d'Hamage Accessed July 21, 2018 jhd
14. ↑ Settipani, pages 92-93

• Fox, Y. (2014). Power and Religion in Merovingian Gaul: Columbanian Monasticism and the Frankish Elites, (pp. 125-126). Cambridge University Press. Google Books; citing Vita Rictrudis, (10th century)[8]

• Cawley, Charles. "Medieval Lands": A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families © by Charles Cawley, hosted by Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG). See also WikiTree's source page for MedLands.