Fastrada facts for kids

Fastrada was a queen who lived a long time ago, from about 765 to 794. She became the queen of a powerful kingdom called East Francia when she married Charlemagne, a very famous emperor. She was his third or fourth wife.

Early Life and Marriage

Fastrada was born around the year 765 in a place called Ingelheim. Her father was a strong leader named Count Rudolph, and her mother was Aeda.

She became the third wife of Charlemagne in October 783. They got married in Worms, Germany. This happened just a few months after Charlemagne's previous wife, Queen Hildegard, passed away. One important reason for their marriage was to make the Frankish kingdom stronger. It helped Charlemagne gain support from leaders east of the Rhine River while he was fighting against the Saxons.

Life as Queen

Fastrada was known to have some influence at court. For example, Pepin the Hunchback, who was Charlemagne's son from an earlier relationship, tried to rebel against his father. After this, Pepin was publicly punished.

Some historical writers, like Einhard, later said that Fastrada had a reputation for being cruel. However, Einhard wrote about this after Fastrada had already died, and he wasn't at Charlemagne's court when she was alive. Other records from her time suggest that she worked closely with her husband.

We know that Charlemagne cared about Fastrada. A letter from 785 shows him asking her to come to Eresburg with their children. Later, in 791, he wrote to her again, asking about her health because he hadn't heard from her in a while. In that same letter, he shared news of a big victory against the Avars.

Royal Coinage

In 793, Charlemagne introduced a new type of coin. What was special about it? It was the first known coin from his kingdom that had a queen's name on it – Fastrada's name! Historians believe Charlemagne might have been inspired by another king, Offa of Mercia, who had put his wife Cynetryth's name on coins earlier.

Death and Burial

After Christmas in 793, Charlemagne and Fastrada traveled from Wurzburg to Frankfurt in what is now Germany. Fastrada sadly passed away there on August 10, 794. This happened during an important meeting called the Synod of Frankfurt.

It is said that Charlemagne was so sad that he never returned to Frankfurt after her death. He had her buried at St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz, even though the abbey wasn't fully finished yet. He also had her silver spindle hung over the altar. She was not buried in the usual places for Frankish and French monarchs, like Basilique Saint-Denis or St. Arnulf's Abbey near Metz. This was likely due to the influence of Archbishop Richulf.

Fastrada's tomb was made of white marble and decorated with gold and statues. The St. Alban's Abbey was destroyed in 1552. After that, her tombstone was moved to Mainz Cathedral. You can still see it there today on the wall of the southern nave. The inscription on her tombstone reads:

Latin:

Fastradana pia Caroli conjunx vocitata,

Cristo dilecta, jacet hoc sub marmore tecta.

Anno Septingesimo nonagesimo quarto,

Quem númerum metro claudere musa negat.

Rex pie quem gessit virgo licet hic cinerescit,

Spiritus heres sit patrie que tristia nescit.

English:

The pious wife of Charles, called Fastrada,

loved by Christ lies here covered with marble.

In the year seven hundred and ninety-four.

Which number to add to the meter resists.

Pious king, whom the maiden wore, grant, if she crumbles to ashes here too,

that their spirit be the heir of the fatherland that knows no tribulation.

The Legend of Fastrada's Ring

There is a famous legend about Fastrada. It tells of a magic ring that she supposedly received from Charlemagne. This ring had a special stone that was a gift from a snake. The legend says this ring made Charlemagne love Fastrada so much that he didn't want to let her body be buried, even when it started to decompose. Eventually, Archbishop Turpin of Reims took the ring and threw it into a lake near Aachen.

Children of Fastrada

Fastrada and Charlemagne had two daughters:

• Theodrada (born 784, died unknown), who later became an abbess (a leader of a group of nuns) at Argenteuil.
• Hiltrude (born 787, died unknown).