Aloara of
Capua
Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.
History
Ancient era
The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...
(died 992), was a Princess regnant of Capua jointly with her son from 982 until 992. She was said to have governed her states with great ability.
Life
She married
Pandulf Ironhead, prince of Capua and
Benevento. Her husband died at Capua in 981, leaving five sons by Aloara;
Landulf IV, prince of Capua and Benevento;
Pandulf, prince of Salerno;
Atenulf, entitled count and also marquis, perhaps of Camerino;
Landenulf, prince of Capua; and
Laidulf who succeeded him.
[ Platts, John. ''A New Universal Biography''. Sherwood, Jones, and Co. 1826.]
Landulf IV perished in battle fighting for the emperor, in 982, against the Greeks and
Saracens. His brother Landenulf succeeded him; but, being very young,
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...
invested him with the principality of Capua, so that Aloara might govern during her life conjointly with him. This decree was also confirmed by
Theophanu
Theophanu (; also ''Theophania'', ''Theophana'', or ''Theophano''; Medieval Greek ; AD 955 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor O ...
, widow of
Otto
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded f ...
, and regent, during the minority of
Otto III. Aloara began to reign in 982. She governed with much wisdom and courage.
Landenulf was assassinated by a plot of his own relations, in 993; and his brother Laidulf, who succeeded, was deposed by the emperor Otto III, in 999, for having a hand in the death of his brother.
Baronius
Cesare Baronio (as an author also known as Caesar Baronius; 30 August 1538 – 30 June 1607) was an Italian cardinal and historian of the Catholic Church. His best-known works are his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' ("Ecclesiastical Annals"), whi ...
relates that
Saint Nilus the Younger
Nilus the Younger, also called Neilos of Rossano ( it, Nilo di Rossano, gr, Όσιος Νείλος, ο εκ Καλαβρίας; 910 – 27 December 1005) was a monk, abbot, and founder of Italo-Byzantine monasticism in southern Italy. He is ven ...
foretold to her, as a punishment for the murder of her husband's nephew (whom she had just put to death for fear he should interfere with her son's rights), that her offspring should not reign in Capua—a prophecy that was justified by the event.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aloara
992 deaths
Lombard women
Year of birth unknown
10th-century women rulers
10th-century Lombard people