Vermandois was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

county that appeared in the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gaul ...

period. Its name derives from that of an ancient tribe, the Viromandui. In the 10th century, it was organised around two castellan domains: St Quentin (

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Péronne (

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

). In today's times, the Vermandois county would fall in the

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hist ...

region of northern France.

Pepin I of Vermandois Pepin II (french: Pépin; c. 817—after 850) was Count of Vermandois, lord of Senlis, Péronne and Saint Quentin. He was son of King Bernard of Italy (a grandson of Charlemagne) and his Queen, Cunigunda of Laon. He supported Emperor Lothar after ...

, the earliest of its hereditary counts, was descended in direct male line from the emperor

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

. More famous was his grandson Herbert II (902–943), who considerably increased the territorial power of the house of Vermandois, and kept the lawful king of France, the unlucky Charles the Simple, prisoner for six years. Herbert II was son of

Herbert I Herbert I may refer to: * Herbert I, Count of Vermandois (c. 848/850 – 907) * Herbert I, Count of Maine (died in 1036) {{hndis, Herbert 01 ...

, lord of Péronne and St Quentin, who was killed in 902 by an assassin in the pay of Baldwin II,

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the ...

. His successors,

Albert I Albert I may refer to: People Born before 1300 *Albert I, Count of Vermandois (917–987) *Albert I, Count of Namur () * Albert I of Moha *Albert I of Brandenburg (), first margrave of Brandenburg *Albert I, Margrave of Meissen (1158–1195) *Alber ...

, Herbert III, Albert II, Otto and Herbert IV, were not as historically significant. In 1077, the last count of the first house of Vermandois, Herbert IV, received the county of Valois through his wife. His son Eudes (II) the insane was disinherited by the council of the Barons of France. He was lord of Saint-Simon through his wife, and the county was given to his sister Adela, whose first husband was

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. Biography Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and Béatrice of Vermandois.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der E ...

, the brother of King Philip I of France. Hugh was one of the leaders of 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 ...

, and died in 1102 at Tarsus in

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern co ...

. The eldest son of Hugh and Adela was count Raoul I (c. 1120–1152), who married Petronilla of Aquitaine, sister of the queen,

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was intro ...

, and had by her three children: Raoul (Rudolph) II, the Leper (count from 1152–1167);

Isabelle Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba, Elisheva''), Arising in ...

, who possessed from 1167 to 1183 the counties of Vermandois, Valois and

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

conjointly with her husband, Philip, Count of Flanders; and

. By the terms of a treaty concluded in 1186 with the king,

Philip Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

, the count of Flanders kept the county of Vermandois until his death, in 1191. At this date, a new arrangement gave Eleanor (d. 1213) a life interest in the eastern part of Vermandois, together with the title of countess of St Quentin, and the king entered immediately into possession of Péronne and its dependencies.

References

* Anselme, "Histoire Genealogique de la Maison royale de France", 1726. * M.Fouquier-Cholet, "Histoire des Comtes héréditaires du Vermandois", Saint-Quentin, 1832. * Ioh.Mabillon, "Annales ord. Sancti Benedicti. Ticinense". Lucae, 1739. * Louis Moreri, "Le Gran Dictionnaire Historique", Paris, 1743–1749. {{Authority control Former provinces of France * Viromandui

See also

References