Ermengard of Italy (died 896/897) was Queen of Provence as the spouse of King Boso. She was the second and only surviving child of Emperor Louis II. In her early life, she was betrothed to Constantine, the junior Byzantine emperor, but whether the marriage actually occurred or not is still debated among historians. In 871, Ermengard and her family were taken hostage by Adelchis of Benevento but were later freed. In 876, Ermengard married Boso, a nobleman with connections to the Carolingian dynasty, and became queen upon his accession to the throne of Provence in 879. After her husband's death in 887, she served as regent of the kingdom during the minority of her son Louis the Blind. Early life and engagement to Constantine Ermengard was the daughter of Emperor Louis II, who ruled over Italy, and his wife, Engelberga,. Ermengard's granduncle was Emperor Charles the Bald. In her youth, she was instructed in the scriptures by Anastasius Bibliothecarius, the chief archivist of the papal Lateran Palace. In 869, the courts of the Carolingian and Byzantine Empires entered into discussions to arrange an alliance against the Saracens in southern Italy. During the negotiations, in addition to a military alliance, a marriage between Ermengard and Constantine, the eldest son of Emperor Basil I, was proposed. Ermengard and Constantine were betrothed in 870 or 871. To this end, an ambassador was sent by Louis to the Byzantine Empire. The Carolingian and Frankish annals Annales Bertiniani referred to Ermengard in 879 as "". However, the annals erroneously refer to Ermengard's betrothed as Basil, not Constantine. Whether the marriage actually occurred is still debated among historians. The historians Charles Previté-Orton and Werner Ohnsorge take the position that they married, but Shaun Tougher argues that there is no evidence of this, considering the arrangement more of a child's engagement than a true marriage, given that Constantine would have been either 13 or 14 at the time and many Byzantine men married at age 15. Louis refused to hand over Ermengard to the patriarch sent by the Byzantines to bring her to the Byzantine Empire. The alliance between the empires failed to come into fruition, and in the, its authors, including the Byzantinist Ralph-Johannes Lilie, argue that the marriage of Ermengard and Constantine did not either.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Ermengard of Italy (died 896/897) was Queen of Provence as the spouse of King Boso. She was the second and only surviving child of Emperor Louis II. In her early life, she was betrothed to Constantine, the junior Byzantine emperor, but whether the marriage actually occurred or not is still debated among historians. In 871, Ermengard and her family were taken hostage by Adelchis of Benevento but were later freed. In 876, Ermengard married Boso, a nobleman with connections to the Carolingian dynasty, and became queen upon his accession to the throne of Provence in 879. After her husband's death in 887, she served as regent of the kingdom during the minority of her son Louis the Blind.

Overview

Ermengard of Italy (died 896/897) was Queen of Provence as the spouse of King Boso. She was the second and only surviving child of Emperor Louis II. In her early life, she was betrothed to Constantine, the junior Byzantine emperor, but whether the marriage actually occurred or not is still debated among historians. In 871, Ermengard and her family were taken hostage by Adelchis of Benevento but were later freed. In 876, Ermengard married Boso, a nobleman with connections to the Carolingian dynasty, and became queen upon his accession to the throne of Provence in 879. After her husband's death in 887, she served as regent of the kingdom during the minority of her son Louis the Blind. Early life and engagement to Constantine Ermengard was the daughter of Emperor Louis II, who ruled over Italy, and his wife, Engelberga,. Ermengard's granduncle was Emperor Charles the Bald. In her youth, she was instructed in the scriptures by Anastasius Bibliothecarius, the chief archivist of the papal Lateran Palace. In 869, the courts of the Carolingian and Byzantine Empires entered into discussions to arrange an alliance against the Saracens in southern Italy. During the negotiations, in addition to a military alliance, a marriage between Ermengard and Constantine, the eldest son of Emperor Basil I, was proposed. Ermengard and Constantine were betrothed in 870 or 871. To this end, an ambassador was sent by Louis to the Byzantine Empire. The Carolingian and Frankish annals Annales Bertiniani referred to Ermengard in 879 as "". However, the annals erroneously refer to Ermengard's betrothed as Basil, not Constantine. Whether the marriage actually occurred is still debated among historians. The historians Charles Previté-Orton and Werner Ohnsorge take the position that they married, but Shaun Tougher argues that there is no evidence of this, considering the arrangement more of a child's engagement than a true marriage, given that Constantine would have been either 13 or 14 at the time and many Byzantine men married at age 15. Louis refused to hand over Ermengard to the patriarch sent by the Byzantines to bring her to the Byzantine Empire. The alliance between the empires failed to come into fruition, and in the, its authors, including the Byzantinist Ralph-Johannes Lilie, argue that the marriage of Ermengard and Constantine did not either.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).