of PROVENCE Boso (Boso II) King

Abt 0845 - Abt 0887  (42 years)

• Name	of PROVENCE Boso (Boso II) King
  Birth	Abt 0845
  Gender	Male
  Death	Abt 11 Jan 0887	Vienne, Provence
  Notes	Boso of Provence; Boson King of Province Birth: c. 850 Death: 11 JAN 886/87 Unknown Place 879: "King of Provence" married Ermengard of Italy. Issue: (unproven) Engelberga (unproven) Ethelberga Louis the Blind From MEDLANDS (Jan 2018): BOSON, son of comte BUVINUS [Bouvin] & his wife --- d'Arles (-Vienne, Isère 11 Jan 887, bur Vienne, cathédrale de Saint-Maurice). The Annals of Hincmar name "Bosone filio Buvini quondam comitis" in 869[ [...] [m firstly ---. The name of the supposed first wife of King Boson is not known. The only reference to her existence so far identified is in the Annales Fuldenses which record that "Buosone comite" abducted "filiam Hludowicis imperatoris de Italiam" by force in 878, having poisoned his wife[17]. m [secondly] ([Mar/Jun] 876) ERMENGARDIS, daughter of Emperor LOUIS II King of Italy & his wife Engelberga --- ([852/55]-896 before 2 Jun, bur Vienne, Isère, cathédrale de Saint-Maurice). "Hludowicus…imperator augustus" granted the abbey of San Salvatore to "nostra coniux…Angilberga ante filiam…nostrum Hermengardem" by charter dated at Venosa 28 Apr 868[18]. "Ludowicus…rex" granted "nepta nostra Hirmingarda" property at Morcula and Almenno in the county of Bergamo by a charter dated 26 Feb 875[19]. Regino records the marriage of "Hirmingardem filiam Hludowici imperatoris" and "Bosoni germano Richildis reginæ"[20]. Abbess of San Salvatore at Brescia 878. The Annales Fuldenses record that "Buosone comite" abducted "filiam Hludowicis imperatoris de Italiam" by force in 878, having poisoned his wife[21]. "Boso…et coniunx mea Hirmingardi proles imperiales" donated property "in pago Laticense…in villa Lantinus" to the abbey of Montiérender by charter dated 25 Jul 879, subscribed by "Richardi comitis, Teutbaldi comitis, Bernardi comitis"[22]. The Annales Bertiniani name "Richardus frater Bosonis" when recording that, after the capture of Vienne by the forces of King Carloman, he took “uxorem Bosonis et filiam eius” back to “comitatum suum Augustudensem” in 882[23]. She was regent for her son King Louis from 890. King Boson & his [first] wife had [one child]: 1. [WILLA [Guille] (-before 924). Chaume[24] and Hlawitschka[25] suggest that Willa, wife of Rudolf I King of Burgundy, was the daughter of King Boson, the former considering that she was the daughter of King Boson's second marriage while the latter prefers the king´s supposed first wife as her mother. [...] King Boson & his [second] wife had three children: 2. ENGELBERGA ([877]-919). Her parentage and marriage are deduced from her donation to Cluny with her husband dated Jan 917, in which her brother "Ludovico" is named[28]. The Annales Bertiniani record the betrothal in 878 of "filiam Bosonis" and "Karlomanno filio suo [=Hlodowici rex]"[29]. It is assumed that this daughter was Engelberga, who must have been an infant at the time, but no proof has been found which confirms that this is correct. "Bosonis" could refer either to the future King Boson or to Count Boson, husband of the adulterous Engiltrudis (see below). While Boson of Provence had refused to swear allegiance to Louis II "le Bègue" King of the West Franks ("Hlodowici rex") on the latter's accession, it is not known whether he was still in rebellion the following year. Assuming that some reconciliation had taken place, a marriage alliance between the two parties would have been a likely possibility. The other Count Boson was presumably of less political importance and, in addition, his problems with his adulterous wife may have rendered his daughters unmarriageable at the time. The Annales Bertiniani indicate that Engelberga was born from her father´s [second] marriage when they record that "Richardus frater Bosonis" took “uxorem Bosonis et filiam eius” back to “comitatum suum Augustudensem” in 882 after the capture of Vienne by the forces of King Carloman[30]. Engelberga is named as co-founder with her husband of the monastery of Cluny in a charter dated 11 Sep 910[31]. The Annales Masciacenses record in 919 the deaths of “Guilelmus famosus dux Aquitanorum...coniunx eius Ingelberga”[32]. She died as a nun at San Sisto, Piacenza. [Betrothed (11 Sep 878) to CARLOMAN, son of LOUIS II "le Bègue" King of the Franks & his first wife Ansgardis --- (867-killed accidentally Bézu-la-Forêt, near Andelys, Eure 6 Dec 884, bur église de l'abbaye royale de Saint-Denis). He succeeded his brother in 882 as CARLOMAN King of the West Franks.] m (before 898[33]) GUILLAUME I "le Pieux" Duke of Aquitaine, son of BERNARD "Plantevelue" Comte d'Auvergne & his wife Ermengarde [d'Auvergne] (-6 Jul 918, bur Abbaye de Brioude, Haute-Loire). 3. LOUIS (late 882 or after-Arles 5 Jun 928). Herimannus names "puer Ludowicus" son of Boson "ex filia Ludowici Italiæ imperatoris" when recording that he was adopted by Emperor Karl III after his father's death[34]. The Annales Bertiniani name "Richardus frater Bosonis" when recording that, after the capture of Vienne by the forces of King Carloman, he took “uxorem Bosonis et filiam eius” back to “comitatum suum Augustudensem” in 882[35], which suggests that Louis was born after the siege of Vienne. The Annales Fuldenses record the death in 887 of "Buosone", leaving a young son by "filia Hludowici Italici regis" but does not name him[36]. His parentage is confirmed by the charter dated 6 Jun 903 under which "Hludovicus…imperator augustus" confirmed privileges which Charles II "le Chauve" King of the West Franks had ceded to "fideles nostri Liutfridus, Hugo atque Teutbertus comites" at the request of "Adalelmo comite et eius coniugi Rotlindi", the charter naming "rex genitor nostri Boso"[37]. "Ludovico" is named as brother of Engelberga in the latter's donation to Cluny dated Jan 917[38]. He was adopted by his maternal great-uncle Emperor Karl III "der Dicke/le Gros" at Kirchen-am-Rhein end May 887, at the request of his mother, rendering him eligible to be elected king according to the rules of Carolingian succession[39]. He was elected LOUIS King [of Provence] at Valence in 890 by the Archbishops of Lyon, Arles, Vienne and Embrun, ruling over Provence and Viennois under the regency of his mother[40]. He was called to Italy in 896 by opponents of Berengario King of Italy, captured Pavia, expelled Berengario, and was elected LOUIS III King of Italy at Pavia 12 Oct 900, crowned the same day. He claimed the imperial crown from Pope Benedict IV, and was crowned Emperor LUDWIG III in Rome 15 or 22 Feb 901, although this was only recognised in Lombardy and Tuscany. He was expelled from Pavia by King Berengario in Jul 902, whereupon he returned to Vienne, but continued to call himself emperor. He was recalled to Italy in 905 by Adalbero II Marchese of Tuscany and reconquered the kingdom, but was captured by King Berengario at Verona and blinded 21 Jul 905. Regino records that "Hludowicus filius Bosonis" expelled "Berengarium" from Italy in 905[41]. He was freed and returned to Provence, where he continued to reign at Vienne, but in name only as Hugues Comte d'Arles was appointed governor[42]. "Ludowicus imperator augustus" restored property to the church of Avignon at the request of "comes nosterque propinquus Boso" by charter dated to [907/10][43]. Betrothed ([Jun/Jul] 900]) ANNA, daughter of Emperor LEON VI & his second wife Zoe Zautsina ([886/88]-[901/early 904], bur Constantinople Church of the Holy Apostles). The basis for this betrothal is a letter written by Nikolaos Mystikos, which Settipani quotes in French translation, recalling the writer's admonishing Emperor Leon VI for his unsuitable third marriage (dated to Spring 900), excused because of "l'accord…conclu avec le Franc…tu lui destinais comme épouse ta fille unique…[au] cousin de Berta auquel il est arrivé l'infortune que l'on sait"[44]. The date, the relationship with "Berta" (assuming, as Settipani proposes, that this is Berta daughter of Lothaire II King of Lotharingia who married Adalberto Marchese of Tuscany), and "l'infortune" (his blinding) are consistent with "le Franc" being identified with Louis III King of Italy (his title in 900). Settipani assumes that the marriage actually took place. However, the translation only refers to a proposed marriage ("…tu lui destinais…") and provides no proof that the marriage ever happened or, if it did occur, that the bride ever left Byzantium for Provence. Anna is not named in any of the surviving charters of Emperor Louis, nor has any mention of her been found in any of the primary sources so far consulted. As this would have been the first marriage between the families of the eastern and western emperors (no previous betrothals having resulted in marriage), this absence from contemporary western documentation is therefore striking. It also contrasts sharply with the extensive records which relate the Byzantine origin of Theophano, wife of Emperor Otto II (even though Theophano's precise ancestry is unrecorded), although it is recognised that Anna´s career was cut short by premature death in contrast to Theophano´s. Traditional genealogies[45] show Emperor Louis III's son, Charles Constantin, as the child of this alleged first marriage of Emperor Louis, presumably because of his grandiose name. However, another possible explanation is that the name was a symbol of the emperor's hope that his son would one day unite the two successor parts of the ancient Roman empire, in the name of his illustrious predecessors Emperors Charlemagne and Constantine I "the Great", completely independent of his maternal ancestry. Tougher suggests that Anna was legitimate, born after her parents' marriage, and that the marriage to King Louis did not take place[46]. If he is correct about her legitimacy at birth, this excludes her from being the mother of King Louis's son Charles Constantin, if the latter's birth date is correctly estimated below. Anna was crowned Augusta in Constantinople in [899/900], after the death of her mother and before the third marriage of her father[47]. Emperor Konstantinos VII's De Ceremoniis Aulæ records that "Anna et Eudocia, filiæ beati eiusdem Leonis ex [secunda uxore] Zoe", the Greek text specifying "Aννα και Aννα" although the editor suggests that "Ευδοκία" be substituted for the second Anna (without giving his reasons: this may result from confusion with Anna's older half-sister of that name), were buried in the church of the Holy Apostles[48]. It is not known whether this is an error, but in any case both daughters named Anna (assuming that there were two) must have died young. Her burial in Constantinople suggests that Anna never left her father's court. m ([Jun 902/905]) ADELAIS, daughter of ---. "Hludowicus…imperator augustus" granted property at Tressin, Viennois to "fideli nostro Girardo" at the request of "coniux nostra Adalaida" by charter dated 18 Jan 915[49]. Her origin is not known. According to Poupardin[50], she was Adelais, relative [maybe niece] of Rudolf I King of Upper Burgundy [Welf]. Presumably this is based on the two charters dated 28 Mar 943 and 18 May 943 under which "Carolus comes" is named "consanguineus noster" by Conrad I King of Burgundy[51]. The potential problem with this is the apparently impossible marriage of King Louis with his own niece. The solution would be either that Adelais was the daughter of King Rudolf by an earlier otherwise unrecorded marriage, or that King Rudolf's known wife Willa was not the daughter of Boson King [of Provence]. The problem is discussed fully by Settipani[52]. The discussion proceeds on the basis that Adelais was in some way related to King Rudolf, but the precise basis for this speculation does not appear to be clearly stated. The estimated date for this relatively obscure marriage is based on its having taking place during the ex-emperor's period of exile in Vienne, before his recall to Italy, at a time when he would not have been considered a great marriage prospect by more prominent prospective fathers-in-law. Another difficulty is that “consanguineus” in the 943 charters could indicate a more remote relationship than second cousin. Emperor Louis III & his wife had two children [...] 4. daughter ([after 882]-after 11 Aug 887). The existence of more than one daughter of King Boson & his second wife is confirmed by the charter dated 11 Aug 887 under which Emperor Karl III confirms a donation by "neptam nostram Hermingardim…filioque suo Hludouuico nepoti nostro et sororibus eius"[70]. It is not known how many other daughters there may have been. [...] Sources Medlands. Wikipedia: Boso of Provence Ancestry Tree. Medlands.
  Person ID	I57962	Freeman-Smith
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026

  
  

  Father	AMIENS Buvinus,   b. Bef 0820, Amiens, Somme, Picardie, France d. Abt 0863, Metz, Moselle, Lorraine, France (Age > 43 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	BOSONID Richilde,   b. Abt 0820, Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France d. Bef 0869, Metz, Moselle, France (Age < 48 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F25862	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Father	BOURGOGNE Theodoric,   b. 0820, Narbonne, France d. 0885 (Age ~ 65 years)
  Relationship	Stepchild
  Mother	BOSONID Richilde,   b. Abt 0820, Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France d. Bef 0869, Metz, Moselle, France (Age < 48 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F26017	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	CAROLINGIAN Ermengarde,   b. Abt 0852   d. 02 Jun 0896, Vienne, Provence (Age 44 years)
  Marriage	0876
  Children	1. VIENNE Willa,   b. Dec 0873, Vienne, Bourgogne Cisjurane d. 14 Jun 0929, Bourgogne, France (Age 55 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. PROVENCE Ermendgard,   b. Abt 0875, Vienne, Isère, Lyonnais, Rhône-Alpes, France d. 0921, Reulle-Vergy, Côte-d'Or, Bourgogne, France (Age 46 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   3. PROVENCE Ingelberge,   b. 0877, Provence, France d. 0917 (Age ~ 40 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F26019	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026