Richilde (d. 894)

views updated

Richilde (d. 894)

Saint, queen of France, and Holy Roman empress. Name variations: Richardis or Richilda, princesse d'Ecosse; Saint Richardis or Saint Richilda. Died in 894; daughter of Erchingen (a powerful lord of the Nordgrau); married Charles III the Fat (839–888), king of Germany (r. 876–887), king of France (r. 884–887), and known as Charles II, Holy Roman emperor (r. 881–887), in 877.

As chronicled in Englebert's Lives of the Saints, Richilde was caught up in the events of the 9th century: the ineptness of her husband Charles III the Fat, who was eventually deposed at the Diet of Tribur, and the downfall of the Carolingian empire. A short time before her husband's death on January 13, 888, Richilde was accused of adultery. Claiming that the marriage had not been consummated and that she remained a virgin, she retired to the abbey of Andlau and died there. In 1049, Pope Leo IX venerated her remains. Her feast day is September 18.

More From encyclopedia.com