, Adelaide Of Paris

Adélaïde of Paris (or Aélis) (c. 850/853 – 10 November 901) was thesecond wife of Louis the Stammerer, King of Western Francia, and was themother of Princess Ermentrude and King Charles the Simple.

Adelaide was the daughter of the count palatine Adalard of Paris. Hergreat-grandfather was Bégon, Count of Paris. Her great-grandmother,Alpaïs, wife of Bégon, was the illegitimate daughter of Louis the Piousby an unnamed mistress.

Adelaide was chosen by Charles the Bald, King of Western Francia, tomarry his son and heir, Louis the Stammerer, despite the fact that Louishad secretly married Ansgarde of Burgundy against the wishes of hisfather. Although Louis and Ansgarde already had two children, Louis andCarloman, Charles prevailed upon Pope John VIII, to dissolve the union.This accomplished, Charles married his son to Adelaide in February 875.

However, the marriage was called into question because of the closeblood-kinship of the pair. When on 7 September 878 the pope crowned Louis(who had succeeded his father in the previous year), the pope refused tocrown Adelaide.[1]

When Louis the Stammerer died in Compiegne on 10 April 879, Adelaide waspregnant, giving birth on 17 September 879, to Charles the Simple.[2] Thebirth of this child led to a dispute between Adelaide and Ansgarde.Ansgarde and her sons accused Adelaide of adultery; Adelaide in turndisputed the right of Ansgarde''s sons to inherit. Eventually, Adelaidesucceeded in winning the case; but despite this, Ansgarde''s sons Louisand Carloman remained kings until their deaths without heirs in 882 and884 respectively, with the crown then being contested between Odo, Countof Paris and Charles the Fat.

Charles eventually succeeded to his father''s throne in 898; his motherassisted in crowning him. She died in Laon on 10 November 901 and wasburied in the Abbey of Saint-Corneille, Compiègne, Picardy.[3]