and angered the West-Frankish nobles. After the death of Hugh the Great in 956, Gerberga and her sister Hadwig (who was Hugh's widow) were the heads of the two most powerful dynasties in West Francia. Along with their brother, Bruno, who was both archbishop of Cologne and duke of Lotharingia, Gerberga and Hadwig ruled the kingdom, until Lothair came of age. As abbess In 959, after Lothair had come of age, Gerberga became abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Notre Dame in Soissons. Nevertheless, she remained politically active. In 961 she was involved in choosing the new archbishop of Reims, Odalric. In 965 she was present at the imperial court in Cologne, when her son Lothair married Emma of Italy, the step-daughter of her brother Emperor Otto I. Death There is some debate about when Gerberga died. She is last documented in May 968. Since necrology records indicate that she died on 5 May, her date of death is often given as 968 or 969. The death date of 5 May 968 is not possible since Gerberga was still alive on 17 May 968 so her death date could only be in 969 or later. Some maintain that Gerberga did not die until 984. She is buried in the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims, Champagne. References Sources Bouchard, Constance Brittain, Those of My Blood: Constructing Noble Families in Medieval Francia (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001). "Women in power 750-1000" from Guide2womenleaders.com, last accessed January 13, 2007 Jocundus, Translatio sancti Servatii Tungrensis episcopi et miracula, ed. R. Koepke, MGH SS 12 (Hannover, 1856), accessible online at: Monumenta Germaniae Historica W. Glocker, Die Verwandten der Ottonen und ihre Bedeutung in der Politik. Studien zur Familienpolitik und zur Genealogie des sächsischen Kaiserhauses (1989). D. Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln Neue Folge Band I. 1 A. Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band I, Teilband 1 External links Medieval Lands Project (in German) Gerberga von Sachsen (in German) |- 910s births 10th-century deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Carolingian dynasty Ottonian dynasty 10th-century French nuns 10th-century Saxon people German female regents 10th-century women rulers Christian abbesses French queens consort Frankish queens consort Burials at the Royal Abbey of Saint-Remi Women from the Carolingian Empire 10th-century German women Daughters of kings Queen mothers Remarried royal consorts