Okay, now that we're back from that 10 minute break here is how the rest of the class-time will breakdown. I will lecture about our second individual. Then we will have a brief discussion on what we talked about today. Before I forget, I will also want a short two paragraph piece due next class on how some of the items in your readings tied into what I lectured about.
Oh quit complaining! Two good quality paragraphs are something you can knockout in half-an-hour. Now, let's begin.
Anselm II de Chaumontois
Lived: 782 - 840
King of Frisia: 792 - 840
Duke of Holland: 792 - 840
Duke of Brabant: 792 - 820
Duke of Flanders: 823 - 840
Anselm married twice in his life. His first marriage, which occurred soon after he came of age, was to Arianhod ferch Brochfael Morgannwg, the daughter of Petty King Brochfael "the Chaste" of Deheubarth and the sister of the then Petty King, Gwriad "the Just." Together, the two of them had eight children:
* Adallina b. 799
* Anselm b. 800
* Arcambald b. 804
* Theutbald b. 804
* Pharamond b. 805
* Hubert b. 810
* Ellijnore b. 818
* Antoon b. 823
There are also two bastards that he recognized during his life from two different lovers. With Ladina de Holland, a courtier of his court, he had one daughter:
* Ladina Anselmsdochter b. 826
His other lover was Theodorada de Sarno, the daughter of Baron Hucpert of Sarno in the county of Salerno. She had originally been married to Anselm's nephew Guillabert de Chaumontois, the son of Anselm's sister Fredegunde. He had died in battle with vikings in 811 at the age of 18. Anselm then married her to Sinop de Ath, a courtier in his court. When Sinop died of old age around May 823, Anselm married her to Walter van Nieuwpoort. The man has become rather famous in his own right in dutch history and culture and was even rather well-known in his day. He was was a little person, at the time called a dwarf, but was known to be skilled in martial pursuits and was even Anselm's Marshal until his death in 828. As you can clearly see, Anselm used all the power at his disposal to keep Theodorada in his court. According to the few accounts we have of her, she was known to be a very beautiful woman as well as one that was very charming and charismatic, which are probably the reasons Anselm was attracted to her. Anselm's wife Arianhod's known break with sanity later in life probably helped spur his extramarital affairs. I do not condone Anselm's actions, but that is how the events have been read by historians for centuries. We don't know how early their affair started, but Anselm was an honest man and like with Ladina openly acknowledged his daughter from his relationship with the woman:
* Ansa de Chaumontois b. 838
However, given their relationship and how early she had been at his court and made to stay with the numerous marriages, some wondered if one of her other children may also have been fathered by Anselm. It was speculated for centuries that Theodorada's son Count Sinop de Ath of Artois was also Anselm's son. There have been several accounts of the slight resemblance between the King and the Count, as well as the even more marked resemblance between the Count and Anselm's grandson and successor Anselm III. It was also noted that Anselm rarely gave out titles, but he only did so to family. The only three exceptions being to Theutbald de Dorestad granted Ostfriesland, Robrecht van Loon granted the county of Jülich and Sinop de Ath the County of Artois in 839. Sinop himself was known to be rather cynical and was considered a genius for his day. There are several comments that have made it to us though the years attributed to him that hint at the truth. He had either figured it out or had it revealed to him by his mother. DNA testing in the last decade has shown definitively that Sinop was directly related to Anselm in such a close match that he must be his son. Even though he was known for his honesty, it is thought that Anselm and Theodorada kept the matter secret to protect both her and her husband's honor; Ansa being born after all of Theodorada's husbands were dead did not need the truth of her parentage hidden. As such:
* Count Sinop de Ath of Artois b. 823
After the death of Arianhod in 835 Anselm married Waldrud Theudebaldsdochter de Namur, the daughter of Duke Theudelbald of Gelre. While no children came from this union, it is thought that he married her to tie one of his vassals into a closer relationship with the crown.
Early Life and Regency:
Anselm had been important to his father, being the only son and heir. It is known that King Anselm I himself began fostering and teaching the boy when he first became old enough. However, with the death of Anselm I from leprosy, Anselm II both lost his father and tutor and came to the throne at the young age of 10. The regency was first taken by Mayor Gadulf of Hoorn, a trusted vassal of Anselm I, as well as a loyal one. In honor to his services to the crown, Anselm II had a plot of land set aside for Gadulf and his family's burial needs. This plot of land is still the main cemetery of Hoorn today and is named Gadulf Cemetery in his honor. Anselm had since the age of 6 been tutored and fostered by his father. With his father's death he was first tutored by Creada, his second eldest sister, until her marriage to Sicland Nibelunging (the later King Sicland of Theoderingia). Creada would leave just across the border for Middle Francia, which would within Anselm's lifetime change to become the Kingdom of Theoderingia. The country being named for the successor of King Karl to that throne, King Theoderic. Afterwards, he was raised by his eldest sister Fredegunde, with whom he continued to hold a good relationship until her death years later. When Mayor Gadulf died at the end of 797 it was Fredegunde herself who became regent for her younger brother. Anselm's mother was remarried to King Guillaume I of Middle Francia/Theoderingia helping to cement the alliance between the two countries. The short regency ended at the start of the year 798 when Anselm reached his majority.
The Start of the Viking Age:
It was early into the reign of Anselm II that the Viking Age began. Due to the rising populations in Scandanavia, the rise of boat building technologies and skills among the peoples, and the need for resources (especially gold), an explosion of raiders left the north in droves to plunder the coasts of Western Europe down into even the Mediterranean. Frisia's location, just south of Sjælland and west of Saxony, meant that it was a prime target for Viking raiders. The two counties of Brugge and Gent were especially lucrative. The various accounts of the time give a dreadful idea of what Anselm II had to deal with from a young age until the days of his death. Every county of Frisia, save Brabant, Hainaut, Orléans, and later Artois suffered the scourge of viking raiders during his reign. Unlike some other states at this time, Anselm was able to effectively stave off attacks rather well. Only the general countryside would suffer in these attacks while the more well defended castles, cities, and bishoprics would remain unscathed, needing to be sieged and breached to gain the treasures within. The only castle to be sacked and looted by vikings in Anselm's whole reign was Évreux, of the county of the same name, in September 836. Count Pharamond de Chaumontois of Évreux, Anselm's son, was unable to gather up enough forces to break the siege and Anselm himself was at war and unable to assist his son until it was too late.
The thousands of men in the near 100 raids that took place over Anselm II's 48 year reign came from many different areas across Scandinavia. From some documents, we know that a few vikings were even captured. A Holmger of Alva, which is thought to be his dynastic name and not a place, had been captured and then ransomed in the spring of 798. Þorstein Skjöldung the Chief of Slesvig, located on the Jutland Peninsula, was captured in the summer of 799. These were just the first of many. It has been determined that these viking attacks originated from all across Jutland and the Southern Scandinavian Peninsula and as far away as Iceland.
The constant raids saw Anselm II continue the policies of his father by constructing and expanding the fortifications and keeps of the already existing castles in the country. The need for protection also saw the beginning of several new castle-towns and church-towns or the growth of ones that existed from Anselm I's era. The castle-town Vlaardingen, built around the castle of the same name, grew into a big city in its own right. The first documents supporting this date back to around 812. This was probably helped by the fact Vlaardingen was Anselm I's capital and Anselm II's for much of his reign before moving it to Sluys in Brugge. Like Vlaardingen before it, Sluys would develop into a major city around the 830s.
The Rise of Dutch Culture:
Dutch Culture, by which I mostly mean a distinct Dutch language and customs, first started appearing in Anselm I's reign in the counties of the Duchy of Gelre, which belonged to Princess Frotlina of France, King Pepin "the Blind's" daughter. Dutch can be viewed as a melting pot culture and language. A mix of the Frisian and Frankish cultures. Frankish is a Central Germanic culture and Frisian a West Germanic one related to the Saxon and Anglo-Saxon cultures in the nearby area. Dutch was a mix of these languages and cultures into something new. Anselm II could see that the population of his country was slowly transitioning to Dutch. Early on in his reign, as early as 808, it is believed he fully embraced Dutch language and culture. It was under his guidance that most of his sons became Dutch as did most of his personal demense around the Rhine River. The transition of Frankish and Frisian to Dutch would be a lengthy one, yet this is the reason why the Dutch consider him to be the first Dutch king.
The First Dutch Pope:
I briefly want to mention to that during Anselm's reign Frisia and the Dutch saw a rise in prominence on the religious front. In 809, a lowborn bishop, Tancrad of Beauvais was made the country's first Cardinal. Anselm had a good relationship with the man and was happy for him and what it meant in the growing importance of Frisia in Christendom. This became even more important because after a small Papal Interregnum Tancrad was elected Pope on 23 July 811. He took the regnal name Julius II. He only ruled for a little over a year, until his death on 2 August 812, but if that isn't an example of the growing influence of Frisia on the world I don't know what is.
Expansion:
King Pepin "the Blind" died in the summer of 801 of an infection to the wound he had suffered in the Independence Wars. With his death, West Francia split into the kingdoms of France, under King Sigobert "the Fat" of the Leudoni dynasty, and Germany, under King Hermeneld I of the Hermenelds dynasty, with Theoderingia in the middle. Unlike the borders of countries today, the map of Gaul at the time was a hodge-podge with different counties and even entire duchies being owned by various powers or even being independent of the major kingdoms. With West Francia's final collapse a power vacuum formed. Everyone not only jockeyed for position as to who would be the preeminent power of the area, but states warred over de jure provinces of their realms or just over grudges and opportunities for expansion. Anselm joined in opportunistically to gain de jure parts of his realm held by other powers.
Anselm fought several wars for territory in his life. The first with France in 802. King Sigobert "the Fat" had declared war on Gascogne over the county of Tours, he was at war with his vassal trying to revoke the county of Évreux, and was facing a two pronged attack by the Chief of Onsbruck in Saxony and the Jarl of Sjælland over the county of Ostfriesland. With his armies and attention so divided, Anselm declared war for the county of Friesland, a de jure part of Frisia. Anselm was able to capture the county handily and even went and mucked around in Sigobert's war revoking Évreux by forcibly taking the holdings in the county the King had taken control of. This ended up prolonging as small dispute between vassal and liege into a war that would last for over a decade.
After the war with France was won, Anselm saw Sjælland had been able to take Ostfriesland from France. The pious zealot that he was, Anselm declared a holy war for the territory in 806 against Alfgeir Skjöldung. Yes, that Alfgeir Skjöldung. In fact, he would crown himself King of Noregr soon after this war was finished. And, don't worry, we will be getting into the pagan invasions after this segment. It was a short war and a victorious one for Anselm, who had added all of the Duchy of Gelre to his realm save the titular county itself. With the viking raids still being a constant and needing to replenish his troops after two consecutive if brief wars, Anselm took a break from aggressive expansion. Of course, you then had the Noregr/Danmark and Saxon invasions of France and Germany but I will cover them in a moment.
In March of 810, Anselm inherited Jülich from his cousin, Countess Ermengardis. She had been the daughter of Agnerald, the younger brother of Anselm I. She had been Duchess of Luxembourg with all the territory of that realm. Unfortunately, she had rebelled against King Guillaume I of Middle Francia and lost. Her ducal title and the county of Luxembourg were stripped from her; the Kings of Middle Francia/Theoderingia keeping it for themselves. She remained Countess of Jülich even though she was imprisoned by her king. She was between the age of 10 - 13 when she was imprisoned. She died in March 810 at the age of 38 having spent over 25 years under her king's hospitality. She had never married and never had children. Anselm I and later Anselm II had been her direct heirs.
Anselm II's next expansion war was against both France and Germany. Fought between the years 817 and 826. This war was for Gelre and Artois respectively. He was able to knock Germany out of the war first with his prize in hand. He had declared war on Germany because King Hermeneld II, King Hermeneld I had died of poor health in the early months of 815, was imprisoned by King Alfgeir Skjöldung "the Victorius" of Noregr and Danmark at the time. The war with France ended abruptly when, in the spring of 826, King Sigobert himself was captured by Anselm in battle.
This next piece of expansion requires some backstory first. A religious uprising had taken place in France specifically in the duchy of Orléans around the year 824. By the year 826 they had won their war against King Sigobert and gained their independence. There is a misconception that this and the successful uprising in Asturias a few decades previous were Fraticelli heretics. This is not true, or at least not completely. Fraticellism came about from a religious order of monks in the 12th and 13th centuries. However, it would not be wrong to say that the ideas of Faberism and Orléanism or Rohanism were not precursors to the later movement. The former was named for the Faberi family that espoused these beliefs in Asturias and later the Kingdom of Galicia. Orléanism or Rohanism, there is some contention among historians as to which term should be used, is named for the location of the uprising and its powerbase or the leader of the revolt and later Petty King of Orléans, Huiarabili de Rohan, respectively. After a brief war in 834, the county of Évreux was taken from Petty King Huiarabili.
The final war was another with Germany, started in 835 and lasting until 839, a year before Anselm II's death. This was fought over the county of Boulogne, which was actually the capital of Germany at the time. Germany called in many allies including Venice. We know this specifically because Patrician Encagilio of Antenoreo was one among many captured at the devastating Battle of Montreuil. Another important figure captured during the war was Hermut Hermenelds, King Hermeneld's brother. However, having gained control of the county, captured important figures on the opposing side, and bested Germany and its allies on the battlefield; Frisia won the war. The outcome of this war saw all Frisian de jure territory under its control save for the county of Guines still under control of France, and saw Germany lose it's last territory outside of Central Europe save for the county of La Marche in South Central Gaul.
The Pagan Invasions:
After the creation of the Kingdom of Noregr in 806 it is clear King Alfgeir wanted to expand his realm further. He already possessed Noregr and was King of Danmark in all but name. However, he gazed enviously at the rich realms of the Christian lords to the South. There was fear in much of the area about the vikings and if the raids may become something worse. A major drop off in viking raids in 808 by all accounts had Anselm believing this was a calm before a storm. While it wasn't directed at him, he was right. In 809, King Alfgeir made it known he was going to invade the areas of Burgundy, which belonged to France at the time. It was mostly the area East of the Rhône River and West of Lombardy. King Alfgeir called on several allies, as well as gathering many men hoping for glorious battle, and landed in Provence with what estimates put at nearly 10,000 men. King Sigobert did get help in the war. The various Breton Counts all raised troops. King Hermenld I of Germany joined the war as well. Anselm II offered to join early on, but the sudden upsurge in viking raids after the calm year of 808 had him staying home in his territories most of the war to defend them from the looting and sieges. It would not be until 814 that Anselm could send troops, but by then it was much too late. Most of the area had been captured by the Norse and even with the added troops of Frisia and Theoderingia, which had been dealing with a civil war for independence as well as a revolt by some vassals for more privileges and could not spare troops until then, were still heavily outnumbered. A French peasant revolt in 815 only added to Sigobert's problems. By the end of 816, King Alfgeir Skjöldung won his war and gained his nickname of "the Victorious." Not that it would matter too much. He died not that long after and his siblings and children warred over who should sit on the throne. His son Borkvard would create the Kingdom of Danmark in 817 becoming the first King of Noregr-Danmark. Still, it was a turbulent time for the Norse who had at least 4 kings in 4 years.
In the late 820s it became known that the then Grand Chief of Saxony, Wolter Theodericing, was going to invade all of Germany. The invasion began in 827. Many of the same states that had allied with France during the Norse invasion allied with Germany in this war. This time, Anselm made sure he was not going to lose to the heathens because he hired mercenaries. With his troops and mercenaries as well as the other allied forces he was able to face the opposing armies head-on. It is said that the Saxon forces and their allies were being led by the legendary Norsemen, of questionable historicity, Ragnarr Loðbrok. Regardless of who was leading the forces, it was estimated that roughly 20,000 men met in battle. The May 830 Battle of Nassau has gone down as one of the greatest battles of the Medieval Period. The Saxon-Norse coalition lost over half of their men with the rest of the war, going into 831, being the pursuit and routing of the remaining forces. The whole tempo of the war changed with Anselm's intervention. While King Hermeneld II would hate Anselm for taking Artois and later Boulogne, both having been personal holdings of the King, Anselm is viewed much more positively by the German peoples today. As for Grand Chief Wolter of Saxony, the devastating defeat led to multiple revolts and civil wars and the eventual conquest by a Slavic Pomeranian Count who would make himself the first actual King of Saxony.
Death:
Anselm II died a natural death in April 840 at the age of 58. It was known that he was planning yet another war with France in the hopes of taking Guines. His son and original heir Anselm had died after a period of illness in May 835 at the age of 35. He had been married to Countess Bertrada of Maine, a daughter of King Grifo II of Bavaria and younger sister of Queen Audofleda of Bavaria. Bertrada herself had died earlier in April 824 at the age of 22. Their son Anselm (b. 824) became Count of Maine months after his birth with his father as steward and later his tutor. It would be just months after coming of age that Count Anselm of Maine would receive the news of his grandfather's death and would be crowned King Anselm III of Frisia.
Legacy:
Anselm II is considered to be every bit the equal of his father as well as an example to live by when it came to monarchs of the Middle Ages. The Dutch venerate him just as much for his successes as they do for him being the first Dutch King. The Germans hold him in high esteem for saving them from the Saxon pagans. While he built off of his father's start, he left behind a well protected realm with several large cities and fortified castles. The military might of Frisia, counting all his vassals, was estimated to be at the time of his death the 8th largest army West of China. Here is a printout of that chart:
Anselm is fairly well known by the general public as well as historical circles today. Over the centuries he has appeared in several pieces of popular culture, but in more recent years the subject matter of such fare has generally come to be dominated by his life behind closed doors instead of out on the battlefields. Not that this is new given at least two plays from the 17th century detailing his love life with Queen Arianhod and Theodorada. Anselm was an honest and zealous man but also a scholar. What is believed to be a correspondence between him and Pope Julius II is owned by the Papacy and has been translated and made available to the public, though it is mostly theological discussion. Whether it be as a scholar, lover, or warrior, Anselm II is considered to have been a great King. A future Frisian monarch has said that, "Unlike other rulers, Anselm II needs no nickname. The greatness of his actions and character show that if you are speaking of an Anselm it will be assumed it is him."
P
olitical Map of Gaul at the Time of King Anselm II's Death, 840
This marks the end of the Frisian/Dutch portion of our lessons, at least for now. We may see the Kingdom of Frisia again, even if only in a peripheral fashion. Please read the chapters assigned in your syllabus for next time. I will be here for a few more minutes, plus in my office for the next hour or two, if you have any questions.
OOC: Hi everyone! If you are liking what I am doing please let me know! I really don't know where exactly I want to go next so if you have any suggestions please post them. I'm personally thinking either the British Isles, one of the now free Burgundian Counts, or a pagan realm but we'll see. I do need to go into Theoderingia and change the name (and make sure it doesn't become a theocracy with them going after Reims which is revolting against King Sigobert..