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Himiltrude ( – c. 780?) was the mother of Charlemagne's first-born son Pepin the Hunchback. Some historians have acknowledged her as the wife of Charlemagne, though she is often referred to as a Concubinage.
Himiltrude probably entered into a relationship with Charlemagne during the lifetime of his father, Pepin the Short. When Charlemagne acceded to the throne in 768, Himiltrude remained unnamed in official sources – contrary to the example set by Charlemagne's mother, Bertrada of Laon. Himiltrude bore Charles a son called Pepin. Shortly after Pepin's birth, an alliance was formulated between Charlemagne and the King of the Lombards, Desiderius. To seal the alliance, it was agreed that Charlemagne should marry Desiderius' daughter (called Desiderata by modern scholars).
Himiltrude was dismissed at that time and disappears from historical records. A grave excavated in the monastery of Nivelles was found to contain the corpse of a forty-year-old woman, possibly identifiable with Himiltrude. If so, Himiltrude would appear to have died long after 770, although if and when she retired to Nivelles cannot be deduced. She is named in the confraternity books of Pfäfers, Reichenau Abbey, Remiremont and Saint Gall..
Her son Pepin, who had a spinal deformity and was called "the Hunchback", was eclipsed by Charlemagne's sons from his later marriage to Hildegard. Following an attempted rebellion against his father, Pepin was confined to a monastery.
''Histoire Générale de l'Église'', Tome 17, p.434-441.
Historians have interpreted the information in different ways. Some, such as Pierre Riché, follow Einhard in describing Himiltrude as a concubine.Pierre Riché, The Carolingians, p.86. Others, Dieter Hägemann for example, consider Himiltrude a wife in the full sense. Still others subscribe to the idea that the relationship between the two was "something more than concubinage, less than marriage" and describe it as a Friedelehe, a supposed form of marriage unrecognized by the Church and easily dissolvable. This form of relationship is often seen in a conflict between Christian marriage and more flexible Germanic concepts.
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