Bertrade de Montfort (c. 1070 – 14 February 1117) was

Queen of France This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning monarchs technica ...

by her marriage to

Philip I of France Philip I (23 May 1052 – 29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low i ...

. Initially married to

Fulk IV, Count of Anjou Fulk is an old European personal name, probably deriving from the Germanic '' folk'' ("people" or "chieftain"). It is cognate with the French Foulques, the German Volk, the Italian Fulco and the Swedish Folke, along with other variants such as F ...

, she left him and married Philip. Later she founded a daughter house of Fontevraud Abbey at Haute-Bruyeres.

Life

She was the daughter of

Simon I de Montfort Simon I de Montfort ( 1025 – 25 September 1087) was a French nobleman. He was born in Montfort l'Amaury, in the Duchy of Normandy, and became its lord. He was the son of Amaury I de Montfort and Bertrade. At his death he was buried about away ...

and Agnes of Evreux. Her brother was Amaury de Montfort. In 1089, Bertrade and Fulk, Count of Anjou were married, and they became the parents of a son,

Fulk Fulk is an old European personal name, probably deriving from the Germanic ''folk'' ("people" or "chieftain"). It is cognate with the French Foulques, the German Volk, the Italian Fulco and the Swedish Folke, along with other variants such as F ...

. In 1092 she left her husband to live with King

. Philip married her on 15 May 1092, despite the fact that they both had spouses living. He was so enamoured of Bertrade that he refused to leave her even when threatened with

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

did excommunicate him in 1095, and Philip was prevented from taking part in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...

. According to

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...

, Bertrade was anxious that one of her sons succeed Philip, and sent a letter to King

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

asking him to arrest her stepson Louis. Orderic also claims she sought to kill Louis, first through the arts of sorcery and then by poison. Whatever the truth of these allegations, Louis succeeded Philip in 1108. Bertrade took the veil at Fontevraud Abbey following Philip's death, but moved to a daughter house, which she founded, at Hautes-Bruyeres by 1112. She died in 1117.

Marriages and issue

Bertrade and Fulk IV, Count of Anjou, had: *

Fulk of Jerusalem Fulk ( la, Fulco, french: Foulque or ''Foulques''; c. 1089/1092 – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the count of Anjou (as Fulk V) from 1109 to 1129 and the king of Jerusalem with his wife from 1131 to his death. During t ...

, Count of Anjou and King of Jerusalem (1089/1092–1143) Bertrade and Philip I of France had: *Philip of France, Count of Mantes (living in 1123) *Fleury of France, Seigneur of Nangis (living in 1118) * Cecile of France (died 1145), married (1)

Tancred, Prince of Galilee Tancred (1075 – December 5 or December 12, 1112) was an Italo- Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch. Tancred came from the house of Hauteville and was the great-grands ...

; married (2)

Pons of Tripoli Pons ( 1098 – 25 March 1137) was count of Tripoli from 1112 to 1137. He was a minor when his father, Bertrand, died in 1112. He swore fealty to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in the presence of a Byzantine embassy. His advisors sent hi ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrade de Montfort 1070s births 1117 deaths Year of birth uncertain House of Montfort People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Countesses of Anjou French queens consort 11th-century French people 11th-century French women 12th-century French people 12th-century French women