Charles's byname "the Simple" originally meant "straightforward" or "not duplicitous", rather than "stupid".
Events
Date of Birth: 17 September 879.
Place of Birth: unknown.
The date is given by Schieffer, by Settipani (p. 321), and by Schneidmüller.
Date of Death: 7 October 929.
Place of Death: Péronne.
The date and place are given by Schieffer, by Settipani (p. 324), and by Schneidmüller.
Place of Burial: Péronne, monastère de Saint-Fursy.
The place is given by Schieffer, by Settipani (p. 324), and by Schneidmüller.
Relationships
Father: Louis II “le Bègue”, king of the West Franks.
This relationship is given by Sirjean, by Schneidmüller, by Settipani (p. 318), by Hlawitschka, by Bouchard (p. 102), and by Baldwin.
Mother: Adélaïde.
This relationship is given by Settipani (p. 318), by Hlawitschka, by Bouchard (p. 102), and by Baldwin.
Spouse: Frederuna. Married April 907.
This relationship is given by Settipani (p. 324), by Bouchard (p. 102), and by Baldwin.
Spouse: Eadgifu. Married 919.
This relationship is given by Sirjean, by Settipani (p. 325), by Hlawitschka, by Bouchard (p. 102), and by Baldwin.
Children (by Frederuna):
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project. Most information below comes from Cawley.)
Ermentrude.
Frederuna.
Adélaïde.
Gisela married Rollo of Normandy.
Rotrude.
Hildegarde.
Children (by Eadgifu):
Louis IV “d’Outremer” (died 10 September 954), king of the Franks.
Children (by illegitimate):
Arnulf.
Drogo.
Rorico (died 20 December 976), bishop of Laon.
Alpais married Erlebold, count of Castres.
References
Baldwin, Stewart. “Louis II le Bègue (the Stammerer)” in The Henry Project. (2007).
Bouchard, Constance Brittain. “Those of My Blood”: Constructing Noble Families in Medieval Francia (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001).
Cawley, Charles. “CHARLES III "le Simple" King of the West Franks” in Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families.
Hlawitschka, Eduard. Vom Frankenreich zur Formierung der europäishen Staaten- und Völkergemeinschaft 840-1046: Ein Studienbuch. (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft: Darmstadt, 1986).
Schieffer, Theodor. "Karl III." in Neue Deutsche Biographie 11 (1977), S. 184-188 [Onlinefassung]
Schneidmüller, B. "Karl (III.) der Einfältige" in Lexikon des Mittelalters. Band 5c (Stuttgart: 1991).
Settipani, Christian (with Patrick Van Kerrebrouck). La préhistoire des Capétiens 481-987. Première Partie (Volume 1 of Nouvelle Histoire Généalogique de l’Auguste Maison de France, 1993).
Sirjean, Gaston. Encyclopédie généalogique des maisons souveraines du monde: Première Partie No. 2 Les Carolingiens (1959).
Tanner, Heather J. Families, Friends, and Allies: Boulogne and Politics in Northern France and England c. 879 - 1160. (Brill: 2004).