Poppa of Bayeux | |
|---|---|
 Poppa of Bayeux's statue, Place de Gaulle,Bayeux | |
| Born | c. 880[1] Bayeux,West Francia |
| Noble family | House of Normandy (by marriage) |
| Spouse | Rollo (perhapsmore danico) |
| Issue | William I Longsword Gerloc (baptismal name Adela) |
| Father | Berengar II of Neustria or Guy de Senlis |
| Mother | Adelind, Adela of Vermandois or Cunegundis |
Poppa of Bayeux (French:[pɔpad(ə)bɛjø]; bornc. 880) was the wifemore danico[2][3] of theViking leaderRollo. She was the mother ofWilliam I Longsword,Gerloc[4][5] and grandmother ofRichard the Fearless, who forged theDuchy of Normandy into a greatfief ofmedieval France.[6]Dudo of Saint-Quentin, in hispanegyric of theNormandukes, describes her as the daughter of a "Count Berengar", the dominant prince of that region, who was captured atBayeux by Rollo in 885 or 889, shortly after thesiege of Paris.[7]: 417 This has led to speculation that she was the daughter ofBerengar II of Neustria.[8]: 96 [9]
There are different opinions among medieval genealogy experts about Poppa's family.Christian Settipani says her parents were Guy de Senlis and Cunegundis, the daughter ofPepin, Count of Vermandois, and sister ofHerbert I, Count of Vermandois.[1]Katherine Keats-Rohan states she was the daughter of Berengar II of Neustria by Adelind, whose father wasHenry, Margrave of the Franks, or Adela of Vermandois.[2] Her parentage is uncertain and may have been invented after the fact to legitimize her son's lineage, as many of the fantastic genealogical claims made byDudo were. Based on her separatemore danico status that differentiates her from Rollo's Christian wifeGisela of France, Poppa's family was unlikely to have been powerful Christian nobility who would have insisted—by force if necessary—on a legal and monogamous Christian marriage for their daughter. Poppa was likely a common woman taken from a country with which the Norse had trade contact.[10]
A statue of Poppa stands at the Place de Gaulle in Bayeux.[8]: 235
