Bertha Queen of Kent [7171] 1700
- Born: 565 1700
- Christened: 565, Rheims, Kingdom of Austrasia, Frankish Empire 1700
- Marriage (1): Æthelberht I Aathelbert of KENT King of Kent [7170] in 580 in Kent, , Kent, England 1702
- Died: 601, Canterbury, , Kingdom of Kent, Anglo Saxon England at age 36 1700
- Buried: 601, Canterbury, , Kingdom of Kent, Anglo Saxon England 1700
FamilySearch ID: LVQY-LD8. Find a Grave ID: 9043409.
General Notes:
Wikipedia
Saint Bertha or Saint Aldeberge (c. 565 \endash d. in or after 601) was the queen of Kent whose influence led to the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England. She was canonized as a saint for her role in its establishment during that period of English history.
Life
Bertha was a Frankish princess, the daughter of Charibert I and his wife Ingoberga, granddaughter of the reigning King Chlothar I and great-granddaughter of Clovis I and Saint Clotilde. Her father died in 567, her mother in 589. Bertha had been raised near Tours.
Her marriage to the pagan Æthelberht of Kent, in 580 AD, was on condition that she be allowed to practice her religion. She brought her chaplain, Liudhard, with her to England. A former Roman church was restored for Bertha just outside the City of Canterbury, and dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It was the private chapel of Queen Bertha before Augustine arrived from Rome.
The present St Martin's Church continues on the same site, incorporating Roman walling of the original church in the chancel. It is acknowledged by UNESCO as the oldest church in the English-speaking world where Christian worship has taken place continuously since 580 AD. St Martin's (with Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey) make up Canterbury's UNESCO World Heritage site.
Pope Gregory the Great sent a Mission led by Augustine of Canterbury, to restore Christianity to England in 596. The Mission's favourable reception upon arrival in 597 AD owed much to the influence of Bertha. Without her support and Æthelberht's good will, monastic settlements and the cathedral would likely have been developed elsewhere.
In 601, Pope Gregory addressed a letter to Bertha, in which he complimented her highly on her faith and knowledge of letters.
Anglo-Saxon records indicate that Saint Bertha had two children:
. Eadbald of Kent, and
. Æthelburg of Kent.
She is named in the genealogies of various of the medieval accounts of the 'Kentish Royal Legend'.
The date of her death (possibly 606) is disputed.
Legacy
The city of Canterbury celebrates Queen Bertha in many ways.
The Bertha trail, consisting of 14 bronze plaques set in pavements, runs from the Buttermarket to St Martin's church via Lady Wootton's Green.
In 2006, bronze statues of Bertha and Ethelbert were installed on Lady Wootton's Green as part of the Canterbury Commemoration Society's "Ethelbert and Bertha" project
There is a wooden statue of Bertha inside St Martin's church.
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Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
Parents of Bertha - 560
King Charibert & his first wife had one child: a) BERTA ([before 560]-[601/before 616], bur Canterbury, Church of St Peter and St Paul). Gregory of Tours records that the daughter of King Charibert and Ingoberg "eventually married a man from Kent and went to live there". Bede records that "rex Aedilberct in Cantia" had "uxorem…Christianam de gente Francorum regia…Bercta" whom he had received "a parentibus" on condition she retained her religion.
It is reasonable to assume that Berta was born before 560, given the subsequent marital history of her father, who died in 567 having married three times after repudiating his first wife, although it is possible that some if not all of his marriages were polygamous.
Kirby suggests that Berta's marriage took place in 580 after analysing the various contradictory chronological indications in contemporary sources. According to Bede, as noted above, King Æthelberht received Bertha "a parentibus". As her father died in 567, and her mother in 589, this appears to mean that she married before 567 if taken literally, which seems unlikely.
The word "parents" may in this context mean "relatives" more broadly. Already a Christian when she came to England, she was accompanied by Liudhard, a Frankish bishop, although if he attempted to convert her husband his efforts must have been unsuccessful in view of the later conversion of King Æthelberht by St Augustine.
Queen Berta is named in Pope Gregory I's letter of 601 to her husband. Bede records the burial of "Aedilbert tex Cantuariorum" in "portico sancti Martini intro ecclesiam beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli" stating that this was where "Berctæ regina" was buried. m (580) as his first wife, ÆTHELBERHT King of Kent, son of EORMENRIC King of Kent & his wife --- (after [550]-24 Feb 616, bur Canterbury, Church of St Peter and St Paul.
Burial Notes:
St Martin's Church
Noted events in her life were:
1. She was Roman Catholic. 1703 initiator of the Christian mission under the Anglo-Saxons (the so-called Gregorian mission).
2. Clan: House of Merovingian,,. 1703
3. She was Christian after 558 in Paris, France. 1703
4. Title Of Nobility: Princess of The Franks, on an unknown date,. 1703
5. Title Of Nobility: Queen of Kent, between 590 and 601, in Canterbury, , Kingdom of Kent, Anglo Saxon England. 1703
Bertha married Æthelberht I Aathelbert of KENT King of Kent [7170] [MRIN: 5579], son of King Eormenric of Kent [7175] and Queen Urchada of Kent [7176], in 580 in Kent, , Kent, England.1702 (Æthelberht I Aathelbert of KENT King of Kent [7170] was born in 550 in , , Kingdom of Kent, Anglo Saxon England,1700 died on 24 February 616 in , , Kingdom of Kent, Anglo Saxon England 1700 and was buried after 24 February 616 in Canterbury, , Kingdom of Kent, Anglo Saxon England 1700.)
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