.Married to , Berenger II of Ivrea, King of Italy
Child 1: , Rozela (Susanna) of Italy
Child 2: , Adalbert of Italy, King of Italy
Child 3: , Wido of Ivrea, Margrave of Ivrea
Child 4: , Cunrad-Cono of Ivrea, Margrave of Ivrea
Child 5: , Gisela of Ivrea, Nun
Child 6: , Gerberga of Ivrea, b. 945
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Willa, known as Willa of Tuscany, was the daughter of
Boso of Tuscany. She was the wife and
queen consort of
Berengar II of Italy. She was the mother of
Adalbert,
Guy,
Conrad and
Rozala of Italy.
She mistreated
Adelaide when Berengar held her captive for several months in 951. The chronicler
Liutprand of Cremona, raised at the court at
Pavia, gives several particularly vivid accounts of Willa's character.
[1] After Berengar's deposition, she was held captive in a German nunnery.
Berenger II of Ivrea, King of Italy
Burke called him Marquis d'Ivree and Roi d'Italie, also Margrave of Ivrea,
count of Milan. deposed 963.
Married to , Willa of Tuscany
Child 1: , Rozela (Susanna) of Italy
Child 2: , Adalbert of Italy, King of Italy
Child 3: , Wido of Ivrea, Margrave of Ivrea
Child 4: , Cunrad-Cono of Ivrea, Margrave of Ivrea
Child 5: , Gisela of Ivrea, Nun
Child 6: , Gerberga of Ivrea, b. 945
--------
Berengar II of Italy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
King of ItalyReign 950-961
Predecessor
Lothair IISuccessor
Otto IMargrave of IvreaReign
923-966
Predecessor
Adalbert ISuccessor
Adalbert IISpouse
Willa of TuscanyIssue
Adalbert of ItalyGuy of IvreaConrad of IvreaHouseAnscaridsFather
Adalbert I of IvreaMother
Gisela of Friuli
Born
c.900
Died
4 August 966
Bamberg Castle,
GermanyBerengar of Ivrea (ca. 900 – 4 August 966), sometimes also referred to as
Berengar II of Italy, was
Margrave of Ivrea and
usurper King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961, the last before
Italy's incorporation into the
Holy Roman Empire. He was a scion of the Burgundian
Anscarid dynasty.
Life
Berengar was a son of Margrave
Adalbert I of Ivrea and his wife Gisela of Friuli, daughter of the
Unruoching king
Berengar I of Italy. He thereby was a direct descendant of the
Carolingian emperor
Louis the Pious in the female line. He succeeded his father as margrave about 923 and married
Willa, daughter of the
Bosonid margrave
Boso of Tuscany and niece of King
Hugh of Italy. The chronicler
Liutprand of Cremona, raised at Berengar's court at
Pavia, gives several particularly vivid accounts of her character.
[2]About 940 Berengar led a revolt of Italian nobles against the rule of his uncle. To evade an assault by Hugh's liensmen, he, forewarned by the king's young son
Lothair, had to flee to the court of King
Otto I of Germany. Otto avoided taking sides, nevertheless in 945 Berengar could return to Italy with hired troops, welcomed by the local nobility. Hugh was defeated and retired to
Arles, he was nominally succeeded by Lothair. From the time of Berengar's successful uprising, all real power and patronage in the Kingdom of Italy was concentrated in his hands with Hugh's son Lothair as titular king. Lothair's brief reign ended upon his early death in 950, presumably poisoned.
Berengar then assumed the royal title with his son
Adalbert as co-ruler. He attempted to legitimize his kingship by forcing Lothair's widow
Adelaide, the respective daughter, daughter-in-law, and widow of the last three Italian kings, into marriage with Adalbert. However, the young woman fiercely refused, whereafter Berengar had her imprisoned at
Garda Castle, allegedly mistreated by Berengars's wife Willa. With the help of Count
Adalbert Atto of Canossa she managed to flee and entreated the protection of King Otto of Germany. Otto, himself a widower since 946, took the occasion to gain the
Iron Crown of Lombardy: Adelaide's requests for intervention resulted in his 951 invasion of Italy. Berengar had to entrench himself at
San Marino, while Otto received the homage of the Italian nobility, married Adelaide himself, and assumed the title of a
King of the Lombards. He afterwards returned to
Germany, appointing his son-in-law
Conrad the Red Italian regent at Pavia.
Berengar by Conrad's agency appeared at the 952
Reichstag in
Augsburg and paid homage to Otto. He and his son Adalbert remained Italian kings as Otto's vassals, though they had to cede the territory of the former
March of Friuli to him, which the German king enfeoffed to his younger brother Duke
Henry I of Bavaria as the Imperial
March of Verona.
Berengar remained a rebellious subordinate: when Otto had to deal with the revolt of his son Duke
Liudolf of Swabia in 953, he attacked the Veronese march and also laid siege to Count Adalbert Atto's
Canossa Castle. After 960, he even invaded the
Papal States under
Pope John XII, on whose appeal finally KIng Otto, aiming at his coronation as
Holy Roman Emperor, again marched against Italy. Berengar's troops deserted him and Otto by Christmas 961 had taken Pavia by default and declared Berengar deposed. He proceeded to
Rome, where he was crowned emperor on 2 February 962. He then once more turned against Berengar, who was besieged at
San Leo.
Meanwhile Pope John had entered on negotiations with Berengar's son Adalbert, which in 963 caused Otto to move into Rome, where he deposed the pope and had
Leo VIII elected. The next year, Berengar finally surrendered to Otto's forces, he was captured and imprisoned at
Bamberg in Germany, where he died in 966. His wife Willa spent the rest of her life in a German nunnery.