Judith was born around 844 to King Charles of West Francia and Ermentrudis of Orleans. In 843, after three years of civil war, the Carolingian Empire had been divided into three by the sons of Emperor Hludowic. Charles, the youngest, had received the western part. 1/10
While Charles struggled with rebellions, he got an offer for an alliance from across the Channel. King Æthelwulf of Wessex was returning from a visit to Rome and married Judith in 856. She was crowned Queen of Wessex, unlike her husband's earlier wives. 2/10
King Æthelwulf was of advanced age. His eldest son, Æthelstan, who was under King of Kent, Sussex, Essex and Surrey, appears to have died earlier, but he had many more sons - Æthelbald, Æthelberht, Æthelred and young Ælfred who had accompanied his father to Rome. 3/10
Æthelbald was in charge of Wessex when his father had gone to Rome. But with the arrival of a new Queen he appears to have gotten worried about his inheritance. He rebelled against his father, a rebellion which led to an informal division of the Kingdom. 4/10
But the division was shortlived, since King Æthelwulf died in 858. The young widow, Judith, quickly found a new husband though; the new King of Wessex - King Æthelbald. But he died in 860. Aged 17 and twice widowed, Judith returned to West Francia. 5/10
Before long the Princess found a new husband, a young warrior named Baudouin. But the King wasn't happy. They ran away first to the Vikings in Frisia, north of West Francia and later to Rome to plead their case. Eventually, father and daughter reconciled. 6/10
King Charles sent his new son-in-law to his northern frontier, creating a March (and later County) for him. It was a region constantly in danger of Viking raids. But Baudouin was up to the task and held on to Flanders, and created a stable province. 7/10
Judith died in 870 but Flanders would continue to flourish. Her son, Baudouin, would marry Wessex King Ælfred's daughter Ælfthyrth and the close association of Flanders and England, which Ælfred's descendants would go on to rule, would continue for many generations. 8/10
Judith's descendants would not only rule in Flanders, but also nearby Boulogne, Hainaut and briefly in Constantinople. Though its initial eastern boundary was set at River Scheldt, it expanded eastwards into what later became the Holy Roman Empire. 9/10
The tug of war between France and the Holy Roman Empire for Flanders would continue, while Flanders tried to be independent. But in 1493, Flanders was lost to France after the Habsburgs inherited it and defeated France to keep it. 10/10
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
César-Constantin-François de Hoensbroeck was born in 1724 to Ulric Antoine de Hoensbroeck and Petronella Salome von Nesselrode. Hoensbroeck were a noble family from Limburg, but César de Hoensbroeck spend most of his life in Liège. 1/10
He studied at Heidelberg and, after a brief stint at Aachen cathedral, was ordained as a priest in 1752 at Liège. Liège was, at the time, run by the Bavarian Prince, Johann Theodor von Wittelsbach, who was also the Prince-Bishop of Liège. 2/10
The first King of England, who captured Danish ruled England and ruled as King from 927 to 939. But he was not the lone contributor in uniting the English into a nation. 1/4
(Come to think of it, England is pretty young, from an Indian perspective. :) )
His aunt, Æthelflæd, played a crucial role in making inroads into the Danish ruled England. Æthelstan's father, King Eadweard, united most of English ruled England, while his grandfather, Ælfred, put a stop to Danish expansion. 2/4
"no one cares about a library collection as much as the person who has assembled it" - Something anyone who has bought more books than they have read will be able to relate easily. 1/9
My dad's was the first library I had seen, brought back after his stint in UAE till 1988. Over the years, he has given away many of the books and these are all that remains.
Ironically, I have not read most of these books, though these would inspire to make my own bookshelf. 2/9
The rare exception would be this one, which I would scour through for Roman Emperors when I was 10. It was perhaps my earliest exposure to History along with Asterix and Tintin. (We had just begun to learn History in school). 3/9
Bogdan was born sometime in the 14th century. He appears to have been of Vlach origin and from the Hungarian province of Maramureş near the Eastern Carpathian mountains. The Carpathian mountains served as a boundary for the Kingdom of Hungary. 1/10
Not far east of the Carpathians was the Mongol Empire, but by the middle of the 14th century they had been divided and their control waning. The Mongols had invaded Hungary in the 1280s, but they were pushed back at the time. 2/10
Mother Tongue or the choice of first language has been a sensitive topic over the past two centuries as regions, independent or not, have been divided on linguistic grounds. But languages are beasts that evolve over time. 1/11
However, there is one significant occasion when the people adopted a foreign language - When the Western Roman Empire collapsed and various Germanic tribes formed nations out of its former provinces, many of them adopted the language of Rome - Latin. 2/11
But Latin evolved into different languages partly due to physical and political boundaries, while languages of German origin remain strong north of Rome's Danube-Rhine border and in Roman Britain. 3/11
Basarab may have been born around 1270 to Thocomerius. Not much is known about his early life, except that he was a Vlach. Wallachia was a region that had linkages with the Bulgars, the Hungarians and the Mongols. 1/10
Vlachs lived in an area surrounded by the Danube River on three sides and the Southern Carpathians in the north. Many of them were Orthodox like the Bulgars that dominated the region. 2/10