842

This is my 842nd post. Ever. It has never happened before and it will never happen again.

842 is an interesting number. 8 is 2 cubed, 4 is 2 squared, and 2 is, well, 2. As in “tea for” and “on the aisle” and “if by sea.” It is how many it takes to tango and how many heads are better than one, unless one of them is a cabbage head. 842 just missed being a perfect square, the product of 29 times 29 being 841.

In the year 842, lots of interesting things happened.

In Europe, Charles the Bald and Louis the German signed a treaty on February 14th.

Cerball mac Dúnlainge became king of Osraige.

The Oaths of Strasbourg, an alliance of Louis the German and Charles the Bald against emperor Lothar, were sworn and recorded in the vernacular languages.

Ramiro I succeeded Alfonso II as king of Asturias.

Uurad was succeeded by Bred, then Ciniod as King of the Picts.

Charles the Bald married Ermentrude.

In the Byzantine Empire, three year old Michael III succeeded Theophilus (emperor) as emperor of Byzantium.

In Asia, the reign of caliph Al-Mu'tasim, the caliph of Abbasid, ended on January 5th with his death, and the Uyghurs left the Mongolian plateau.

Emperor Saga of Japan (b. 786), Alfonso II of Asturias (b. 759), Theophilus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 813), and Liu Yuxi, Chinese poet, philosopher, and essayist (b. 772), all died.

Where else could you learn such fascinating information?

Oh, yeah -- Wikipedia.

Page 2.

Charles the Bald was extremely prolific, producing 14 children with his two wives. He and Ermentrude, daughter of Odo I, Count of Orléans, had nine:

1. Judith (844–870), married firstly with Ethelwulf of Wessex, secondly with Ethelbald of Wessex (her stepson) and thirdly with Baldwin I of Flanders;
2. Louis the Stammerer (846–879);
3. Charles the Child (847–866);
4. Lothar (848–865), a monk who became Abbot of Saint-Germain;
5. Carloman (849–876);
6. Rotrud (852–912), a nun who became Abbess of Saint-Radegunde;
7. Ermentrud (854–877), a nun who became Abbess of Hasnon;
8. Hildegard (born 856, died young); and
9. Gisela (857–874).

and after Ermentrude died in 869, Charles married his second wife, Richilde of Provence, who was descended from a noble family of Lorraine, in 870. They had five more:

10. Rothild (871–929), married firstly with Hugues, Count of Bourges and secondly with Roger, Count of Maine;
11. Drogo (872–873);
12. Pippin (873–874);
13. A son (born and died 875); and
14. Charles (876–877).

One more thing: It has been suggested that Charles the Bald’s nickname was used ironically and not descriptively; that he was not in fact bald, but rather that he was extremely hairy.

As Paul the Golden-Throated used to say, and now you know the rest of the story.