Bertha of Burgundy

Bertha of Burgundy
Queen consort of the Franks
Tenure	996–1000
Born	964
Died	16 January 1010
Spouse	Odo I, Count of Blois Robert II of France
House	Elder House of Welf (by birth) House of Burgundy (by marriage)
Father	Conrad of Burgundy
Mother	Matilda of France

Bertha of Burgundy (964 – 16 January 1010) was the daughter of Conrad the Peaceful, King of Burgundy^[1] and his wife Matilda, daughter of Louis IV, King of France and Gerberga of Saxony. She was named for her father's mother, Bertha of Swabia.

She first married Odo I, Count of Blois in about 983.^[2] They had several children, including Odo II.^[1]

After the death of her husband in 996, Bertha's cousin Robert, co-King of France wished to marry her, in place of his repudiated first wife Rozala, who was many years his senior. The union was opposed by Robert's father, Hugh Capet, due to the potential political problem that could be caused by religious authorities due to their consanguinity. However, the marriage went ahead after Hugh's death in October 996, which left Robert as sole king.

The closeness of Robert and Bertha by blood was such that Church authorities considered the marriage illegal since they had not received a dispensation, nor had they requested one. Accordingly, Pope Gregory V declared the pair excommunicated. This, and the lack of children (save one, who lived and died in 999), caused Robert to agree with Pope Silvester II to have the marriage annulled in 1000.

Robert next married Constance of Arles while Bertha may have been the Bertha who married Arduin of Ivrea (Arduino d´Ivrea), King of Italy, Marquis of Ivrea.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Bertha of Burgundy

16. Conrad II, Duke of Transjurane Burgundy               8. Rudolph I of Burgundy                       17. Waldrada of Worms               4. Rudolph II of Burgundy                             18. Boso of Provence               9. Guilla of Provence                       19. Ermengard of Italy               2. Conrad I of Burgundy                                   20. Burchard I, Duke of Swabia               10. Burchard II, Duke of Swabia                       21. Liutgard of Saxony               5. Bertha of Swabia                             22. Eberhard I of Zürich               11. (de) Regelinda of Zürich                       1. Bertha of Burgundy                                         24. Louis the Stammerer               12. Charles the Simple                       25. Adelaide of Paris               6. Louis IV of France                             26. Edward the Elder               13. Eadgifu of Wessex                       27. Ælfflæd               3. Matilda of France                                   28. Otto I, Duke of Saxony               14. Henry the Fowler                       29. Hedwiga               7. Gerberga of Saxony                             30. Dietrich, Count in Westphalia               15. Matilda                       31. Reinhild

References

1. Stefan Weinfurter, The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition, transl. Barbara M. Bowlus, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 46.
2. Burgundy and Provence 879-1032, Constance Brittain Bourchard, The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. III, ed. Timothy Reuter, (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 342.