Heribert II Comte de Meaux Soissons Vermandois

Other Events:

• Name: Heribert II Count of Vermandois
• Reference Number: 8078

Notes:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Vermandois-13

BIOGRAPHY FROM GENEALOGICS.ORG:
Heribert was born about 879, the son of Heribert I, comte de Vermandois, and Bertha de Morvois. He was count of Vermandois and count of Troyes.

He inherited the domain of his father and in 907 he added to it the Saint de Soissons abbey. His marriage with Adela (also known as Liégarde) of Neustria brought him the county of Meaux. In 918 he was also named count of Mézerais and of the Véxin. With his cousin Bernhard, count of Beauvais and Senlis, he constituted a powerful group in the west of France, to the north and east of Paris. In 923 he imprisoned King Charles III in Château-Thierry, then in Péronne. He and his wife Adela, daughter of Robert I, king of France, and his wife Aelis, had seven children of whom Adela, Robert, Adalbert and Liutgarde would have progeny.

In 922 the archbishop of Reims, Seulf, called on Heribert to reduce some of his vassals who were in rebellion against him. On the death of Seulf in 925, with the help of Raoul, king of France he acquired for his second son Hugues (then five years old) the archbishopric of Reims, which had a large inheritance in France and Germany. In 926, on the death of Roger, count of Laon, Heribert demanded this county for Eudes, his eldest son. He settled there, initially against the will of King Raoul, and constructed a fortress there. Raoul yielded to pressure to free King Charles III 'the Simple', whom Heribert still held in prison.

In 930 Heribert took the castle of Vitry-en-Perthois at the expense of Boso, the brother of King Raoul. Raoul united his army with that of Hugues, marquis of Neustria, and in 931 they entered Reims and defeated Hugues, the son of Heribert. Artaud became the new archbishop of Reims. Heribert II then lost, in three years, Vitry, Laon, Château-Thierry and Soissons. The intervention of his ally, Emperor Heinrich I 'the Fowler', allowed him to restore his domains (except Reims and Laon) in exchange for his submission to King Raoul.

Later Heribert allied with Hugues 'the Great', duke of the Franks, and Guillaume I 'Longsword', duke of Normandy, against King Louis IV, who allocated the county of Laon to Roger II, the son of Roger I, in 941. Heribert and Hugues 'the Great' took back Reims and captured Artaud. Hugues, the son of Heribert, was restored as archbishop. Again the mediation of the German King Otto I, in Visé near Liège, in 942 allowed for the normalisation of the situation.

Heribert II died on 23 February 943 without having succeeded in building the principality of which he dreamed. His succession was reconciled by Hugues 'the Great', maternal uncle of his children. It took place in 946 and led to an equitable distribution between Heribert's sons.

Family/Spouse: Adela de Vermandois Robertian. Adela was born about 879; died after 920 in St Quentin, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Robert Comte de Meaux Vermandois was born about 931 in Western Francia; died on 29 Aug 968 in Western Francia.

Other Events:

• Name: Herbert Count of Vermandois
• Reference Number: 8080

Notes:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Vermandois-3

Heribert married Lietgardis Vermandois Unknown. Lietgardis was born about 860; died after 880. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 8194

Notes:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-298879

Other Events:

• Name: Pepin Count of Vermandois
• Reference Number: 8082

Notes:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Vermandois-246

BIOGRAPHY FROM GENEALOGICS:
Pippin was born about 815, the only son of Bernhard I, king of Italy, and Kunigund of Laon. He was the first comte de Vermandois, as well as comte de Senlis, Péronne et Saint Quentin.

Pippin first appears in 834 as a count to the north of the Seine and then appears as the same again in 840. In that year he supported Lothar I against his father Emperor Louis 'the Pious'.

Pippin's wife is unknown, but his heir Heribert inherited much Nibelungid territory and so historian K. F. Werner hypothesised a marriage to a daughter of Theodoric Nibelung. Of his four children only Heribert would have progeny. Pippin's year of death is not known with certainty. As Heribert's year of birth is given as about 850, this suggests that Pippin must have lived to about then.

Other Events:

• Name: Bernard of Italy
• Reference Number: 8084

Notes:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Carolingian-119

BIOGRAPHY FROM GENEALOGICS.ORG:
Bernhard was born in Vermandois, Normandy, about 797, the son of Pippin I, king of Italy; some sources indicate that he was illegitimate. When his father died in 810 from an illness contracted at a siege of Venice, his grandfather Charlemagne allowed Bernhard to inherit Italy, but the empire went to Pippin's younger brother Louis 'the Pious'. About 814 Bernhard married Kunigund of Laon. They had a son Pippin, who would have progeny.

Prior to 817 Bernhard was a trusted agent of his grandfather and then of his uncle Louis 'the Pious', emperor from 814. Bernhard's rights to Italy were respected, and he was used as an intermediary to manage events in his sphere of influence - for example, when in 815 Louis received reports that some Roman nobles had conspired to murder Pope Leo III, and that he had responded by butchering the ringleaders, Bernhard was sent to investigate the matter.

A change came in 817, when Louis 'the Pious' drew up an _Ordinatio Imperii_ detailing the future of the Frankish empire. Under this, the bulk of the Frankish territory went to Louis' eldest son Lothar I; Bernhard received no further territory, and although his kingship of Italy was confirmed, he would be a vassal of Lothar. This was, it was later alleged, the work of the empress Irmengard, who wished Bernhard to be displaced in favour of her own sons. Resenting Louis' actions, Bernhard began plotting with a group of magnates: Eggideo, Reginhard and Reginhar, the last the grandson of a Thuringian rebel against Charlemagne, Hardrad. Anselm, bishop of Milan, and Theodulf, bishop of Orléans, were also accused of being involved; there is no evidence either to support or contradict this in the case of Theodulf, while the case for Anselm is murkier.

Bernhard's main complaint was the notion of being a vassal of Lothar. In practical terms his actual position had not been altered at all by the terms of the decree, and he could safely have continued to rule under such a system. Nonetheless, reports came to Louis 'the Pious' that his nephew was planning to set up an independent regime in Italy.

Louis reacted swiftly to the plot, marching south to Châlons. Bernhard and his associates were taken by surprise; Bernhard travelled to Châlons in an attempt to negotiate terms, but he and the ringleaders were forced to surrender to Louis. He had them taken to Aix-la-Chapelle, where they were tried and condemned to death. Louis commuted their sentences to blinding, which would neutralise Bernhard as a threat without actually killing him; however, the process of blinding (carried out by means of pressing a red-hot stiletto to the eyeballs) proved so traumatic that Bernhard died in agony two days later, on 17 April 818. At the same time, Louis also had his half-brothers Drogo, Hugo and Dietrich tonsured and confined to monasteries, to prevent other Carolingian off-shoots challenging the main line. He also treated those guilty or suspected of conspiring with Bernhard harshly: Theodulf, bishop of Orléans, was imprisoned and died soon afterwards; the lay conspirators were blinded, the clerics deposed and imprisoned; all lost lands and honours.

Bernhard's kingdom of Italy was reabsorbed into the Frankish empire, and soon after bestowed upon Louis' eldest son Lothar. In 822 Louis made a display of public penance at Attigny, where he confessed before all the court to having sinfully slain his nephew; he also welcomed his half-brothers back into his favour (Drogo became an archbishop and bishop of Metz; and Hugo became abbot of St. Quentin de Monte near Péronne, and Louis' chancellor). These actions possibly stemmed from guilt over his part in Bernhard's death. It has been argued by some historians that his behaviour left him open to clerical domination, and reduced his prestige and respect among the Frankish nobility. Others, however, point out that Bernhard's plot had been a serious threat to the stability of the kingdom, and the reaction no less a threat; Louis' display of penance, then 'was a well-judged gesture to restore harmony and re-establish his authority.'

Bernhard married Cunegonde Unknown. Cunegonde was born about 800; died after 15 Jun 835. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 8197

Notes:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-457851