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Birth:          ABT  800 Bavaria
Death:          19 Apr  843 Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_of_Bavaria_(died_843)
Queen Judith (797/805  – 19 April 843), also known as Judith of Bavaria, was the 
daughter of Count Welf of Bavaria and Saxon noblewoman, Hedwig. She was the 
second wife of Louis the Pious, King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans, which 
brought her the titles of queen and empress. Marriage to Louis marked the beginning 
of her rise as an influential figure in the Carolingian court. She had two children with 
Louis, a daughter Gisela and a son, Charles the Bald. The birth of her son led to a 
major dispute over the imperial succession, and tensions between her and Charles' 
half-brothers from Louis' first marriage. She would eventually fall from grace when 
Charles' wife, the new empress Ermentrude of Orléans, rose to power. She was buried 
in 846 in Tours.
Date and place of birth[edit]

No surviving sources provide a record of Judith’s exact date and year of birth. Judith 
was probably born between 797[1] and 805,[2] given that girls in the Carolingian world 
would be eligible for marriage at around the age of twelve,[1] and her marriage to King 
Louis occurred in 819.

Kin group/ancestry[edit]

Judith was the daughter of the noble Saxon Heilwig and Count Welf I, and belonged 
to the ancestor of the kin-group known to historians as the Welfs. Though the Welf 
clan was noble, they were not part of the '"Imperial Aristocracy'" (Reichsaristokratie) 
that dominated high office throughout the Carolingian empire. The Welf clan's leaders, 
having lost influence in their home region of Alemannia (present-day southwestern 
Germany and northern Switzerland) eventually rose to power though cementing familial 
ties with the Carolingian Imperial Aristocracy in the 770s.[1] Nonetheless, they 
remained a part of the upper aristocracy (Hochadel) of their region, given the 
numerous appearance of the noble titles of ducal (duke) and comital (counts) in 
primary sources. This noble status made Judith a suitable marriage prospect for the 
imperial family,[1] and the Welf clan as a whole saw its prestige and power increase 
after Judith’s marriage to the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious in 819.
Children[edit]

Judith had two children with Louis. Her first child was a daughter named Gisela, born 
in 820. Gisela would eventually be married off by Judith to Eberhard of Friuli, a 
significant supporter of Lothar. Gisela was the mother of Berengar I.[8]

After having spent most of her second pregnancy in Frankfurt, she had another child 
named Charles, who was born on June 13, 823. More commonly known as "Charles 
the Bald", he would eventually become emperor, following in the footsteps of his 
father Louis. The birth of Charles had a significant effect on Judith's life, because 
Charles was the only male heir of Louis' second marriage. His birth put the ordinatio 
imperii and its designations for successor under question. The ordinatio imperii 
outlined that only a full heir could rule, but since there were several viable candidates 
that met the requirements, (mainly Lothar, Peppin and Louis the German from the 
marriage to Ermengard and Charles from the marriage to Judith) an eventual strain on 
rightful succession was inevitable. Consequently, it became of the utmost importance 
for Judith to secure the throne for her son and protect him from the attacks and 
threats that his half-brothers posed. Lothar, being the most prominent and the oldest 
of Ermengard children, presented the greatest threat to Judith and Charles. Yet, 
realizing this, Judith selected Lothar as Charles' godfather. This strategic move meant 
Charles would have a political tie in the eventual disputes succession that would 
inevitably follow Louis' death.
Disgrace and exile[edit]

Judith was left alone in 830 in Aachen, as Louis decided to undertake a campaign into 
Brittany. The campaign itself, however, was greatly opposed, because of its 
difficulties. Some of the magnates attempted to alter the attitudes of the people and 
turn them against Louis. The plot was to dispose Louis the Pious, “to destroy their 
stepmother and kill Bernard”.[13]

Prior to Easter Week in 830 (17–24 April) Pippin, with Lothar's consent, and with a 
large proportion of the people "took away from the Emperor his royal power, and also 
his wife". Judith was veiled ("the female equivalent of tonsuring rival claimants to the 
throne"[13] and sent to the convent of St Radegund at Poitiers in the same year.

At an assembly held on 1 October at Nijmegen, between the Emperor, the Saxons and 
East Franks, it was adjudged, by "all the bishops, abbots, counts and other Franks" 
that Judith, even though she was taken unjustly, should be brought back and made to 
either stand trial for any crime she may have committed to "undergo the judgment of 
the Franks".[13]

In 831, around the 1st of February Judith stood trial at the assembly arranged by the 
Lord Emperor. At the assembly she "declared her willingness to purge herself on all 
the charges levelled against her". No one was found in the general assembly who 
wanted to charge her for any crime. She purged herself, by the customs of the Franks, 
of all the things that she had been accused of.[13]

Later life[edit]

Louis' restoration to the throne and Judith's return[edit]

In 833 Louis heard news of his sons, Pippin, Lothar and Louis the German, allying in 
order to orchestrate a revolt against him. Louis failed to prevent the revolt and was 
overthrown, resulting in Lothar seizing power.[8] For Judith the coup resulted in her 
exile in Italy at the civitas of Tortona.[13] Louis spent the next year in Aachen as a 
captive of Lothar. Pippin and Louis the German, however, condemned the treatment of 
their father by Lothar and in 834 summoned armies from Aquitaine, Bavarians, 
Austrasians, Saxons, Alemans and the Franks to rise up against Lothar. Hearing of the 
vast armies approaching him Lothar fled, leaving his father behind. Louis thus 
regained control and offered to forgive Lothar for his actions. Lothar, however, 
scorned the offer. It was during this turbulent political to-and-fro that followers of 
Louis the Pious who were in Italy, Bishop Ratold, Count Boniface and Pippin among 
them, heard of a plot to kill Judith. With their help Judith escaped and returned to 
Aachen in the same year.[13]

Death of Louis and Judith's career as widow[edit]

Louis died in 840 at his palace in Ingelheim, leaving Judith a widow. She, however, 
continued to support her son Charles in his military campaigns and endeavours, 
gathering troops from Aquentine in 841. In April of that same year Charles received his 
crown and all of his royal attire, which contemporaries of the time herald as a divine 
act.[4] Most likely, however, Judith was well aware of Charles's location and had sent 
the royal artifacts to meet up with her son.

Death[edit]

Charles married Ermentrude in 842 and fathered a daughter, Judith of Flanders, in 844, 
named after his mother. This marriage, however, proved futile for Judith's career, 
power and influence. With the introduction of a new queen Judith became of ex officio 
importance, resulting in her forced retirement as well as withdrawal of the lands and 
wealth under her control. Her health began to fail in 842, and she died on the 19th of 
April 843 in Tours, outliving her husband by three years, after more than a year of ill 
health, including coughing and dizziness. It is believed that she was around 40 years 
of age when she died, her husband had been closer to 62.[3] She was buried at the 
Basilica of Saint Martin, Tours.[1]

Parents
OF ALEMANNIA Welf (Guelph) (ABT  776 - ABT  825)
OF SAXONY Hedwig (Edith) (Eigilwich) (Heilwig) (ABT  780 - 19 Apr  843)

Siblings
____ Conrad I (ABT  800 - 16 Feb  863)
OF BAVARIA Judith (ABT  800 - 19 Apr  843)
____ Rudolph (ABT  805 - 6 Jan  866)
OF BAVARIA Emma (ABT  806 - 31 Jan  876)

Marriage To ____ Louis I "the Pious" "the Fair" (Aug  778 - 20 Jun  840)
    m. Feb  819 

Notes

Parents
____ Charlemagne (2 Apr  747 - 28 Jan  814)
OF VINZGAU Hildegarde ( 758 - 30 Apr  783)

Children by ____ Louis I "the Pious" "the Fair" Aug  778 - 20 Jun  840
____ Gisela (ABT  820 - 1 Jul  874)
____ Charles II "the Bald" (13 Jun  823 - 6 Oct  877)

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