Friderada was a ninth-century noblewoman about whom very little is known. She was probably related to
Liudolf, Duke of Saxony
Liudolf ( – 11/12 March 866) was a Carolingian office bearer and count in the Duchy of Saxony from about 844 until his death in 866. The ruling Liudolfing house, also known as the Ottonian dynasty, is named after him; he is its oldest verified ...
. Friderada married at least three times and was the grandmother of
Otto, Duke of Lorraine
Otto (died 944), son of Count Ricwin and a Liudolfing, was the Count of Verdun by inheritance and the Duke of Lorraine by appointment. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto ...
.
Her first husband was
Engelram, Chamberlain to Charles the Bald (d. 877).
That union produced a daughter, whose name is not known. This daughter married
Ricwin, Count of Verdun, as his first wife. Their only child was
Otto
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fr ...
, Count of Verdun and Duke of Lorraine.
Widowed, Friederada married Bernarius, Count of Charpeigne, about whom nothing further is known.
Bernarius was murdered in 883 by
Hugh, Duke of Alsace
Hugh or Hugo (before 855 – 895) was an illegitimate son of Lothair II, king of Lotharingia, by his mistress Waldrada. His father made him Duke of Alsace in 867.
Hugh's name was not a Carolingian royal name, but it was common among the Etich ...
, son of
Lothair II
Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was a Carolingian king and ruler of northern parts of Middle Francia, that came to be known as Lotharingia, reigning there from 855 until his death in 869. He also ruled over Burgundy, holding from 855 just th ...
, King of Lotharingia, and his concubine
Waldrada Waldrada or Walderada (French ''Waldrade'', Italian ''Gualdrada'') is a feminine given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle n ...
, and Friderada married her husband's murderer.
No children are recorded.
Friderada's grandson Otto, Duke of Lorraine, is identified as the son of a Count Ricwin and a
Liudolfing
The Ottonian dynasty () was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman emperors, especially Otto the Great. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German stem du ...
, and a relative of
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...
, Holy Roman Emperor. Chronologically, Friderada could possibly have been a daughter or granddaughter of Liudolf, but no concrete evidence of this exists.
Friderada had two husbands between Engelram and Hugh: Bernarius, and Wipert of Nantes, son of
Lambert III of Nantes and Rotrude of Italy, daughter of
Lothair I
Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...
, Holy Roman Emperor. Wipert had one son, also named Wipert (880-900), but it is not clear that Friderada was the mother. Both Bernarius and Wipert were reportedly executed in 883 by Hugh in order to marry the widow, so it is unlikely that they were both Friderada’s husband. Note that Hugh and Wipert were first cousins.
An alternative narrative is provided by Jackman. In this analysis, Bernarius was married to a sister of Wipert. Wipert was the guardian of Hugh, and married to Friderada. Bernarius and Wipert were allies of Hugh, but turned against him once his aspirations towards royal succession surfaced, and so Hugh murdered them both and married the widow Friderada.
References
{{Reflist
Sources
*Jackman, Donald C., ''Ius hereditarium Encountered I: The Meingaud-Walaho Inheritance,'' Editions Enlaplage, Oct 25, 2010
9th-century French women
9th-century French people