Carola (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

811) is the name used by Edgecumbe Staley in his book ''The dogaressas of Venice'' to refer to the

Dogaressa Dogaressa ( , , ) was the official title of the wife of the Doge of Venice. The title was unique for Venice: while the head of the Republic of Genoa were also called Doge, the wives of the Doges of Genoa were not called ''Dogaressa'', nor did t ...

of Venice married to Doge

Obelerio degli Antenori Obelerio degli Antenori (also Antenoreo) was the ninth traditional (seventh historical) Doge of Venice from 804 to 811. History He was the son of Encagilio. Already a tribune during the dogeship of Giovanni Galbaio, he and other Venetian pro-Fr ...

(r. 804-811). Among many claims, she is sometimes purported to be the first consort of a Venetian doge with the title and position of dogaressa of Venice, although this is a claim that only appears for the first time in 1858, over 1,000 years after her supposed reign. The first mention of a consort of Obelerio in the surviving historical record is in the

Chronicon Altinate The ''Chronicon Altinate'', ''Altino Chronicle'' or ''Origo civitatum Italie seu Venetiarum'' is one of the oldest sources for the history of Venice. The oldest known manuscripts date to the 13th century, though its components are older. It has con ...

, said to be an unnamed daughter of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

, and several other early accounts fail to mention any wife or consort of Obelerio. Despite the lack of contemporary evidence, the consort figure in the

became part of the canon of Venetian history, and thus is found in many accounts of Obelerio's reign.

Life

According to Staley's book, regarded by modern scholars as a "fictional and fanciful" account of the dogaressas, Carola was originally a Frankish countess and a lady-in-waiting to the empress of

Charles the Great Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

. In Staley's narrative, she met Obelerio when he and his brother Beato visited the court of Charles in Aix-La-Chapelle. Charles gave his blessing to the union and declared it to be a political alliance and gave his protection to Venice. Staley describes Carola as strong-willed, energetic and with an ability to create respect and obedience, and says that she was somewhat disliked for the perceived Frankish influence she represented. None of these details are found in previous historical records. Staley also claims Carola participated in an legendary intrigue constructed by her brother-in-law Beato. According to 'legend', once again a story found in no other sources, Staley relates that Beato married the Byzantine Princess Cassandra in order to replace Doge Obelerio and Dogaressa Carola with himself and Cassandra by support of the Byzantines. Upon the arrival of Cassandra to Venice, Carola destroyed the alliance between Beato and Cassandra by convincing Cassandra to engage in adultery with her youngest brother-in-law, Valentino.Staley, Edgcumbe:
The dogaressas of Venice : The wives of the doges
', London : T. W. Laurie In Staley's tale, Carola did succeed, but fell in love with Valentino herself in the process. Staley then claims a Byzantine fleet was sighted in the Adriatic Sea and the Doge felt threatened enough to send for Frankish assistance. His appeal to the Franks supposedly insulted the Byzantines, which lead to the capture of Obelerio and Carola as well as Beato and Cassandra, which were all imprisoned in Constantinople. Other than Obelerio's imprisonment in Constantinople, Staley's account matches very little with the earliest records of this event, suggesting that these details follow the standard archetypes of tragic stories and female temptresses rather than any historical basis.

References

* Staley, Edgcumbe:
The dogaressas of Venice : The wives of the doges
', London : T. W. Laurie {{end Dogaressas of Venice 9th-century Venetian people Ladies-in-waiting 9th-century Italian women Women from the Carolingian Empire