Walbert I

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Walbert I, also called Walbert of the Ardennes, was a Frankish nobleman and Merovingian Count of Hainaut and the Ardennes. He was born in Roman Gaul in the 5th century and baptized about 500 AD by Saint Remigius. His father was Auberon and his mother Argotte of the Ostrogoths; he was the grandson of Clodion the Hairy and the last survivor of that line. As a child he was sent to Rome and later sought refuge with Emperor Zeno. He married his sister Lucille of Pannonia. They had two sons, Walbert II and Ansbert; Ansbert became a Gallo-Roman senator. He also had a son named Ydulf with Clothilde of Hainaut and the Ardennes. Ansbert was granted lands by Emperor Justinian on the Escaut and Moselle and is said to have married Blitilde. Walbert’s alliance with the Thuringii angered King Clotaire of Soissons, who seized his lands. Walbert I died in exile around 538 in Austrasia, Francia, while seeking refuge in the Church.