Emma of Italy (c. 948 – after 987) was Queen of Western Francia as the wife of King Lothair, whom she married in 965. Their son,

Louis V Louis V may refer to: * Louis V of France (967–987) * Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and V of Germany (1282–1347) * Louis V, Duke of Bavaria (1315–1361) * Louis V, Elector Palatine (ruled 1508–1544) * Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (r ...

, was the last Carolingian king.

Life

Born around 948, Emma was the only child of Lothair II of Italy and

Adelaide of Italy Adelaide of Italy (german: Adelheid; 931 – 16 December 999 AD), also called Adelaide of Burgundy, was Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Emperor Otto the Great; she was crowned with him by Pope John XII in Rome on 2 February 962. She was the ...

.Gallick, Sarah (2009). ''The big book of women saints''. Pymble, NSW: HarperCollins e-books. . Her father was poisoned in 950 by his political rival,

Berengar of Ivrea Berengar II ( 900 – 4 August 966) was the King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as Margr ...

. Berengar attempted to marry Emma’s mother, who had a claim to the kingdom, to his own son; she defied him, however, and married the German king Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor instead, by whom she had

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Ita ...

. In 977, Queen Emma was accused by her brother-in-law, Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine, of infidelity with Ascelin, Bishop of Laon. The Queen and Bishop were exonerated by the Synod of Sainte-Macre, led by

Adalberon, Archbishop of Rheims Adalbero (French ''Adalbéron''; died 23 January 989) was the archbishop of Reims, chancellor of Kings Lothair and Louis V of France. Biography Nearing the end of the rule of Carolingian dynasty over West Francia, Archbishop Adalbero and Queen ...

, and Charles was forced to flee Western Francia. Emma, to ensure her son’s succession, then persuaded Lothair to crown him as associated king; Lothair did so, but refused to let him have any real power. Emma’s marriage to Lothair was marked by hostilities between her husband and her half-brother, Otto II, each invading the other’s territories, and attempting to destabilise each other, often through the intermediary of Lothair’s brother, Charles (who as Duke of Lower Lorraine was a vassal of the Emperor). The final years of their marriage, however, from 980 onwards, saw peace between Lothair and his in-laws; when Otto II died, he was even advanced as guardian of the young King. Lothair died on 2 March 986, and their young son Louis became king. However, he promptly drove Emma and Bishop Ascelin of Laon from the court, accusing them of having poisoned Lothair. Louis then died on 22 May 987, without an heir. In the following months, her brother-in-law Charles seized the royal capital of Laon and declared himself king;

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

, Duke of the Franks, was elected and crowned king by the agencies of Adalberon on 3 July 987. In the resulting conflicts, Ascelin betrayed Charles to Hugh Capet, as a result of which the last Carolingian was imprisoned in Orleans. Emma's doings following the death of her son are unclear; she is believed to have died in a Burgundian convent or married Duke Boleslaus II (being identical to Emma of Mělník) and possibly had a son called Oldřich.

Hypothetical second union in Bohemia

According to some historians, she may have been Emma of Mělník, who married Boleslaus II about the year 989 and died either in 1005 or 1006. It was traditionally supposed by Czech historians that Emma was the mother of Boleslaus' younger sons Oldřich and Jaromír and that the mother of the oldest son, Boleslaus III of Bohemia, was

Adiva Adiva was the first wife of Boleslaus II of Bohemia. It has been speculated that she was the progeny of Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alf ...

, the first wife of Boleslaus II. After death of her second husband and afraid of Boleslaus III, Emma chose to go into exile at the court of Bavaria (as she was stepsister of former Emperor

) in 1001 together with her stepsons Oldřich and Jaromír. The brothers sought military backing from the German King Henry II. This action definitively placed Bohemia within the jurisdiction of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. In 1004, Jaromír occupied

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

with a German army and made himself duke. Emma came back to Bohemia, maybe living in town

Mělník Mělník (; german: Melnik) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Mělník lies in one of the most im ...

, where she died. Evidence of a Bohemian marriage are Bohemian

denar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin o ...

s with the inscription EMMA REGINA ("Queen Emma", not Duchess), while denars of her husband Boleslaus II from the same period are inscribed BOLESLAVS DUX ("Duke Boleslaus"). In that time Bohemia was a

Duchy of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, ( cs, České knížectví) was a monarchy and a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early and High Middle Ages. It was formed around 870 b ...

, not yet a

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

, but she was still an anointed queen of Western Francia. Through her the following Dukes of Bohemia became also offspring of Carolingian. This second wedding is not accepted by the majority of historians.

References

External links

''Women's Biography: Emma, queen of the Franks''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emma Of Italy Frankish queens consort 940s births Carolingian dynasty French queens consort Year of death unknown 10th-century people from West Francia Bosonids 10th-century French people 10th-century French women Women from the Carolingian Empire Daughters of kings Queen mothers