Charibert (Neustria) von Neustria (abt. 590 - abt. 636)

Born about 0590 in Kingdom of Neustria, France

Descendants

Died about 0636 at about age 46 in Kingdom of Neustria, France

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Charibert (Neustria) von Neustria was a member of aristocracy in ancient Europe. Join: Medieval Project Discuss: medieval

Biography

Charibert or Charibertus, a nobleman (nobilis) in Neustria (Neustrie or Neustrien) is listed in some sources^[1] as the oldest ancestor of the Capetian dynasty of France. However there appears to be no primary sources that confirm his existence.^[2]

Dates

Although all the sources agree on a date of about 636 (sometimes before this date, sometimes after) when he died, there is little agreement about when he possibly was born; dates ranging from 555 to 600. Given that the life expectancy of an adult male during this period was about 40-50 years,^[3] a date towards the upper end of this range would be expected, hence the selection of 590 for his birth date.

Name

Charibert is often referred to as from Hesbaye or Haspengau, but although his 3 X great grandson would be Dux im Haspengau, Charibert himself seems to have nothing to do with this territrory as he is only known as being from Neustria (the North Western area of France, whereas Hesbaye was in Austrasia (the North East of France, and part of modern Belgium).

Charibert is sometimes confused with Charibert, Count of Laon, the father of Bertrada or Berta, the mother of Charlemagne, but he would have been born about a 100 years later.

He is also at times confused with Charibert I, and Charibert II, Kings of the Franks from the Merovingian dynasty, see below under the Supposed Parents section for more details.

Family

The wife of Charibert is unknown (see below) but he is possibly the father of the following children:^[4]

1. Chrodbert or Chrodbertus or Robert (I), also nobilis in Neustria;
2. Haltbert or Albert;
3. Erlebert, had issue
   1. Lambert, Abbot of Fontanelle, Bishop of Lyon;
4. Daughter unnamed.

Supposed wife

Charibert supposedly married his cousin, Wulfgurd (also Wulfgard or Wulgrud) of Paris,^[5] but just as there appears to be no sources for Charibert, there are also no primary sources for Wulfgurd. Her existence is doubtful.

Supposed parents

As mentioned above, Charibert if he existed is the end of the line ancestor of the Capetian dynasty. However this hasn't prevented many online genealogies from proposing a father or parents, none of which have any valid sources and all are highly unlikely.

Some of the most frequently seen include;

• Tassilo I (Tassilon) of Bavaria

• Clothar I (also Chlothachar or Clotaire), King of the Franks, and his wife/mistress Ingundis (Ingonde). Although they did have a son Charibert I, King of the Franks (born circa 517, died 567),^[6] there is no record of another son with the same name, and Charibert I is obviously from a slightly earlier time period.

• Clothar II, King of the Franks, is also sometimes mentioned as his father, probably because he also had a son Charibert, who succeeded as Charibert II, KIng of the Franks in Aquitaine from 629 but died in 631 or 632 probably still in his early teens.^[7] Although he is in the right time period, apart from the name there is nothing else to connect him with Charibert, nobilis de Neustrie.

Research Note

Other References: There is an interesting discussion on the supposed genetic analysis of Louis XVI and how that might link back to his ancestors, but there are no conclusions see here [1]

Sources

1. ↑ Schwennicke; Stuart, line 169, p. 126; many online genealogies
2. ↑ Cawley, Charles, 'Franks, Merovingian Nobility: Chapter 4G Merovingian Counts, 7th Century' version 3.0, 30 May 2014, in Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families (http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/FRANKSMaiordomi.htm#_Toc359686226 : accessed 19 April 2015)
3. ↑ Gilleard, p. 1067; he is actually discussing the slightly later Carolingian period but he does mention the Merovingian rulers whose mean age at death was 34 years
4. ↑ Schwennicke, names all 4 children; Cawley, only names the first 3, and only indicates they are brothers, not the sons of Charibert
5. ↑ Stuart, lIne 169, p. 126; also on many online genealogies
6. ↑ Settipani & Kerrebrouck, p. 73-74
7. ↑ Settipani & Kerrrebrouck, p. 99

• Cawley, Charles, 'Franks, Merovingian Nobility: Chapter 4G Merovingian Counts, 7th Century' version 3.0, 30 May 2014, in Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families (http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/FRANKSMaiordomi.htm#_Toc359686226 : accessed 19 April 2015) .

• Gilleard, Chris, 'Old age in the Dark Ages: the status of old age during the early Middle Ages, Ageing and Society, vol 29, pp. 1065-1084, 2009. doi:10.1017/S0144686X09008630

• Schwennicke, Detlev, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der europäischen Staaten. Band II: Die außerdeutschen Staaten, 1976, Tafel 10.

• Settipani, Christian & Van Kerrebrouck, Patrick, Nouvelle histoire genealogique de l'auguste Maison de France: La préhistoire des Capétiens 481-987; Villeneuve d'Ascq, 1993.

• Stuart, Roderick W., Royalty for Commoners: The complete known lineage of John of Gaunt, son of Edward III, King of England and Queen Philippa, 2nd ed.; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1992.

Acknowledgements

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