Lothair II (926/8 – 22 November 950), often ''Lothair of Arles'', was the

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 947 to his death. He was of the noble

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

lineage of the

Bosonids 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 Francia, Frankish Empire. The first grea ...

, descended from

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. ...

. His father and predecessor was Hugh of Provence, great-grandson of

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 ...

, King of

Lotharingia Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...

, and his mother was a German princess named Alda (or Hilda). Although he held the title of ''rex Italiae'', he never succeeded in exercising power there. He was betrothed in 931 and married, 12 December 947, to the fifteen-year-old

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Odilo of Cluny Odilo of Cluny (c. 962 – 1 January 1049) was the fifth Benedictine Abbot of Cluny, holding the post for around 54 years. During his tenure Cluny became the most important monastery in western Europe. Odilo actively worked to reform the monastic p ...

gives her age at her marriage as "in her sixteenth year." the spirited and intelligent daughter of

Rudolph II of Burgundy Rudolph II (c. 11 July 880 – 11 July 937), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was King of Burgundy from 912 until his death. He initially succeeded in Upper Burgundy and also ruled as King of Italy from 922 to 926. In 933 Rudolph acquired the ...

and

Bertha of Swabia Bertha of Swabia (french: Berthe; german: Berta; AD – after January 2, 966), a member of the Alemannic Hunfriding dynasty, was queen of Burgundy from 922 until 937 and queen of Italy from 922 until 926, by her marriage with King Rudolph II. She ...

. Their marriage was part of a political settlement designed to conclude a peace between her father and his. In 933, Hugh of Arles had given up his kingdom (Provence) to his inveterate enemy Rudolph II, who merged the two kingdoms into a new

Kingdom of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various states located in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The historical Burgundy correlates with the border area of France, Italy and Switzerland and includes the major modern cities of Geneva and ...

, but died in 937. The couple had a daughter, Emma, born as early as 948, who was married in 966 to 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 ...

Lothair of France Lothair (french: Lothaire; la, Lothārius; 941 – 2 March 986), sometimes called Lothair II,After the emperor Lothair I. IIICounting Lothair II of Lotharingia, who ruled over modern Lorraine and Belgium. or IV,Counting Lothair II of Italy. ...

. Lothair's power in Italy was nominal. From the time of the successful uprising of the nobles in 945, when Hugh was forced into exile,

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 Marg ...

kept all real power and patronage in his hands. Lothair died at

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, perhaps poisoned by Berengar, who attempted to cement his usurped political power in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

by forcing Lothair's widow to marry his son

Adalbert Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...

. Instead she entreated the protection of Otto I of Germany, whom she married. Lothair figures briefly in the part related to Adelaide in the ''Gesta Ottonis'', an epic poem about Otto I of Germany, an epic poem about written ca. 960 by

Hroswitha of Gandersheim Hrotsvitha (c. 935–973) was a secular canoness who wrote drama and Christian poetry under the Ottonian dynasty. She was born in Bad Gandersheim to Saxon nobles and entered Gandersheim Abbey as a canoness. She is considered the first female writ ...

References

Bibliography

*Pierre Riché. ''Les Carolingiens, une famille qui fit l'Europe''. Paris: 1983. (in French) *Jean-Charles Volkmann. ''Bien Connaître les généalogies des rois de France''. (in French) *"Lothar II." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved April 25, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9049021.
"Lothar koenig von Italien"
Genealogical references (in German). {{DEFAULTSORT:Lothair 02 of Italy 920s births 950 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century kings of Italy Bosonids Frankish kings Frankish warriors