Emma (Hemma) (bef. 950 – 1005/06) was a Bohemian duchess consort as the second wife of

Boleslaus II of Bohemia Boleslaus II the Pious ( ; 932 – 7 February 999), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 972 until his death in 999. Life and reign Boleslaus was an elder son of Duke Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Boleslaus I the Cruel ...

. Her origins are uncertain. Historian Gelasius Dobner (1719–90) thought she was a princess of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, and this theory has been recently respected. The latest research of historians and

numismatists A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coins (and poss ...

, however, indicate that she was of Italian-Burgundian origin and have identified her with

Emma of Italy Emma of Italy ( 948 – after 987) was Queen of Western Francia as the wife of King Lothair, whom she married in 965. Their son, Louis V, was the last Carolingian king. Life Born around 948, Emma was the only child of Lothair II of Italy a ...

, widow of King

Lothair of France Lothair (; ; 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. was the penultimate Carol ...

(d. 986). She became the second wife of 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, the first wife of Boleslaus II. After her husband's death in 999 AD, Emma struck coins bearing her own name, labelling herself a queen. However, Boleslaus III soon took the throne. Afraid of Boleslaus III, Emma chose to go into exile at the court of Bavaria in 1001 together with Dukes of Bohemia Oldřich and

Jaromir Jaromír, Jaromir, Jaroměr is a Slavic male given name. Origin and meaning Jaromír is a West Slavic given name composed of two stems ''jaro'' and ''mír''. The meaning is not definite: * Polish ''jary'' (archaic) = „spry, young, strong“; '' ...

. The brothers sought military backing from the German King

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

, definitively placing

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

within the jurisdiction of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. In 1004, Jaromír occupied

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

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

Mělník Mělník (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

, where she died. Evidencing her existence are Bohemian denar coins with the inscription EMMA REGINA ("Queen Emma", not Duchess).

References

*Jan Kilián and Luboš Polanský (eds.): ''Emma regina – Civitas Melnic'', Mělník-Praha, 2008, . Duchesses of Bohemia 10th-century women from Bohemia 11th-century women from Bohemia 11th-century people from Bohemia 10th-century people from Bohemia Year of birth unknown 10th-century births 1000s deaths Year of death uncertain {{CzechRepublic-bio-stub