Person:Charles Constantine of Vienne (1)

Disputed Lineages

The mother of Charles is sometimes given as Anna, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI. This is based on two pieces of evidence: (1) A letter written by the patriarch of Constantinople to the pope, which describes Leo’s plan to marry his only daughter to a Frank who was a cousin of Berta and who suffered a misfortune. This likely refers to Louis the Blind, who had a first cousin once removed named Berta, and was blinded in 905. (2) The name Charles Constantine may refer to a union of the Eastern and Western empires founded by Charlemagne and Constantine the Great. This mother for Charles is given in many secondary sources. Christian Settipani argues for it in Nos ancêtres de l'Antiquité (1991), and in messages to soc.genealogy.medieval in 1999.

Arguments against Anna being Charles’ mother include these: (1) There is no evidence that the marriage actually took place. It is not mentioned either in contemporary Western sources or by Anna’s half-brother Konstantinos when writing about Louis’ blinding. Such silence about the supposed marriage in these sources is hard to explain. (2) The name ‘Constantine’ was not ascribed to Charles by sources during his lifetime, but only appears, perhaps as a byname, in accounts after his death. In any case, it was not unique in the Provence of the period. (3) Anna, presuming she was legitimate, would have been born about 896-898, which would probably make her too young to be the mother of Charles. (4) Anna probably died young. She is recorded as having been buried in Constantinople, which would imply that she had never left there. Among the genealogists arguing that Anna probably was not Charles’ mother are Charles Cawley on his Medieval Lands site and Peter Stewart in numerous postings to soc.medieval.genealogy.

The arguments against seem more convincing.

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Charles-Constantine (died 962) was the Count of Vienne and son of Louis the Blind, the latter of whom was King of Provence and Holy Roman Emperor.

1. ↑ Charles Constantine of Vienne, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 CHARLES CONSTANTIN, in Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families.