Ansbertus
Encyclopedia
Ansbertus was a mythical Gallo-Roman Senator. It is proposed by some modern genealogists, that he is the son of Ferreolus, Senator of Narbonne
and his wife Saint Dode
. This would perhaps make him the great-grandson of Sigimerus (son of Clodius) and the Duchess of (Ferreoluus Tonantius, a Roman Senator).
The much later Liber Historiae Francorum
states that an Ansbertus married Blithilde (also called Bilichilde), and that she was the daughter of "Lothar the father of Dagobert", and then continues the line to the Pippinids through his son Arnoald
and his grand-daughter Itta
(wife of Pepin of Landen).
in his History of the Kings of England, repeats the line, without naming his source.
The chronological problems with the line as presented, have led modern genealogists to try to re-construct the line in various ways to fix them.
, proposing the following offspring:
However the contemporary source The History of the Franks, by Gregory of Tours
, our main source on the Merovingians during the time of this supposed union, does not ascribe to Waldrada any children by her brief unmarried relationship with Chlothar.
Ferreolus, Senator of Narbonne
Ferreolus, also called Ferreolus of Rodez was a senator of Narbonne, then Narbo, who lived in Rodez and was also a senator there. He was the son of Tonantius Ferreolus and wife Industria....
and his wife Saint Dode
Dode, Abbess of Saint Pierre de Reims
Saint Dode was an Abbess of Saint Pierre de Reims and a French Saint whose Feast Day is April 24. She was the daughter of Chloderic, King of the Franks, and the sister of Munderic. She married ca...
. This would perhaps make him the great-grandson of Sigimerus (son of Clodius) and the Duchess of (Ferreoluus Tonantius, a Roman Senator).
The much later Liber Historiae Francorum
Liber Historiae Francorum
Liber historiae Francorum is a book that briefly starts as secondary source for early Franks in the time of Marcomer, and it gives a short breviarum of events until the time of the late Merovingians, where it becomes an important primary source of the contemporaneous history...
states that an Ansbertus married Blithilde (also called Bilichilde), and that she was the daughter of "Lothar the father of Dagobert", and then continues the line to the Pippinids through his son Arnoald
Arnoald
Arnoald, also called Arnoldus or Arnual , was a Bishop of Metz between 601 and 609 or 611, the successor of Agilulf, and a Margrave of Schelde. He was the son of Ansbertus, a Senator, and wife Blithilde....
and his grand-daughter Itta
Itta
Saint Itta was the wife of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia. Her brother was Saint Modoald, bishop of Trier. Her sister was abbess Saint Severa...
(wife of Pepin of Landen).
Chronological Problems
William of MalmesburyWilliam of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
in his History of the Kings of England, repeats the line, without naming his source.
The chronological problems with the line as presented, have led modern genealogists to try to re-construct the line in various ways to fix them.
Marriage and issue
Some modern reconstructions posit that Ansbertus' wife must be, instead of a daughter of Lothar II, a daughter of Lothar I and make her the offspring of his brief relationship with WaldradaWaldrada
Waldrada , widow of Theudebald, King of Austrasia , repudiated mistress of Chlothar I, King of the Franks , was the daughter of Wacho, King of the Lombards and his second wife called Austrigusa or Ostrogotha, a Gepid...
, proposing the following offspring:
- Arnual or Arnoldus or ArnoaldArnoaldArnoald, also called Arnoldus or Arnual , was a Bishop of Metz between 601 and 609 or 611, the successor of Agilulf, and a Margrave of Schelde. He was the son of Ansbertus, a Senator, and wife Blithilde....
, Bishop of Metz and Margrave of Schelde - Saint MundericMunderic of ArisitumSaint Munderic of Arisitum was a Coadjutor at the Diocese of Langres between 539 and 572 and later a Bishop of Arisitum circa 600. He was a son of Ansbertus, a Senator, and wife Blithilde.-References and citations:*Douglas J...
, Bishop of Arisitum - Tarsicius or Tarsice
- ErchinoaldErchinoaldErchinoald succeeded Aega as the mayor of the palace of Neustria in 641 and succeeded Flaochad in Burgundy in 642 and remained such until his death in 658. According to Fredegar, he was a relative of Dagobert I's mother...
, mayor of the palace of NeustriaNeustriaThe territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
However the contemporary source The History of the Franks, by Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
, our main source on the Merovingians during the time of this supposed union, does not ascribe to Waldrada any children by her brief unmarried relationship with Chlothar.
Sources
- "Europe after Rome : a new cultural history 500-1000", by Julia M H Smith, Oxford University Press 2005 : "The Carolingian dynasty...appropriated the Roman past into its ancestry by a genealogy that claimed that its sainted (and historically attested) founder, Arnulf of Metz (d.c. 643) was the grandson of the (mythical) Merovingian princess Blithild and her (equally mythical) husband Ansbert, hailed as a Roman senator."
- The Royal Ancestry Bible Royal Ancestors of 300 Colonial American Families by Michel L. Call (chart 2074) ISBN 1-933194-22-7
- Weis, Frederick Lewis Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonist Who Came To America Before 1700 (7th ed.), lines 180 (all) & 190-9
- New England Historic and Genealogical Register 101:112
- Christian SettipaniChristian SettipaniChristian Settipani is the Technical Director of an IT company in Paris and a genealogist and historian.He has a Master of Advanced Studies degree from the Paris-Sorbonne University and is currently preparing his doctoral thesis, while he often gives lectures to students undergraduates at the...
, Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne (France: Éditions Christian, 1989). - Christian SettipaniChristian SettipaniChristian Settipani is the Technical Director of an IT company in Paris and a genealogist and historian.He has a Master of Advanced Studies degree from the Paris-Sorbonne University and is currently preparing his doctoral thesis, while he often gives lectures to students undergraduates at the...
, Continuite Gentilice et Continuite Familiale Dans Les Familles Senatoriales Romaines A L'epoque Imperiale, Mythe et Realite, Addenda I-III (juillet 2000-octobre 2002) (n.p.: Prosopographica et Genealogica, 2002). - Various Monumenta Germaniae Historica volumes (Leipzig: Verlag Karl W. Hiersemann, 1923–1925).