Teutberga (died 11 November 875) was a queen of Lotharingia by marriage to
Lothair II
Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga (died 875), daughter of Boso the Elder.
Reign
For political ...
. She was a daughter of
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 ...
Boso the Elder Boso (or Boson) "the Elder" ( 800 – 855) was a Frankish Count of Turin and Count of Valois of the Bosonid dynasty.
Family and issue
He was married to Engeltrude. They had the following issue:
* Boso, Count of Valois (d. 874)
* Teutberga (d. b ...
For political reasons, to forge ties of kinship with the Carolingian dynasty, the imperial family of Francia, in 855 she was married to the Carolingian
Lothair II
Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga (died 875), daughter of Boso the Elder.
Reign
For political ...
, the second son of Emperor
Lothair I
Lothair I or Lothar I (Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario'') (795 – 29 September 855) was emperor (817–855, co-ruling with his father until 840), and the governor of Bavar ...
.''Monumenta Germanica Historica, tomus I: Annales Lobienses, anno 855'', p. 232 It is very probably that Lothar II, at the time of marriage, already had a mistress named Waldrada, who, according to historian Baron Ernouf, was of noble Gallo-Roman family, whose brother,
Thietgaud Theotgaud (german: Dietgold; died 868) was the archbishop of Trier from 850 until his deposition in 867. He was the abbot of Mettlach prior to his election in 847 to succeed his uncle, Hetto, as archbishop.
Life
He took up his post three years lat ...
, was the
bishop of Trier
The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Ghunter, was
archbishop of Cologne
The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...
, while, according to the ''Annales Novienses'', she was the sister of Ghunter.''Veterum Scriptorum: Annales Novienses'', colonna 537. According to the ''Vita Sancti Deicoli'', Waldrada was related to Eberhard II, Count of
Nordgau The Nordgau (from the Germanic for "northern region") can refer to two distinct areas:
* Nordgau (Alsace), the Alsatian Nordgau, the medieval County of Nordgau, the northern part of Alsace
* Margraviate of the Nordgau, the Bavarian Nordgau in the a ...
(included
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
) family of Etichonids.''Monumenta Germanica Historica, tomus XV.2, Vita Sancti Deicoli'', p. 679.
Queen
Soon after their marriage, Lothair's father died and Lothair II inherited Middle Francian territory west of the Rhine stretching from the North Sea to the
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...
. Teutberga was not capable of bearing children and Lothair's reign was chiefly occupied by his efforts to obtain an annulment of their marriage, prompted also by his affection for Waldrada. His relations with his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German were influenced by his desire to obtain their support for this endeavor. Although quarrels and reconciliations between the three kings followed each other in quick succession, generally Louis favoured annulment, and Charles opposed it, while neither lost sight of the fact that Lothair had no legitimate sons to inherit his lands.
Separation
In 857 Lothair imprisoned Teutberga accusing her of incest with her brother Hucbert before their marriage. A church synod of all the bishops of Lotharingia held at the behest of Lothair II concerning his accusations was presided over by archbishops Ghunter and Thietgaud, both Waldrada's relations.''Essay on the history of elections of Rome, the States-General of France and the Parliament of England''. (Paris, 1789) T.1, pp. 212, 213:
"He othair IIforced, after several years of persecution, the queen, his wife, to appear before them ssembly of bishops and lords met at Aix-la-Chapelle and to them submit a declaration stating that recognizes not only guilty of incest with his own brother, Father Hucbert, who was married, but she acknowledges that she committed acts with her fornication against nature, and she certifies that she made all these confessions voluntarily and not coerced in any way. On this admission, so free and credible, this meeting is not the couch(?), slave of a despot, but led by the two archbishops of Cologne and Trier, condemns the unfortunate queen to be trapped forever in a cloister." But Hucbert took up arms on her behalf, and after she had submitted successfully to the ordeal of boiling water, Lothair was compelled to restore her in 858.
Still pursuing his purpose, Lothair won the support of his brother, Emperor Louis II, by a cession of lands and obtained the consent of the local clergy to the annulment and to his marriage with Waldrada, which took place in 862. A
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
Pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I ( la, Nicolaus I; c. 800 – 13 November 867), called Nicholas the Great, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority, exerting dec ...
who voided the decision of the synod and Lothair's marriage to Waldrada. An attack on Rome by the emperor was without result, and in 865 Lothair was threatened with excommunication and was convinced that Louis and Charles at their recent meeting had discussed the partition of his kingdom. Lothair accepted the pope's ruling and again took Teutberga back.
Later life
Teutberga, however, either from inclination or compulsion, now expressed her desire for an annulment, and Lothair went to Italy to obtain the assent of the new pope, Adrian II. Placing a favourable interpretation upon the words of the pope, he set out on the return journey, when he was seized with fever and died at Piacenza on 8 August 869. Teutberga then retired to the abbey of St. Glossinde of Metz until her death on 11 November 875.
The illegitimate status of Lothair II's only son, Hugo, by Waldrada, was not rectified before Lothair's death, and Lothair's kingdom was divided between his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German by the Treaty of Meerssen.