Individual Details
Berengar II King of Italy
(Bef 913 - 6 Aug 966)
Berengar was born before 913, the son of Adalbert 'the Rich', margrave of Ivrea, and Gisela of Friaul. He became count of Ivrea in 925. Before 936 he married Willa of Tuscany, daughter of Boso of Arles, margrave of Tuscany, and they had three children of whom Adalbert and Rosela Roxana would have progeny.
From the time of Berengar's successful uprising of the nobles in 945, all real power and patronage in the kingdom of Italy was concentrated in his hands. The king's power in Italy was nominal and, following the uprising. Berengar became the effective king of Italy upon the withdrawal to Provence of Hugo of Arles, who left his young son Lothar as titular king. Lothar's brief reign ended with his death in 950.
Berengar then attempted to legitimise his rule in Lombardy by forcing Lothar's widow Aelis (Adelheid) de Bourgogne, the respective daughter, daughter-in-law, and widow of the last three kings of Italy, into marriage with his son Adalbert. Instead she entreated the protection of Otto, king of Germany. Berengar then seized the opportunity and declared himself king, with his son as co-king. The pleas by Aelis for intervention resulted in Otto's invasion of Italy in 951. He rescued Aelis, marrying her himself, and forced Berengar and Adalbert to do homage to him for their kingdom in 952. Otto received the homage of the Italian nobility and assumed the title of a king of the Lombards.
Berengar and his son Adalbert remained kings as Otto's vassals. After 960 they attacked Pope John XII, on whose appeal Otto marched into Rome and was crowned emperor in 962. John's subsequent negotiations with Berengar caused Otto to depose the pope. After three years refuge in a mountain fortress, Berengar was sent as a prisoner to Bamberg in Bavaria, where he died on 6 August 966.
His wife Willa had mistreated Aelis when Berengar held her captive for several months in 951. The chronicler Liutprand of Cremona, raised at his court at Pavia, gives several particularly vivid accounts of Willa's character. She was held captive in a German nunnery until her death after 966.
Source: Leo van de Pas
From the time of Berengar's successful uprising of the nobles in 945, all real power and patronage in the kingdom of Italy was concentrated in his hands. The king's power in Italy was nominal and, following the uprising. Berengar became the effective king of Italy upon the withdrawal to Provence of Hugo of Arles, who left his young son Lothar as titular king. Lothar's brief reign ended with his death in 950.
Berengar then attempted to legitimise his rule in Lombardy by forcing Lothar's widow Aelis (Adelheid) de Bourgogne, the respective daughter, daughter-in-law, and widow of the last three kings of Italy, into marriage with his son Adalbert. Instead she entreated the protection of Otto, king of Germany. Berengar then seized the opportunity and declared himself king, with his son as co-king. The pleas by Aelis for intervention resulted in Otto's invasion of Italy in 951. He rescued Aelis, marrying her himself, and forced Berengar and Adalbert to do homage to him for their kingdom in 952. Otto received the homage of the Italian nobility and assumed the title of a king of the Lombards.
Berengar and his son Adalbert remained kings as Otto's vassals. After 960 they attacked Pope John XII, on whose appeal Otto marched into Rome and was crowned emperor in 962. John's subsequent negotiations with Berengar caused Otto to depose the pope. After three years refuge in a mountain fortress, Berengar was sent as a prisoner to Bamberg in Bavaria, where he died on 6 August 966.
His wife Willa had mistreated Aelis when Berengar held her captive for several months in 951. The chronicler Liutprand of Cremona, raised at his court at Pavia, gives several particularly vivid accounts of Willa's character. She was held captive in a German nunnery until her death after 966.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | Bef 913 | ||||
| Marriage | Bef 936 | Willa of Tuscany | |||
| Death | 6 Aug 966 | Bamberg |
Families
| Spouse | Willa of Tuscany ( - 966) |
| Child | Rosela Roxana of Italy (955 - 1003) |
| Child | Marquis Adalbert of Ivrea, joint-King of Italy (936 - 972) |
| Father | Marquis Adalbert of "The Rich" Ivrea (870 - 923) |
| Mother | Gisela of Friaul (880 - 910) |