Lothair II(926/8 – 22 November 950), oftenLothair of Arles,was theKing of Italyfrom 947 to his death. He was of the nobleFrankishlineage of theBosonids,descended fromBoso the Elder.His father and predecessor wasHugh of Provence,great-grandson ofLothair II,King ofLotharingia,and his mother was a German princess named Alda (or Hilda).
| Lothair II | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King of Italy | |
| Reign | 947–950 |
| Predecessor | Hugh |
| Successor | Berengar II |
| Born | 926/8 |
| Died | 22 November 950 |
| Spouse | Adelaide of Italy(m. 947) |
| Issue | Emma, Queen of West Francia |
| Dynasty | Bosonids |
| Father | Hugh of Provence |
| Mother | Alda (or Hilda) |
Although he held the title ofrex Italiae,he never succeeded in exercising power there. In 931, Lothair's father, Hugh, made him co-regent.[1]He was married, 12 December 947, to the fifteen-year-oldAdelaide,[2]the spirited and intelligent[according to whom?]daughter ofRudolph II of BurgundyandBertha of Swabia.[3]
Their marriage was part of a political settlement designed to conclude a peace between her father and his. In 933, Hugh of Arles had given up his kingdom (Provence) to his inveterate enemy Rudolph II, who merged the two kingdoms into a newKingdom of Burgundy,but died in 937. The couple had a daughter,Emma,[4]born as early as 948, who was married in 966 to theCarolingianLothair of France.
Lothair's power in Italy was nominal. From the time of the successful uprising of the nobles in 945, when Hugh was forced into exile,Berengar of Ivreakept all real power and patronage in his hands. In 950, Lothair died atTurin,[5]perhaps poisoned by Berengar, who attempted to cement his usurped political power inLombardyby forcing Lothair's widow to marry his sonAdalbert.Instead she entreated the protection ofOtto I of Germany,whom she married.
Lothair figures briefly in the part related to Adelaide in theGesta Ottonis,an epic poem aboutOtto I of Germany,an epic poem about written ca. 960 byHroswitha of Gandersheim.
References
edit- ^Previte-Orton 1922,p. 154.
- ^Bouchard 1988,p. 409.
- ^Duckett 1988,p. 327.
- ^Bouchard 1988,p. 417.
- ^Flodoard of Reims 2004,p. xxv.
Bibliography
edit- Bouchard, Constance B. (1988). "The Bosonids or Rising to Power in the Late Carolingian Age".French Historical Studies.15, No. 3 (Spring): 407–431.doi:10.2307/286367.JSTOR286367.
- Duckett, Eleanor Shipley (1988).Death and Life in the Tenth Century.University of Michigan Press.
- Flodoard of Reims (2004). Bachrach, Bernard S.; Fanning, Steven (eds.).The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 919-966.University of Toronto Press.
- Previte-Orton, C.W. (1922). "Italy in the Tenth Century". In Gwatkin, H.M.; Whitney, J.P.; Tanner, J.R.; Previte-Orton, C.W. (eds.).The Cambridge Medieval History.Vol. III: Germany and the Western empire. The Macmillan Company. pp. 148–178.
- Pierre Riché.Les Carolingiens, une famille qui fit l'Europe.Paris: 1983.ISBN2-01-009737-8(in French)
- Jean-Charles Volkmann.Bien Connaître les généalogies des rois de France.ISBN2-87747-208-6(in French)
- "Lothar II."Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved April 25, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online:http:// search.eb /eb/article-9049021.
- "Lothar koenig von Italien"Genealogical references (in German).