Which wife of Charlemagne was the mother of Louis the Pious?

Hildegard was the wife of Charlemagne who became the mother of Louis the Pious.

Charlemagne married Hildegard shortly after becoming sole ruler of the Franks in 771. She was the daughter of the nobleman Gerold of Anglachgau and Imma, an Alemannian aristocrat. Their marriage helped strengthen Charlemagne’s connections with powerful families east of the Rhine.

Hildegard accompanied Charlemagne during important campaigns and royal journeys. She gave birth to Louis in 778, while Charlemagne was campaigning in Spain; Louis’s twin brother, Lothair, died in infancy. Hildegard and Charlemagne also had several other children, including Pepin of Italy and Charles the Younger.

A common mix-up is Fastrada, another wife of Charlemagne. Fastrada married him after Hildegard’s death in 783, so she was Louis’s stepmother, not his mother. Louis later succeeded Charlemagne as ruler of the Frankish Empire in 814.