Welf (father of Judith)

Welf I
Depiction in the Historia Welforum, about 1170
Born c.776
Died c. 825
Noble family Elder House of Welf
Spouse(s) Hedwig of Saxony
Issue

Welf I (or Hwelf; died about 825) is the first documented ancestor of the Elder House of Welf. He is mentioned as a count (comes) in the Frankish lands of Bavaria.

Life

Welf originated from a distinguished dynasty of Franconian nobles. He is mentioned only once: on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Judith with Emperor Louis the Pious in 819 at Aachen. His son Conrad later appeared as a dux (duke) in Alamannia and achieved a powerful position in the Upper Swabian estates he possibly had inherited from his mother Hedwig (Heilwig).

His family became politically powerful when Louis the Pious chose his oldest daughter as his 2nd wife upon the death of his consort Ermengarde of Hesbaye. Though Welf himself never became publicly prominent, his family became interwoven with the Carolingian dynasty, as his oldest daughter Judith married Emperor Louis the Pious, and his youngest married the emperors son, Prince Louis the German. His grandchildren would rule both France (Charles the Bald) and Germany (Carloman of Bavaria, Louis the Younger and Charles the Fat).

Marriage and issue

Welf married Hedwig (Heilwig),[1] daughter of the Saxon count Isambart; Hedwig later became abbess of Chelles. The couple had the following children:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Riche 1993, p. Table 5.

Sources

  • Riche, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians, A Family Who Forged Europe. Translated by Allen, Michael Idomir. University of Philadelphia Press.
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