Ansgarde of Burgundy (d. 880/882) was a French queen of Aquitaine, but never of West Francia, and the daughter of Hardouin of Burgundy. She secretly married

Louis the Stammerer Louis the Stammerer (; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879) was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrud ...

before he was king, in 862, against the will of his father, Charles the Bald. They had two sons, who later became

Louis III of France Louis III (863/65 – 5 August 882) was King of West Francia from 879 until his death in 882. Despite questions of his legitimacy and challenges against his ascendance to the monarchy, Louis would prove to be an effective leader during his reign, ...

and

Carloman II Carloman II ( 866 – 6 December 884) was the King of West Francia (future France) from 879 until his death. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he and his elder brother Louis III, divided the kingdom between themselves and ruled jointly until ...

. Because

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

wished to marry his son Louis to

Adelaide of Paris Adélaïde of Paris (Aélis) (; 850/853 – 10 November 901) was a Frankish queen. She was the second wife of Louis the Stammerer, King of West Francia and mother of Charles the Simple. Life Adelaide was daughter of the count palatine Adalard ...

, he allegedly forced Louis to seek a papal

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning alm ...

of the marriage to Ansgarde. Thus, Louis repudiated Ansgarde, and Adelaide married Louis in February 875. However, this strange situation muddied the waters around the legitimacy of Louis' marriages, and his potential heirs. If the marriage to Ansgarde was invalid (in some cases a marriage without a parent's approval could be considered invalid), then their sons were not legitimate. If, however, the marriage to Ansgarde was valid, then the marriage to Adelaide would be invalid, because Louis first wife was still alive, and any heirs born to Adelaide would be illegitimate. In 878, the reigning pope, John VIII, was unwilling to crown Adelaide, possibly indicating that he viewed Louis' second marriage as invalid. Ansgarde was thus repudiated, but at the death of Louis in 879 she worked to ensure that her sons could mount the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

of France themselves. To that end, she sought to revisit the subject of her divorce with the

archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

. Adelaide, however, was

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

, and gave birth to a son on September 17 of that year, which thus called into doubt the inheritance of Ansgarde's own sons. Ansgarde and her sons attacked Adelaide's marriage, accusing her of

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

; consequently, Louis and Carloman mounted the throne together. However, both died without issue, and after a long and difficult process Adelaide finally saw her son confirmed as

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, the only legitimate heir to the throne. Ansgarde passes into obscurity after this episode, and the date of her death is not conclusively known.

References

* Martina Hartmann: Die Königin im frühen Mittelalter. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-17-0184-73-2 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ansgarde of Burgundy 880s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Women from Burgundy Queens consort of Aquitaine 9th-century French women 9th-century French people Mothers of French monarchs