Ermengarde of Tours
| Ermengarde of Tours | |
|---|---|
| Empress of the Carolingian Empire | |
| Tenure | October 821 – 20 Mar 851 |
| Queen consort of Italy | |
| Tenure | October 821 – 20 Mar 851 |
| Queen consort of Middle Francia | |
| Tenure | August 843 – 20 Mar 851 |
| Born | c. 810 |
| Died | 20 March 851 (aged 40- 41) Erstein, France |
| Spouse | Lothair I |
| Issue | Louis II of Italy Helletrud Bertha Ermengarde Gisla Lothair II Rotrud Charles of Provence |
| House | Etichonids |
| Father | Hugh of Tours |
| Mother | Ava of Morvois |
Ermengarde of Tours (c. 810 – 20 Mar 851) was a Carolinian Empress consort and queen of Italy. She was daughter of Hugh of Tours[1] and Ava of Morvois.
In October 821 in Thionville, Ermengarde married the Carolingian Emperor Lothair I of the Franks (795–855).[1]
Ermengarde used her bridal gift to found the abbey Erstein in the Elsass,[2] in which she is buried. Ermengarde died in 851.[3]
Lothair and Ermengarde had:
- Louis II of Italy[1]
- Helletrud (Hiltrud) (c. 826–after 865/866)[4] m. Count Berengar (d. before 865/866)
- Bertha (c. 830–after 7 May 852, probably 877),[4] became before 847 Abbess of Avenay, perhaps Äbtissin of Faremoutiers
- A daughter of unknown name (b. probably 826/830), called Ermengarde in later sources, kidnapped 846 by Gilbert, Count of the Maasgau, who then married her
- Gisla (c. 830–860)[4] 851–860 Abbess of San Salvatore in Brescia
- Lothair II[1]
- Rotrud (baptized 835/840 in Pavia)[4] m. around 850/851 Lambert, Margrave of Brittany, Count of Nantes (Widonen), who died 1 May 852
- Charles of Provence[3]
Appearance
The contemporary poet Sedulius Scottus wrote "Men despise the zither's harmonious music whenever they hear your angelic and golden voice... Your face shines like ivory and blushes like a rose, and excels the beauty of Venus and the nymphs. A dazzling crown of golden hair adorns you, and splendid topaz, as a glittering diadem... Your milk-white neck glistens with beauty, shining with the lustre of lilies or ivory. Your soft white hands dispense myriad gifts, whence they sow on earth to reap in heaven.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d Riche 1993, p. 149.
- ^ Heidecker 2010, p. 117.
- ^ a b Heidecker 2010, p. 194.
- ^ a b c d Bouchard 2001, p. 102.
- ^ From Sedulius Scottus, Poem 20, in E. Doyle, Sedulius Scottus: On Christian Rulers and the Poems (Binghamton 1983)
Sources
- Bouchard, Constance Brittain (2001). Those of My Blood: Creating Noble Families in Medieval Francia. University of Pennsylvania Press.102
- Heidecker, Karl (2010). The Divorce of Lothar II: Christian Marriage and Political Power in the Carolingian World. Translated by Guest, Tanis M. Cornell University Press.
- Riche, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians:A Family who forged Europe. Translated by Allen, Michael Idomir. University of Pennsylvania Press.