Ageltrude or Agiltrude (around 860 - died 27 August 923) was the

Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

and

Queen of Italy Queen of Italy (also known as Terrace) is a solitaire card game played with two decks of playing cards. It is a very strategic game that rewards careful planning, since the cards that potentially block the game are presented at the start, and with ...

as the wife of Guy (reigned 891–94). She was the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

for her son Lambert (reigned 894–98) and actively encouraged him in opposing the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

s, and in influencing papal elections in their favour.

Life

She was the daughter of Prince

Adelchis of Benevento {{Infobox noble, type , name = Adelchis , title = , image = Adelchis.JPG , caption = Adelchis, from the 11th-century ''Codex legum Langobardorum'' , alt = , CoA = , ...

and Adeltrude. She married Guy in around 875, when he was still just the duke and margrave of

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

and

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Cam ...

. Her spouse became King of Italy in 889, making her queen. In 891, her spouse became emperor. She was widowed when Guy died in 894. Her son was at that time a minor, and she took control as regent to protect his rights to the succession against the opposition. In 894, she accompanied her 14-year-old son, Lambert, to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to be confirmed as emperor by

Pope Formosus Pope Formosus (896) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 891 until his death on 4 April 896. His reign as pope was troubled, marked by interventions in power struggles over the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the ...

, who supported the

claimant

Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( 850 – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894 and the disputed emperor from Feb ...

. In 896, she and her son fled from Rome to

when Arnulf marched into Rome and was crowned in opposition to Lambert. Arnulf was soon paralysed by a stroke and Formosus died. Ageltrude quickly interfered to assert her authority in Rome and have her candidate elected as

Pope Stephen VI Pope Stephen VI ( la, Stephanus VI; died August 897) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 22 May 896 to his death. He is best known for instigating the Cadaver Synod, which ultimately led to his downfall and death. Family ...

. At her and Lambert's request, the body of Formosus was disinterred and tried, convicted and hurled into the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

in the

Cadaver Synod The Cadaver Synod (also called the Cadaver Trial; la, Synodus Horrenda) is the name commonly given to the ecclesiastical trial of Pope Formosus, who had been dead for about seven months, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome during January ...

. Lambert became

Lambert II of Spoleto Lambert (c. 880 – 15 October 898) was the King of Italy from 891, Holy Roman Emperor, co-ruling with his father from 892, and Duke of Spoleto and Camerino (as Lambert II) from his father's death in 894. He was the son of Guy III of Spoleto an ...

. In 898, her son died. She retired from politics after the death of her son and settled in the convent of Camerino and later in the convent of Salsomaggiore.

Life

References

Further reading