Bertrada of Prüm

Merovingian noblewoman

Bertrada castle in Mürlenbach, named after Bertrada of Prüm

Bertrada (born c. 670; died after 720), also called Berthe or Bertree, is known to be the mother of Charibert of Laon, with whom she is co-founder and benefactor of the Prüm Abbey. They founded the abbey in 721.^[1]

History

Bertrada came from a wealthy Austrasian noble family. Several alternative solutions to the question of her parentage have been suggested, among them:

She was daughter of the seneschal and Pfalzgraf Hugobert and Irmina of Oeren^[2] see Deautsche Biographie and reference point casting doubt over this assumption page 527.
She was the daughter-in-law of Irmina (died c. 704), daughter of Hugobert and Irmina, and her husband Charveus, Count of Laon, brother of Lambert, Count of Hesbaye
She was daughter of Theuderic III, king of Neustria and Austrasia, and Clotilda of Herstal.

The last two possibilities are not mutually exclusive.

Bertrada the Elder was married, but the identity of her husband is unknown.^[3]

Bertrada and her husband had four known children:

Charibert of Laon^[3]
Heribert de Laon
Weta (d after 729) married Caro ^[4]
Hardrad (d after 720) ^[5]

Through Charibert's daughter Bertrada of Laon, wife of Pippin the Short, Bertrada of Prüm is the great-grandmother of Charlemagne.

References

^ Haubrichs, Wolfgang (1979). Die Kultur der Abtei Prüm zur Karolingerzeit. Röhrscheid. p. 31. ISBN 978-3792804018.
^ http://www.digitale-sammlungen.de. (n.d.). ‘Neue deutsche Biographie. 20’ - Viewer | MDZ. [online] Available at: https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb00016338?page=541
^ ^a ^b Striewski, Jennifer. "Bertrada die Ältere", Portal Rheinische Geschichte
^ Mittelrheinisches Urkundenbuch 14, p. 17.
^ Mittelrheinisches Urkundenbuch, 8, p. 10

Sources

Maurice Chaume, "Études carolingiennes I: La famille de saint Guillaume de Gellone", in _Annales de Bourgogne_, vol. I (1929), 27-56 who presents the hypothesis that she was daughter of Theuderic (Thierry).
Settipani, Christian. "The Ancestors of Charlemagne: Addendum to Addena, 31 January 2000" (PDF).
Deutsche Biographie - https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd138605904.html?language=en
Cert Thesaurus - https://data.cerl.org/thesaurus/cnp01459050
Germania Sacra Online - https://personendatenbank.germania-sacra.de/index/gsn/062-00086-001
Normdateneintrag des Südwestdeutschen Bibliotheksverbundes (SWB) - https://swb.bsz-bw.de/DB=2.114/CMD?ACT=SRCHA&IKT=2011&TRM=gnd:138605904&REC=2