Chrodbert (count palatine of Chlothar III)
Chrodbert (also known as Chrodbert II or Robert II to distinguish him from his great-uncle known sometimes as Chrodbert I) (d. after 678) was a nobleman from Neustria. He was grand-nephew to Chrodbert I, Référendaire to Clovis II. Chrodbert was Lord Chancellor during the reign of Chlothar III, King of the Franks in Neustria, as well as Référendaire. He was a contemporary of Ansbert of Rouen, who was also a Lord Chancellor to Clotaire III. Chrodbert was named Count palatine (comes palatines) on 2 October 678.
He was at the court of Clovis II in 654 and opposed Erchinoald, Mayor of the Palace, to little avail. He supported Ebroin against Leodegar, who had the latter’s eyes put out. He became Count palatine and then chancellor to Clothar III.
Chrodbert married Théodrade (Théoda) and they had many children, some of which are likely their grandchildren
- Chariivius (Hervé), Nobleman of Hesbaye (some say Count of Laon), married to Irmina, daughter of Hugobert. Their son (name unknown) married Bertrada of Prüm, and therefore was a great-grandfather of Charlemagne.
- Lambert, Count of Hesbaye
- Rupert of Salzburg, Bishop of Worms
- Chrotgar, Duke of Le Mans, whose son Charivius was an ancestor of the Rorgonids
- Lambert, Bishop of Liège
- Ragobert (d. 678)
- Folchaid, married Theodo of Bavaria.
Settipani identifies the first four of these children as the sons of an unnamed son of Chrodbert. However, given the status of these individuals, it seems unlikely that their father would have remained unknown. Grimbert, Count palatine, is credited as being a son of Chrodbert although there is little evidence to support that. Some histories show Lambert, Count of Hesbaye, as son of Chrodbert, others as the son of Hervé. Chrodbert is believed to be a direct ancestor of the Robertians who ruled France from the eighth century through the reign of Robert II the Pious in the eleventh century.
References
Bibliography
- Settipani, Christian, Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne, Paris, 1989
- Settipani, Christian, "Addendum to the Ancestors of Charlemagne"
- Medieval Lands Project, Chrodbert II
- Gerberding, Richard A., The Rise of the Carolingians and the Liber Hisgtoriae Francorum, Oxford University Press, 1987
- Claussen, M. A., The Reform of the Frankish Church: Chrodegang of Metz and the Regula Canonicorum in the Eighth Century, Cambridge University Press, 2004