Thierry IV

Thierry IV or Theoderic IV (active c. 770-793[1]) was a Frankish noble and royal missus.[2]

Thierry's parentage is not directly attested, though speculation about how his grandson Bernard of Septimania came to be described as sharing the blood of the Carolingian rulers has led to hypotheses regarding Thierry's parentage. One possible route has involved a relationship to Charlemagne's maternal great-grandmother, Bertrada of Prüm. A donation she executed was witnessed first by her only son, Charibert, and then by Bernarius, Chrodlanda and Theoderic, the latter suggested to either be one and the same with Thierry, or else his father. Bernarius and Chrodlanda appear to match the Guarnarius and Rotlindis who appear in a 751 document. Based on their prominence in this donation, it has been suggested that Chrodlanda/Rotlindis was either daughter or sister of Bertrada.[3]

A second possible avenue for a relationship comes via Thierry's wife, Auda or Aldana, whose parentage is not directly documented but who had known sisters Hiltrudis and Landrada. A Hiltrudis is a documented daughter of Charles Martel and sister of Pepin III, while the a medieval saint's vita of uncertain reliability also gives him a daughter Landrada, leading to the suggestion that Alda was likewise Martel's daughter.[4] The two possible relationships to the Carolingians need not be viewed as mutually exclusive.[5]