Bertrada of Laon
Frankish queen
Bertrada of Laon (born between 710 and 727 – 12 July 783), also known as Bertrada the Younger or Bertha Broadfoot (cf. Latin: Regina pede aucae, i.e. the queen with the goose-foot), was the first Carolingian Frankish queen. An enduring influence in Frankish politics, she was the wife of Pepin the Short and the mother of Charlemagne, Carloman and Gisela, plus five other children. Her marriage with Pepin was influential in trend setting for future marriages blessed by the pope. She also held considerable influence over Charlemagne and Carloman after Pepin had died, enduring even past her death and through Charlemagne’s eventual rule as the sole King of the Franks.
Biography
Early life and ancestry
Bertrada was born sometime between 710 and 727 in Laon, in today's Aisne, France, to Count Charibert of Laon. Charibert's father might have been related to Hugobertides. The Annals of St. Bertin also posit a connection between Bertrada and the previous Merovingian dynasty through Charibert.
The public source identifies “Bertrada of Laon” as frankish queen. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Bertrada, Laon and Frankish.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Bertrada of Laon”, the useful work is to connect “frankish queen” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q266751. VIAF identifies the subject as 268083048. The Library of Congress control number is n84128336. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Bertrada of Laon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.