In the Carolingian era, women did not always manage to do things that were familiar to the weaker sex. Sometimes they had to show male courage and determination, to lead states and armies. One of these outstanding female warriors of those years was the queen of the West Frankish state, Herberg of Saxony.
And although she did not have many high-profile victories, Gerberg never gave up in difficult moments of her life, but took the sword and corrected the situation in her favor.
Our heroine was born into the family of Henry I the Birdcatcher, Duke of Saxony and future king, and Matilda of Westphalia. If the father came from a noble and powerful Ostphalian family of Ludolfing, then the mother belonged to a rich and famous family, dating back to Vidukind, the famous leader of the Saxons of the 8th century. Thanks to a successful marriage, the Duke of Saxony extended his influence to Westphalia.
Political marriage
Gerberga was born in 913, becoming the third child in the family. When the girl was five years old, her father was elected king of Germany. During his reign, he expanded the Germanic (East Frankish) kingdom, built a number of fortresses on the borders, created a strong cavalry and imposed tribute on the border Slavic tribes.
Gerberga saw how much work it cost her father. From an early age, she developed an interest in public affairs, but it was not possible to realize it for a long time.
Gerberga's first marriage in 928 was a purely political act. Marrying her off to his recent enemy, the Duke of Lorraine Giselbert, who was captured by him, King Henry hoped to bind him more strongly to himself. However, just in case, hostages from the son-in-law's family were also taken. So Lorraine became the fifth duchy in the East Frankish kingdom.
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According to the memoirs of contemporaries, her husband left a contradictory impression - brave and unfriendly, rude and inconsistent, wasteful and greedy, envious and vain. However, as an obedient daughter, Herbert honestly performed the duty of a wife and mother, having given birth to four children.
Giselbert remained loyal to the throne while his father-in-law sat on it, until the death of the crown bearer in 936. He even swore an oath to the heir, Otto I (by the way, the elder brother of Gerberga). But as soon as the Duke of Bavaria Heinrich and Duke of Franconia Eberhard in 939 raised a rebellion against the new king, the Duke of Lorraine joined the rebels. They turned to King Louis IV of the Overseas King of the West Frankish Kingdom for support.
My brother turned out to be a rather skillful military and political figure. Knowing that the Duke of France, Hugo the Great, the husband of his cousin Hedwig, was hostile to Louis, he asked a relative to persuade his spouse to attack an ally of the rebellious dukes. He did just that.
Having received no support from the king, the dukes were defeated in the battle with Otto at Andernach. Giselbert, fleeing a boat overcrowded with people, fell into the river, and the armor dragged him to the bottom …
Long road to peace
Louis IV appeared in Lorraine a year after these events. He regretted that he had not had time to come to the aid of Giselbert. Expressing his condolences to the young widow, the 19-year-old king was fascinated by her beauty and invited her to become his wife. The fact that Gerberg was eight years older than him did not bother Louis. When her new husband went to fight in Burgundy against the rebels, the troops of Otto I invaded Lorraine. Louis' affairs became very bad …
However, he held on, and his loving wife provided him with great help in political and military affairs. The young woman personally participated in a number of battles. She led the defense of Reims against the rebels and held him back for five days before he fell. The Queen began negotiations by asking her brother for mediation and peace. The meeting of the kings-relatives took place in 942. They reconciled. True, Louis lost part of the land and promised to forgive the rebels.
Meanwhile, Queen Gerberg gave her husband an heir - a boy named Lothair. In total, they had eight children with King Louis.
In 945, the king decided it was time to reclaim the lands he had lost during the rebellion. His troops besieged Reims, but could not take it. Hugh the Great, who acted as a mediator, persuaded Louis to lift the siege and go to Normandy. This area was recently annexed to the West Frankish kingdom, and rebellious sentiments were still strong here. Nevertheless, the king recklessly accepted the offer of Hugo the Great, with a small detachment of soldiers, he was ambushed and became a prisoner of the Normans.
Upon learning of the capture of the king, Gerberg demanded his release, threatening to complain to her brother Otto. The Normans responded by offering to return the king in exchange for his two sons, to avoid later revenge. The queen decided to cheat by sending only one younger son, Carloman, together with the bishop, instead of the heir to Lothair. Then the Normans handed over King Hugo the Great, who also held him under arrest, demanding that the city of Lan be given to him. Louis refused, and the Duke's troops laid siege to this city.
In conditions when the monarch was in the hands of the rebels, the kingdom was headed by Gerberg. Her courage and commanding qualities allowed her to keep Lan for quite a long time. However, given that the city was not prepared for a long siege, after negotiations she was forced to surrender it. Nevertheless, using different methods, Gerberg made sure that Hugo the Great did not dare to kill the king, and in 946 he freed him. When the couple met in the city of Compiegne, Louis decided to write to his brother-in-law - Otto I the Great and ask him for help against the rebellious duke. I also asked Gerberg about it.
And the king of the East Frankish kingdom supported him by sending a large army. With his help, Louis returned everything that was taken from him. Moreover, Otto made a proposal to the French bishops - to anathematize Hugo the Great for treason to the king and plundering temples. And it was done. Realizing that everyone turned away from him and
that he made powerful enemies, in 950 the last rebellious duke made peace with the king. The long-awaited peace has come to the country.
And again into battle
Four years after the final victory, King Louis IV of Overseas was returning to the city of Reims from a trip. Noticing a wolf nearby, the crown bearer, being an inveterate hunter, rushed after him at a gallop. However, at the same time, the king could not resist in the saddle, fell and hit the ground hard. Louis died on September 10, 954 at the age of only 33.
His heir, Lothair, was not then 13 years old, and there were many applicants who wanted to prevent him from ascending the throne. Gerberg had to put on her armor again, gather an army and protect her son. She coped with weak opponents on her own, and in order to defeat the stronger ones, she had to turn to … Hugo the Great.
A recent enemy received her with honor, consoled her, and promised to help Lothair become king. Of course, at the same time, the duke knocked out a number of preferences from the queen, but his influence was such that already on November 12, 954, Gerberga's son was crowned in Reims. And yet, remembering the inconsistency of Hugo the Great, the Queen Mother made sure she turned to the Archbishop of Cologne Bruno for support, who, like King Otto, was her brother.
In 956, Hugh the Great died, and Guillaume, the rebellious Duke of Aquitaine, refused to accept the authority of the young King Lothair. Then Gerberg again led the army, invaded the lands of the rebellious duchy and began to lead the rebels to submission by force of arms. The Duke's troops were defeated, and the inhabitants of Poitou expressed obedience to King Lothar. In 960, the queen mother laid siege to and took the fortified city of Dijon. After that she went to a monastery, although she continued to influence the affairs of the country.
She completed her restless earthly path as a ruler, wife, mother, warrior and nun, according to some sources, in 969, according to others - in 984. In any case, by that time the kingdom was already in the reliable hands of her son, and Herberg of Saxony left this world with a sense of accomplished duty …
Oleg TARAN