by his son, Louis. Charles was a prince of education and letters, a friend of the church, and conscious of the support he could find in the episcopate against his unruly nobles, for he chose his councillors from among the higher clergy, as in the case of Guenelon of Sens, who betrayed him, and of Hincmar of Reims. Baldness It has been suggested that Charles's nickname was used ironically and not descriptively; i.e. that he was not in fact bald, but rather that he was extremely hairy. An alternative or additional interpretation is based on Charles's initial lack of a regnum. "Bald" would in this case be a tongue-in-cheek reference to his landlessness, at an age where his brothers already had been sub-kings for some years. Contemporary depictions of his person, e.g., in his Bible of 845, on his seal of 847 (as king) as well as on his seal of 875 (as emperor) show him with a full head of hair, as does the equestrian statuette (c. 870) thought to depict him. The Genealogy of Frankish Kings, a text from Fontanelle dating from possibly as early as 869, and a text without a trace of irony, names him as Karolus Calvus ("Charles the Bald"). Certainly, by the end of the 10th century, Richier of Reims and Adhemar of Chabannes refer to him in all seriousness as "Charles the Bald". Marriages and children Charles married Ermentrude, daughter of Odo I, Count of Orléans, in 842. She died in 869. In 870, Charles married Richilde of Provence, who was descended from a noble family of Lorraine. With Ermentrude: Judith (c. 843 – after 866), married first King Ethelwulf of Wessex, second his son King Ethelbald, and third Baldwin I, Margrave of Flanders Louis the Stammerer (846–879) Charles the Child (847–866) Lothair the Lame (848–866), monk in 861, became Abbot of Saint-Germain Carloman (849–876) Rotrude (852–912), a nun, Abbess of Saint-Radegunde Ermentrud (854–877), a nun, Abbess of Hasnon Hildegarde (born 856, died young) Gisela (857–874) Godehilde (864–907) With Richilde: Rothilde (871–929), married firstly to Hugues, Count of Bourges and secondly to Roger, Count of Maine. Drogo (872–873) Pippin (873–874) a son (born and died 875) Charles (876–877) See also First Bible of Charles the Bald Crown of Charlemagne Capitularies of Charles the Bald Engelram, Chamberlain of France Notes References External links Carolus Calvus Francorum Rex, Patrologia Latina |- 823 births 877 deaths