Bertha of Burgundy

Queen consort of the Franks

Bertha of Burgundy
From the Genealogy of the Ottonians (late 12th century)
Queen consort of the Franks
Tenure	996–1001

Born	964
Died	16 January 1010
Spouse	Odo I, Count of Blois Robert II of France
Issue	Theobald II of Blois Odo II, Count of Blois
House	Elder House of Welf
Father	Conrad of Burgundy
Mother	Matilda of France

Bertha of Burgundy (964 – 16 January 1010) was Queen consort of the Franks as the second wife of King Robert II.

Bertha was the daughter of King Conrad of Burgundy^[1] and his wife Matilda, daughter of King Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony. She was named for her father's mother, Bertha of Swabia. She first married Count Odo I of Blois in about 983.^[2] They had several children, including Theobald II and Odo II.^[1]

After the death of her husband in 996, Bertha's second cousin Robert, the eldest son of King Hugh Capet of France, wished to marry her. He had recently repudiated his first wife, Susanna, who was many years his senior. The union was opposed by King Hugh, who feared that political problems could be caused by religious authorities due to their consanguinity. The marriage nevertheless went ahead around the time of Hugh's death in October 996, which left Robert as sole king. Pope Gregory V and his successor Pope Sylvester II pronounced anathemas against Robert for his "incestuous" marriage and the pair were forced to separate, but Robert several times attempted to rejoin her.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Stefan Weinfurter, The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition, transl. Barbara M. Bowlus, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 46.
^ Burgundy and Provence 879-1032, Constance Brittain Bourchard, The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. III, ed. Timothy Reuter (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 342.
^ Bourchard, Constance (1981). "Consanguinity and Noble Marriages in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries". Speculum. 56: 276–77. ISSN 0038-7134.