The Rorgonids were a powerful Frankish family dating from the eighth century. They are sometimes referred to as the first Mayennaise dynasty, referring to the city of Mayenne, and are the original counts of Maine. The Rorgonids were named after Rorgon I, Count of Maine, who was the progenitor of the dynasty. His son, Gauzfrid, Count of Maine, was the first to hold power in the Norman March of Neustria. The Rorgonids controlled the County of Maine throughout the ninth century. The Rorgonids and the Widonids competed for control of the Breton March through much of that time.
The first known ruler of Maine (called the Duke of Maine) was Charivius, who is conjectured by Christian Settipani to be the brother or nephew of Lambert, Count of Hesbaye. Further, Settipani identifies Charivius as a direct ancestor of the Rorgonids. Charivius was displaced as ruler of Maine by the Carolinians in 748, with his dynasty restored in 832.
The County of Hainaut, sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belgium and France. Its most important towns included Mons, now in Belgium, and Valenciennes, now in France.
Íñigo Arista was a Basque leader, considered the first king of Pamplona. He is thought to have risen to prominence after the defeat of local Frankish partisans at the Battle of Pancorbo in 816, and his rule is usually dated from shortly after the defeat of a Carolingian army in 824.
Theobald I (913–975), called the Trickster, was first Viscount of Blois and Viscount of Tours, and then from 956, Count of Blois, Chartres and Châteaudun, as well as Count of Tours.
The House of Ardenne–Verdun was a branch of the House of Ardenne, one of the first documented medieval European noble families, centered on Verdun. The family dominated in the Duchy of Lotharingia (Lorraine) in the 10th and 11th centuries. All members descended from Cunigunda of France, a granddaughter of the West Frankish king Louis the Stammerer. She married twice but all or most of her children were children of her first husband, Count Palatine Wigeric of Lotharingia. The other main branches of the House of Ardennes were the House of Ardenne–Luxembourg, and the House of Ardenne–Bar.
The Widonids, also called Guidonids, or Lambertiner, after their leading names, were an Italian family of Frankish origin prominent in the ninth century. They were descended from Guy of Nantes, whose origins were Austrasian. They were an aggressive dynasty, expanding their base of power into the Papal States, ever loyal to the Empire and never the Papacy. They were related to the Carolingians in the female line and one even made a claim to the throne of France on that basis. The Widonids and the Rorgonids competed for control of the Breton March through much of the ninth century.
The County of Aragon or County of Jaca was a small Frankish marcher county in the central Pyrenean valley of the Aragon river, comprising Ansó, Echo, and Canfranc and centered on the small town of Jaca, an area now part of Spain. It was created by the Carolingians late in the 8th or early in the 9th century, but soon fell into the orbit of the Kingdom of Navarre, into which it was absorbed in 922. It would later form the core of the 11th century Kingdom of Aragon.
The Marches of Neustria were two marches created in 861 by the Carolingian king of West Francia Charles the Bald. They were ruled by officials appointed by the Monarchy of France, known as wardens, prefects or margraves. One march, was created as a buffer against the Bretons and the other against the Norsemen.
Berengar I was a 9th-century nobleman of East Francia, a son of Gebhard, Count of Lahngau, and younger brother of Udo. He and his brother were created Margraves of Neustria by Charles the Bald in 861.
Udo was a 9th-century nobleman of East Francia, a son of Gebhard, Count of Lahngau, and older brother of Berengar I of Neustria. He and his brother were afforded their position in the March of Neustria both by kinship to Adalard the Seneschal and the favour of Charles the Bald.
Tonantius Ferreolus, was a vir clarissimus, or Gallo-Roman senator.
The Robertians are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries. The Capetians appear first in the records as powerful nobles serving under the Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne in West Francia, which later became France. As their power increased, they came into conflict with the older royal family and attained the crown several times before the eventual start of the continuous rule of the descendants of Hugh Capet.
The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Frankish, Burgundian or Visigothic origin, who ruled the Duchy of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages. The dynasty is named for Eticho, who ruled from 662 to 690.
Charivius was the Frankish Duke of Maine in the early eighth century. His father was Chrotgar, Duke of Maine, son or grandson of Chrodbert, count Palatine of Chlothar III, and so brother of Lambert, Count of Hesbaye. In 723 he seized the revenues of the Diocese of Le Mans. On the death of the bishop Herlemund he took control of the see and its monasteries and appointed his illiterate son Gauciolenus bishop. Though the date of Charivius' death is unknown, his son retained control of the diocese and the region as bishop until 771. Charivius is postulated by Settipani to be an ancestor of the Rorgonids.
The House of Anjou-Châteaudun was a medieval house that once possessed the County of Anjou, the Viscounty of Châteaudun and the significant, wealthy Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The County of Châteaudun was held in the 9th century by counts who also held the County of Blois. Theobald I created the first viscount of Châteaudun with the appointment of Geoffrey I, founder of the House of Châteaudun. The viscounts were entrusted with the government of the county of Châteaudun, records of whom are continuous from the mid-10th century. The actual rule of Châteaudun between the late 9th and the mid-10th centuries, and the relationships between the count and viscounts, is uncertain. The county was revived in 1439 when the region was recreated as the County of Dunois and granted to Jean Levieux Valois des Orléans, the illegitimate son of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, son of Charles V of France.
Geoffrey I(Gauzfred I) (d. after 985), Viscount of Châteaudun, possibly the son of Geoffroy, Viscount of Chartres. Geoffrey was appointed viscount by Theobald the Trickster, in his position of Count of Châteaudun. Geoffrey was the founder of the House of Châteaudun, which gave rise to both the House of Ingelger and House of Plantagenets. It is believed, but unverified, that Geoffrey descended from Rorgon I, Count of Maine, and therefore part of the Rogonid/Rorgonid dynasty. Little is known about Geoffrey, other than he was closely associated with Hardouin, Archbishop of Tours.
Hervé I, Count of Perche and Mortagne.
Rotrude (Chrodtrudis) (or Crotude, Chrotrude, or Ruadtrud; died 724) was the first wife of Charles Martel, Mayor of the Palace and de facto ruler of Francia from 718 to 741. She was the mother of Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, and therefore the grandmother of Charlemagne. Rotrude is believed to be the daughter of Lambert, Count of Hesbaye, although this designation is not without controversy, as discussed below. She is also referred to as Rotrude of Treves.
Chrodbert was a nobleman from Neustria. He was grandson to Chrodbert I, referendary to Clovis II through Chrodbert's son Lambert of Hesbaye. Chrodbert was Lord Chancellor during the reign of Chlothar III, King of the Franks in Neustria, as well as referendary. He was a contemporary of Ansbert of Rouen, who was also a Lord Chancellor to Clotaire III. Chrodbert was mentioned as Count palatine on 2 October 678.
Roger of Maine, who died circa 900, was Count of Maine from 886 to 893, and again from 895 to 900. He is the founder of the second house of Maine, sometimes called the "Hugonids".
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