Verberie-sur-Oise

On October 1, 856, Judith of Flanders, daughter of Charles the Bald, became the first woman in English history to be anointed queen.

This took place in the Carolingian palace, here in Verberie-sur-Oise, in the Palatine Chapel (court chapel) of that palace. The Carolingian palace with its Palatine Chapel in Verberie-sur-Oise no longer exists as a preserved building; only the location of the former royal residence at Verberie is known, but no surviving remains of the Palatine Chapel itself have survived.

At first glance it seems strange that a Flemish lady would be anointed Queen of England in France, but in the context of the 9th century it is easily explained and actually logical.

In 856, Judith was still a Carolingian princess at the court of her father, King Charles the Bald; Æthelwulf of Wessex traveled to him to marry her, as part of a highly political alliance. An anointing in Verberie emphasized that Judith's royal status and sacrality came directly from the Carolingian core kingdom, which increased her prestige in England. In Wessex at the time, it was not customary for the king's wife to be anointed or crowned as queen; Judith was exceptional because she did receive a formal royal anointing. By holding this ceremony on Frankish soil, Charles the Bald was able to conduct the rite according to Carolingian court and church traditions, with his own bishops and entourage, something less developed for queens in England. Moreover, it was more practical and safer for the much older Æthelwulf to travel to the continent than for a young Carolingian princess to be sent by ship to England for the ceremony. The anointing in Verberie made it clear that Judith, as an "export product," was a fully-fledged queen consecrated by God even before she crossed the North Sea, which gave both her and the alliance additional weight.

Dromos