Friburge, dau. of Richard of Vienne?
Don Stone
H. M. West Winter (1987) has a detailed discussion of Friburge
(Fredeburga), numbered IX.52, probably the daughter of Richard of
Vienne, son of Charles Constantine, Count of Vienne, d. 962. Lines can
be traced from her to the present, e.g., through Eleanor of Provence,
queen of Henry III of England.
I am interested in opinions on whether Friburge is Richard's daughter.
Settipani and Van Kerrebrouck (1993, p. 381, note 129) are skeptical of
various descents from Richard that have been proposed, but they may not
have reviewed the arguments and evidence that Winter reviewed. Winter
reports that de Manteyer (1925) made a prima facie identification of
Friburge, wife of Guigues IV d'Albon, Sire de Vion, as daughter and heir
of Richard, Comte de Vienne. Bernard (1949, p. 125) reports Manteyer's
identification of Friburge without analyzing it. According to Winter,
Bernard (1969, pp. 68-9) accepts this identification. Moriarty (1985,
p. 258) gives Friburge as probably a daughter of Richard of Vienne,
referencing Manteyer. Here is Winter's summary of the most salient
facts supporting this identification:
1) Fribourge, widow of Guigues IV Sire de Vion, died at a great age soon
after 26 March 1027, having outlived her eldest son Humbert (Hucbert)
Bishop of Grenoble and her second son, Guigues V Sire de Vion (d. by
1009). In October 1027 her grandson and heir, Guigues VI Sire de Vion,
went to Rome to press his right to ownership of properties which he
claimed through his grandmother, Friburge, and which were identical to
properties once owned by Richard Comte de Vienne and which had been
seized by an ancestor of the Comte de Maurienne (Savoie). The Pope
partitioned the disputed properties and awarded one half to each
claimant. But Guigues VI continued the dispute until 1030, when it was
settled by the marriage (before 22 October) of his daughter Alix to
Amadee, eldest son and heir of the Comte de Maurienne. As part of the
marriage settlement, it is believed that Guigues VI relinquished his
claim to the moitie of the properties which the Pope had awarded to the
Comte de Maurienne. Perhaps as a condition of that settlement, the Pope
created Guigues VI first Comte du Viennois (by 1034).
2) The given names of two of her sons (Hucbert and Richard) are germane
to the family of Richard Comte de Vienne: Richard being his own name, as
well as that of his maternal uncle, Richard Comte de Troyes; whilst
Hucbert (Humbert) is that of his brother Hucbert de Vienne, as well as
that of his great-grandfather, Hucbert Marquis de Transjurane.
References:
Bernard, Felix. 1949. Les origines feodales en Savoie et en Dauphine:
l'origine et les destinees des grandes familles feodales en Savoie et en
Dauphine au Moyen-Age. Grenoble: Guirimand.
Bernard, Felix. 1969. Les origines feodales en Savoie-Dauphine: la vie
et les rapports sociaux d'alors. Grenoble: Guirimand.
de Manteyer, Georges. 1925. "Origines de la maison de Savoie."
Bulletin de la Societe d'Etudes des Hautes-Alpes, 5th Series, pp.
50-119.
Moriarty, George Andrews. 1985. The Plantagenet Ancestry of King
Edward III and Queen Philippa. Salt Lake City: Mormon Pioneer
Genealogical Society. The original manuscript is in Boston at the New
England Historic Genealogical Society, with copies at Salt Lake City and
Philadelphia (at the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania).
Settipani, Christian, and Patrick Van Kerrebrouck. 1993. La
prehistoire des Capetiens 481-987. Premiere partie: Merovingiens,
Carolingiens et Robertiens. Villeneuve d'Ascq (France): P. Van
Kerrebrouck.
Winter, H. M. West. 1987. The Descendants of Charlemagne (800 - 1400).
Part One. "Brandenburg Updated." Charlemont, Massachusetts.