Louis the Blind ( 880 – 5 June 928) was the

king of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

from 11 January 887,

King of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...

from 12 October 900, and briefly

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. His father was a

Bosonid The Bosonids were a dynasty of Carolingian era dukes, counts, bishops and knights descended from Boso the Elder. Eventually they married into the Carolingian dynasty and produced kings and an emperor of the Frankish Empire. The first great scion o ...

and his mother was a

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 ...

. He was blinded after a failed invasion of Italy in 905.

Early reign

Born c.880, Louis was the son of Boso, the usurper king of Provence, and Ermengard, a daughter of

Emperor Louis II Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''impera ...

. As a boy of seven, Louis succeeded to the throne of his father Boso as

King of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

upon Boso's death on 11 January 887. The kingdom Louis inherited was much smaller than his father's, as it did not include

Upper Burgundy The Kingdom of Upper Burgundy was a Frankish dominion established in 888 by the Welf king Rudolph I of Burgundy on the territory of former Middle Francia. It grew out of the Carolingian margraviate of Transjurane Burgundy (''Transjurania'', ) s ...

(lost to

Rudolph I of Burgundy Rudolph I (859 – October 25, 911) was King of Upper Burgundy from his election in 888 until his death. Rudolph belonged to the elder Welf family and was the son of Conrad II, Duke of Transjurane Burgundy, Conrad, Count of Auxerre and Waldrada of ...

), nor any of French Burgundy, absorbed by

Richard the Justiciar Richard, Duke of Burgundy (858–921), also known as Richard of Autun or Richard the Justiciar, was Count of Autun from 880 and the first Margrave and Duke of Burgundy. He eventually attained suzerainty over all the counties of Burgundy save Mâ ...

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

. This meant that the kingdom of

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

was restricted to the environs of

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.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 ...

, with the support of Louis's uncle,

. In May, Ermengard traveled with Louis to the court of her relative, the emperor

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

, and received his recognition of the young Louis as king. Charles adopted Louis as his son and put both mother and son under his protection. In May 889, she traveled to the court of Charles' successor,

Arnulf Arnulf is a masculine German given name. It is composed of the Germanic elements ''arn'' "eagle" and ''ulf'' "wolf". The ''-ulf, -olf'' suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere ...

, to make a new submission, while at the same time seeking the blessing of

Pope Stephen V Pope Stephen V ( la, Stephanus V; died 14 September 891) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from September 885 to his death. In his dealings with Photius I of Constantinople, as in his relations with the young Slavic Orthodox c ...

. The short work, '' Visio Karoli Grossi'', may have been written shortly after Charles' death to support Louis's claim. If so, Louis must have had the support of

Fulk the Venerable Fulk the Venerable (died June 17, 900) was archbishop of Reims from 883 until his death. He was a key protagonist in the political conflicts of the West Frankish kingdom that followed the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire in the late ninth cen ...

Archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims (traditionally spelt "Rheims" in English) ( la, Archidiœcesis Remensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese ...

. On the other hand, the ''Visio'' may have been written later, circa 901, to celebrate (and support) Louis's imperial coronation. In August 890, at the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

of Valence, a council of

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s and

feudatories A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

of the realm, after hearing the recommendation of the pope, and receiving notification of Charles the Fat's previous agreement to the proposition, proclaimed Louis as King of

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, Provence, and Cisjurane Burgundy. In 894, Louis himself did homage to Arnulf. In 896, Louis waged war on the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. Throughout his reign he fought with these Saracen

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

, who had established a base at

Fraxinet Fraxinetum or Fraxinet ( ar, فرخشنيط, translit=Farakhshanīt or , from Latin ''fraxinus'': " ash tree", ''fraxinetum'': "ash forest") was the site of a Muslim fortress in Provence between about 887 and 972. It is identified with moder ...

in 889 and had been raiding the coast of Provence, alarming the local nobility.

Conflict with Berengar

In 900, Louis, as the grandson and heir of the Emperor Louis II, was invited into Italy by various lords, including

Adalbert II, Margrave of Tuscany Adalbert II (c. 875 – 915), called the Rich, son of Adalbert I, Margrave of Tuscany and Rothild of Spoleto. He was a grandson of Boniface II, and was concerned with the troubles of Lombardy, at a time when so many princes were contending for th ...

, who were suffering under the ravages of the

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...

and the incompetent rule of Berengar I. Louis thus marched his army across the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and defeated Berengar, chasing him from

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

, the old Lombard capital, where, in the church of San Michele, he was crowned with the

Iron Crown of Lombardy The Iron Crown ( lmo, Corona Ferrea de Lombardia; it, Corona Ferrea; la, Corona Ferrea) is a relic and may be one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. It was made in the Early Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and jewels fit ...

on 12 October, 900.Duckett, pg. 51 He travelled onwards 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 ...

, where, in 901, he was crowned Emperor by

Pope Benedict IV Pope Benedict IV ( la, Benedictus IV; c. 840 - 30 July 903) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 900 to his death. The tenth-century historian Flodoard, who nicknamed him "the Great", commended his noble birth an ...

. However, his inability to stem the Magyar incursions and impose any meaningful control over northern Italy saw the Italian nobles quickly abandon his cause and once again align themselves with Berengar. In 902, Berengar defeated Louis's armies and forced him to flee to Provence and promise never to return. In 905, Louis, after again listening to the Italian nobles who were tired of Berengar's rule, this time led by

Adalbert I of Ivrea Adalbert I (died after 28 February 929) was the margrave of Ivrea, the second of the Anscarid dynasty, from the late 890s until his death. In the intermittent civil war which affected Italy from 888 into the 930s, Adalbert initially strove to rem ...

,Kleinhenz, Christopher, ''Medieval Italy: an encyclopedia, Volume 2'', (2003), pg. 656 launched another attempt to invade Italy. Once again throwing Berengar out of Pavia, he marched and also succeeded in taking

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

with only a small following, after receiving the promise of support from the

, Adalard. Partisans of Berengar in the town soon got word to Berengar of Louis's exposed position at Verona, and his limited support. Berengar returned, accompanied by

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n troops, and entered Verona in the dead of night. Louis sought sanctuary at the church of St Peter, but he was captured, and on 21 July 905, he had his eyes put out (for breaking his oath)Comyn, pg. 85 and was forced to relinquish his royal Italian and imperial crowns. Later, Berengar became Emperor. After this last attempt to restore Carolingian power over Italy, Louis continued to rule Provence for over twenty years, though his cousinBradbury, Jim, ''The Capetians: kings of France, 987-132'', (2007), pg. 63

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

Count of Arles This is a list of the counts of Arles. * Garin, or Warin, (until 853), also ''Guerin'' in French, ''Garí'' in Spanish, and ''Guerí'' in Catalan; also duke of Toulouse (835–840), margrave of Burgundy, and count of Autun, Mâcon, Chalon, Meme ...

, was the dominant figure in the territory. Louis returned to

. As regent, Hugh married Louis's sister Willa. Louis lived out his days until his death in obscurity, and through his life he continued to style himself as Roman Emperor. He was succeeded by his brother-in-law in 928.

Marriages and heirs

In 899, Louis III was betrothed to

Anna of Constantinople Anna Porphyrogenita ( grc-x-medieval, Ἄννα Πορφυρογεννήτη, translit=Anna Porphyrogennētē, rus, Анна Византийская, uk, Анна Порфірогенета; 13 March 963 – 1011) was a Grand Princess consort ...

, the daughter of

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Leo VI the Wise Leo VI, called the Wise ( gr, Λέων ὁ Σοφός, Léōn ho Sophós, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well r ...

and his second wife,

Zoe Zaoutzaina Zoe Zaoutzaina (Greek: Ζωὴ Ζαούτζαινα; died May 899) was a Byzantine empress consort as the second wife of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise. She was the daughter of Stylianos Zaoutzes (Στυλιανὸς Ζαούτζης), a high ...

.Shepard, Jonathan, ''The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire'', Cambridge University Press, 2008, pg. 423 The evidence for this is a letter by Patriarch

Nicholas Mystikos Nicholas I Mystikos or Nicholas I Mysticus ( el, Νικόλαος Α΄ Μυστικός, ''Nikolaos I Mystikos''; 852 – 11 May 925) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 901 to February 907 and from May 912 to his death ...

in which he testifies that Leo VI had united his daughter to a

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

prince, a cousin of

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

, to whom came later a great misfortune. That unfortunate prince could only be Louis III, whose mother Irmingardis was a first cousin of Bertha and who was blinded on 21 July 905.Christian Settipani, ''Nos Ancêtres de l' Antiquité'', p. 6-7 This betrothal occurred shortly before the fall of

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...

to the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

, and was part of extended diplomatic activities meant to strengthen Byzantine alliances with the western powers to preserve Byzantine territory in southern Italy. The question of whether the betrothal was ever followed up by an actual marriage is still a matter of some controversy. Louis fathered a son called

Charles-Constantine Charles-Constantine (died 962) was a Count of Vienne. His father, Louis the Blind, was King of Provence and Holy Roman Emperor. Life When Charles' father Louis died in 929, Hugh of Arles, who was already king of Italy, took over Provence and gave ...

, who would become

Count of Vienne The count of Vienne was the ruler of the Viennois, with his seat at Vienne, during the period of the Carolingian Empire and after until 1030, when the county of Vienne was granted to the Archdiocese of Vienne. Girart de Roussillon ruled Provence ...

. Charles' mother is not named in any sources. There has been modern speculation, proposed by Previté-Orton and championed by

Christian Settipani Christian Settipani (born 31 January 1961) is a French genealogist, historian and IT professional, currently working as the Technical Director of a company in Paris. Biography Settipani holds a Master of Advanced Studies from the Paris-Sorbo ...

, that she was Anna,C. W. Previté Orton, "Charles Constantine of Vienne", ''English Historical Review'', 29(1914):703—9. the daughter of

Leo VI Leo VI (or Leon VI, notably in Greek) may refer to : * Leo VI the Wise, Byzantine emperor 886 to 912 * Pope Leo VI, 928 to 929 * King Leo VI of Armenia (1342 – 1393), of the House of Lusignan, last Latin king of the Armenian crusader Kingdom of C ...

and

, based both upon the documented betrothal, as well on the

onomastic Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...

evidence, stating that Charles-Constantine's name points to a Byzantine mother. Shaun Tougher doubts they were ever married.Shaun Tougher, ''The Reign of Leo VI (886–912): Politics and People'' (Brill, 1997), p. 148. Detractors of the theory point out that when Anna was born, however, she was the daughter of a concubine who later became empress. Her father, at the time of Charles' birth, was the reigning emperor, therefore the silence of primary sources works against this theory. In addition,

Liutprand of Cremona Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios (c. 920 – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 12 ...

makes no mention of this, and it would have been very interesting to him, given that he was a thorough gossip, had been ambassador to Constantinople and devoted several chapters to the misadventures of Louis in Italy with no mention of these Byzantine connections.

René Poupardin René Poupardin (27 February 1874 – 23 August 1927) was a French medievalist and paleographer whose most important works were on Burgundy, Provence and the south Italian principalities. He was an alumnus of the École nationale des chartes and a ...

believed that Constantine was not a baptismal name, but Settipani disagrees. Richer specifically stated that Charles' ancestry was tainted with illegitimacy and mentioned nothing of his mother's supposed illustrious Byzantine parentage. Christian Settipani challenges that theory by stating that the only reason why René Poupardin made him a bastard of Louis III was a passage by Richerius claiming that "Charles Constantine (...) was from a royal race, but which nobility had been vilified by a bastard ancestry remounting to his great-great-grandfather", proving nothing about Charles-Constantine's mother. Such a union would also account for the mention of Greek merchants in Louis’ privilege of 921. In 914, Louis entered a second union, which would then be either his first or second marriage, by marrying Adelaide, daughter of Rudolph I of Upper Burgundy, likely mother of Rudolph, the other documented son of Louis the Blind. In December 915, his daughter,

Anna of Provence Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

, married Berengar. It has been suggested, largely for

reasons, that Anna was a daughter of Louis III and his wife Anna, daughter of Leo VI the Wise. In that case, she would have been betrothed to Berengar while still a child and only become his ''consors'' and ''imperatrix'' in 923.

Notes

References

* * * * * * Duckett, Eleanor (1968). ''Death and Life in the Tenth Century''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. * Previté-Orton, C. W.
Italy and Provence, 900–950."
''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 32, No. 127. (Jul., 1917), pp 335–347. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis the Blind 880s births 928 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century Holy Roman Emperors 9th-century kings of Italy 10th-century kings of Italy Bosonids Frankish warriors Blind royalty and nobility Medieval child rulers Kings of Lower Burgundy Rulers of the Carolingian Empire