Ageltrude

Ageltrude or Agiltrude (around 860 – 27 August 923) was the Empress and Queen of Italy as the wife of Guy (reigned 891–94).^[1][2] She was the regent for her son Lambert (reigned 894–98) and actively encouraged him in opposing the Carolingians, and in influencing papal elections in their favour.^[3][4]

Ageltrude
Queen consort of Italy
Tenure	889 - 12 December 894
Holy Roman Empress
Tenure	891 - 12 December 894
Born	c. 860
Died	27 August 923
Spouse	Guy III of Spoleto
Issue	Lambert of Italy
Father	Adelchis of Benevento
Mother	Adeltrude

Life

Ageltrude was the daughter of Prince Adelchis of Benevento and Adeltrude. She married Guy of Spoleto circa 875, when he was the duke and margrave of Spoleto and Camerino.^[1] Guy of Spoleto defeated Berengar to became King of Italy in 889, and then, in 891, he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, making Ageltrude empress. Guy's reign was short, and in 894, Guy died, leaving Ageltrude a widow. As their son, Lambert, was a minor, she became regent.^[5][6]

In 894, Ageltrude accompanied her 14-year-old son, Lambert, to Rome to be confirmed as emperor by Pope Formosus, who supported the Carolingian claimant Arnulf of Carinthia.^[7] In 896, she and her son fled from Rome to Spoleto when Arnulf marched into Rome and was crowned in opposition to Lambert. This loss was only temporary, however, as Pope Formosus died a mere month after crowning Arnulf, and Arnulf himself was soon paralysed by a stroke.^[5][8]

Ageltrude, in a position of such power, took the opportunity to assert her authority in Rome and, after the very brief two-week papal reign of Boniface VI, she worked to have her preferred candidate elected as Pope Stephen VI. At her and Lambert's request, the body of Pope Formosus was disinterred, given a full trial on accusations of transferring one see to another, convicted, and his corpse was hurled into the Tiber, in an event that came to be known as the Cadaver Synod.^[1][9][10] Lambert became Lambert II of Spoleto.

In 898, her son died. She retired from politics after the death of her son and settled in the convent of Camerino and later in the convent of Salsomaggiore.^[4]

References

1. Bury, John Bagnell (1922). The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 3. Macmillan.
2. Mann, Horace (1925). The Lives of Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891-999. London, K. Paul, Trench, Trübner.
3. Kleinhenz, Christopher (2017-07-05). Routledge Revivals: Medieval Italy (2004): An Encyclopedia - Volume II. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-66443-1.
4. Manarini, Edoardo (2021-12-22). "Sex, Denigration and Violence: A Representation of Political Competition between Two Aristocratic Families in Ninth Century Italy". Conflict and Violence in Medieval Italy 568-1154: 205–242. doi:10.1017/9789048536207.008. ISBN 978-90-485-3620-7.
5. Karlin-Hayter, P. (January 1967). "'When Military Affairs were in Leo's Hands' A Note on Byzantine Foreign Policy (886–912)". Traditio. 23: 15–40. doi:10.1017/S0362152900008722. ISSN 0362-1529. S2CID 152098357.
6. Kleinhenz, Christopher (2017-07-05). Routledge Revivals: Medieval Italy (2004): An Encyclopedia - Volume II. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-66443-1.
7. Partner, Peter (1972). The lands of St. Peter: the papal state in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance. Berkeley [u.a.]: University of California Press. ISBN 0520021819.
8. Duckett, Eleanor Shipley (1967). Death and Life in the Tenth Century. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-06172-3.
9. "Stephen VI (or VII) | Biography, Reign & Exhumation | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
10. Limjoco, Uriel R. (2021-04-26). The Popes: A Brief Synopsis (from Peter to Francis). Covenant Books, Inc. ISBN 978-1-63630-743-5.

Further reading

• Guglielmotti, P. (2012). "Ageltrude: dal ducato di Spoleto al cuore del regno italico". Reti Medievali Rivista. 13 (2): 163–186. doi:10.6092/1593-2214/366 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
• Leporace, Tullia Gasparrini (1960). "Ageltrude". In Ghisalberti, Alberto Maria (ed.). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Vol. 1. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia italiana.

Preceded by Richardis	Empress of the Holy Roman Empire 891–894	Succeeded by Ota
Preceded by Bertila of Spoleto	Queen consort of Italy 889–894