Wikipedia:Peer review/Ermentrude of Orléans/archive1

Ermentrude of Orléans

I've listed this article for peer review because I would like to see what information editors think the page needs in order for it to be above 'stub-class'

Ideally I would like suggestions for guidance on what sections to add in primarily. Maybe some restructuring of the page in order to make it more appealing. Also to make sure that it adheres to the principles of Wikipedia. Basically any advice to get it above 'stub-class' status

Thanks, JuicyLimon (talk) 15:23, 27 October 2019 (UTC)

Comments by Richard Nevell

Hi JuicyLimon and thank you for improving the article. The transformation is very impressive. Stub articles are usually ones which have a few sentences and maybe no references at all. This is way beyond that and goes into a good amount of detail, so I've re-assessed it as C-class (more detail on what that means here). What is in the article is covered in a good amount of detail, so for example before I probably wouldn't have fully understood the importance of Ermentrude's consecration in 866, but your changes have made it much clearer.

Content

• Good section on historiography of queenship, it adds some good context to understand Ermentrude's role. It's particularly important since lay readers might assume that women had little agency in the Middle Ages, so mentioning that Ermentrude in her role as queen had some forms of power within the household and court is important.

• The article's lead section could be expanded to summarise the rest of the article.

• In the lead, Charles the Bald is introduced as Holy Roman Emperor as well as King of West Drancia. Since he didn't become emperor until after Ermentrude died, I think this might need rewording slightly. Otherwise readers might wonder why Ermentrude wasn't Empress! How about by her marriage to Charles the Bald King of West Francia (and Holy Roman Emperor from 875?

• In August 866, Ermentrude was consecrated, over twenty years after becoming queen. It has been suggested that this reflected her husband's desire for more children. You've already covered the consecration in a newly created section so I think you can prune this bit.

• Perhaps the list of Ermentrude's children should have its own section heading? On a related note, the French article has a section on genealogy. Would it be possible to create a family tree for Ermentrude? There's an example in the article on Henry I of England; the downside is the underlying code looks to be a bit tricky to adapt so I reckon it's your call whether you think that would be worth the time it would take.

• The article doesn't have much information on Ermentrude's early life. That may well be reflective of the source material available – even royalty can sometimes leave little impression in the medieval record before reaching a certain age. If this is because there's not much to say about Ermentrude's early life, that in itself would be worth mentioning so that reader's understand how much we do or don't know about her.

Images

• Would it be worth replacing File:Ermentrude d'Orleans.gif with File:Ermentruda kralovna.jpg? The latter is a bigger image so you can make out more detail. The smaller image also doesn't tell us who created the image which is a slight issue, and swapping it would help dodge that small problem. It would also be worth expanding the caption a little to state that the photo is of her funeral effigy in the Basilique Saint-Denis.

Once again, thanks for working on the article and I hope the above comments help. Richard Nevell (talk) 13:00, 4 November 2019 (UTC)