Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the
duke of the Franks
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...
and
count of Paris
Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of the Franks in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived ...
. He was the most powerful magnate in France. Son of King
Robert I of France
Robert I ( – 15 June 923) was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count of Paris and Marquess, Marquis of Neustria and Orléans. He succeeded the overthrown Carolingian ...
, Hugh was Margrave of Neustria. He played an active role in bringing King
Louis IV of France
Louis IV (920/921 – 10 September 954), called ''d'Outremer'' or ''Transmarinus'' ("From overseas"), reigned as King of West Francia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the only son of king Charles the Simple and his s ...
back from England in 936. Seeking an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor
Otto the Great
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Frankish ( German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda ...
, he married Otto's younger sister
Hedwig of Saxony
Hedwig of Saxony (; – after 958-959) was a member of the Ottonian dynasty and wife of the Robertian duke Hugh the Great. Upon her husband's death in 956, she ruled the Robertian estates as a regent during the minority of their son Hugh Cap ...
in 937. They were the parents of
Hugh Capet
Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...
. Hedwig's sister,
Gerberga of Saxony
Gerberga of Saxony ( 913 – 5 May 968/9 or 984?) was the queen of West Francia by marriage to Louis IV of France between 939 and 954. She ruled as regent during the minority of their son Lothair in 954–959.
She was a member of the Ottonian ...
, was Louis' wife. Although he often fought against Louis, he supported the accession of Louis and Gerberga's son,
Lothair of France
Lothair (; ; 941 – 2 March 986), sometimes called Lothair II,After the emperor Lothair I. IIICounting Lothair II of Lotharingia, who ruled over modern Lorraine and Belgium. or IV,Counting Lothair II of Italy. was the penultimate Carol ...
.
Biography
Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and
Béatrice of Vermandois,
[Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984), Tafeln 10-11] a descendant of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
. He was born in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
ÃŽle-de-France
The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. His eldest son was
Hugh Capet
Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...
who became
King of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
in 987. His family is known as the
Robertians
The Robertians (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship) are a proposed Frankish noble family and royal dynasty, whose members were ancestors of the Capetian dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of France and several other countries ...
.
In 922, the barons of
Western Francia
In medieval historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the year 843, from the Treaty of Verdun, to 987, the beginning of the Capeti ...
, after revolting against the
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
King
Charles the Simple
Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...
(who fled his kingdom under their onslaught), elected Robert I, Hugh's father, as king of Western Francia.
[Pierre Riché, ''The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe'', Trans. Michael Idomir Allen (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1993), p.250] At the death of Robert I, in battle at
Soissons
Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...
in 923, Hugh refused the crown and it went to his brother-in-law
Rudolph.
Charles sought help in regaining his crown from Hugh's cousin Count
Herbert II of Vermandois, who instead of helping the king imprisoned him.
Herbert then used his prisoner as an advantage in pressing his own ambitions, using the threat of releasing the king up until Charles' death in 929. From then on Herbert II of Vermandois struggled with King Rudolph and Duke Hugh.
Finally Rudolph and Herbert II came to an agreement in 935.
At the death of Rudolph in 936, Hugh was in possession of nearly all of the region between the
Loire
The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône.
It rises in the so ...
and the
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
, corresponding to the ancient
Neustria
Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...
, with the exceptions of Anjou and of the territory ceded to the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
in 911. He took a very active part in bringing King
Louis IV (''d'Outremer'') from the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...
in 936. Historians have wondered why the powerful Hugh the Great called the young Louis to throne instead of taking it himself, as his father had done fifteen years earlier. In the first place, he had many rivals, especially
Hugh, Duke of Burgundy (King Rudolph's brother), and
Herbert II, Count of Vermandois
Herbert II (died 23 February 943), Count of Vermandois, Count of Meaux, and Count of Soissons. He was the first to exercise power over the territory that became the province of Champagne.
Life
Herbert was the son of Herbert I of Vermandois. He w ...
, who probably would have challenged his election. But above all, it seems that he was shocked by the early death of his father.
Richerus explains that Hugh the Great remembered his father who had died for his "pretentions" and this was the cause of his short and turbulent reign.
In 937, Hugh's second wife, Eadhild, died. Later that year, he married
Hedwige of Saxony
Hedwig of Saxony (; – after 958-959) was a member of the Ottonian dynasty and wife of the Robertian duke Hugh the Great. Upon her husband's death in 956, she ruled the Robertian estates as a regent during the minority of their son Hugh Cap ...
, a daughter of King
Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...
of Germany and
Matilda. Soon after this, his third marriage, he was drawn into a prolonged quarrel with Louis IV.
In 938, King Louis IV began attacking fortresses and lands formerly held by members of his family, some held by Herbert II of Vermandois. In 939, King Louis attacked Hugh the Great and Duke
William Longsword
William Longsword (, , , ; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, ...
of Normandy, after which a truce was concluded, lasting until June. That same year, Hugh, along with Count Herbert II of Vermandois, Count
Arnulf I of Flanders and Duke William Longsword paid homage to the
Emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
Otto the Great
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Frankish ( German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda ...
, and supported him in his struggle against Louis.
When Louis fell into the hands of the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
in 945, he was handed over to Hugh in exchange for their young duke Richard. Hugh released Louis IV in 946 on condition that he should surrender the fortress of
Laon
Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
History
Early history
The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...
.
[Jim Bradbury, ''The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328'' (Hambledon Continuum, London & New York, 2007), p. 40] In 948 at a church council at
Ingelheim
Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein (), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen Districts of Germany, district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's left bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat sin ...
the bishops, all but two being from Germany, condemned and excommunicated Hugh ''in absentia'', and returned Archbishop
Artauld to his See at Reims.
[Jim Bradbury, ''The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328'' (Hambledon Continuum, London & New York, 2007), p. 41] Hugh's response was to attack Soissons and Reims while the excommunication was repeated by a council at
Trier
Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...
.
In 953 Hugh finally relented and made peace with Louis IV, the church and his brother-in-law Otto the Great.
On the death of Louis IV, Hugh was one of the first to recognize
Lothair as his successor, and, at the intervention of Lothair's mother,
Gerberga of Saxony
Gerberga of Saxony ( 913 – 5 May 968/9 or 984?) was the queen of West Francia by marriage to Louis IV of France between 939 and 954. She ruled as regent during the minority of their son Lothair in 954–959.
She was a member of the Ottonian ...
, was instrumental in having him crowned.
In recognition of this service Hugh was invested by the new king with the duchies of
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
and
Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
.
[Jim Bradbury, ''The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328'' (Hambledon Continuum, London & New York, 2007), p. 42] In the same year, however, Duke
Gilbert of Burgundy acknowledged himself his vassal and betrothed his daughter to Hugh's son
Otto-Henry.
At Giselbert's death on 8 April 956, Hugh became effective master of the duchy;
Hugh died in
Dourdan
Dourdan () is a commune in the Essonne department in ÃŽle-de-France. It is the capital of the historical region of Hurepoix.
It is located in the metropolitan area of Paris.
Geography
Dourdan is located on the river Orge in the western Es ...
on 16 June.
Family
Hugh married first, in 922, Judith, daughter of
Roger, Count of Maine, and his wife
Rothilde, a daughter of Emperor
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 ...
.
She died childless in 925.
Hugh's second wife was
Eadhild, daughter of
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (870s?17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousi ...
, king of the Anglo-Saxons, and half-sister of King
Æthelstan
Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ; ; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern histori ...
.
They married in 926 and she died in 937, childless.
Hugh's married his third wife,
Hedwig of Saxony
Hedwig of Saxony (; – after 958-959) was a member of the Ottonian dynasty and wife of the Robertian duke Hugh the Great. Upon her husband's death in 956, she ruled the Robertian estates as a regent during the minority of their son Hugh Cap ...
, daughter of
Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...
and
Matilda, in 937. She and Hugh had:
*
Beatrice married
Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine
Frederick I (c. 912 – 18 May 978) was the count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine. He was a son of Wigeric, count of Bidgau, also count palatine of Lorraine, and Cunigunda, and thus a sixth-generation descendant of Charlemagne.
In 954, he m ...
.
*
Hugh Capet
Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...
(c. 941–996)
[Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984), Tafel 11]
*
Emma (c. 943after 968).
*
Otto, Duke of Burgundy, a minor in 956.
* Odo-Henry (
Henry I, Duke of Burgundy) (946–1002)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hugh the Great
Counts of Paris
Robertians
890s births
956 deaths
Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis
Year of birth uncertain
10th-century French nobility
10th-century people from West Francia
Sons of kings