Hugh the Great

Hugh the Great
Duke of the Franks
Hugh as depicted in a 14th century family tree of the Robertians
Count of Paris
Reign923–956
PredecessorRobert I of France
SuccessorHugh Capet
Bornc. 898
Paris
Died16 June 956
Dourdan
Burial
SpouseJudith
Eadhild
Hedwig of Saxony
IssueBeatrice of France
Hugh Capet
Emma of Paris, Duchess of Normandy
Otto, Duke of Burgundy
Henry I, Duke of Burgundy
HouseRobertians
FatherRobert I of France
MotherBeatrice of Vermandois

Hugh the Great (c. 898[1] – 16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. He was the most powerful magnate in France.

Son of King Robert I of France, Hugh was Margrave of Neustria. He played an active role in bringing King Louis d'Outremer back from England in 936. Seeking an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto the Great, he married Otto's younger sister, Hedwig of Saxony in 937. They were the parents of Hugh Capet. Hedwig's sister, Gerberga of Saxony, was the wife of Louis IV of France. Although he often fought with Louis, he supported the accession of Louis and Gerberga's son, Lothair of France.

  1. ^ Linda Seidel, Legends in Limestone: Lazarus, Gislebertus, and the Cathedral of Autun, (University of Chicago Press, 1999), 67.
    Widukind (of Corvey), Deeds of the Saxons, transl.Bernard S. Bachrach and David S. Bachrach, (The Catholic University of America Press, 2014), 43.