Waldrada (death of Lothair II, 9 August 869)
In 855, the king of Lotharingia, Lothair II, and a woman named Theutberga, daughter of Boso the Elder, were married. Lothair was a young man, probably about eighteen years old, and had newly come to the throne. His wife's father, Boso, was a Frankish nobleman who played an important role in the divided Carolingian empire: he was count of Arles, count of Valois, count of Italy, and count of Burgundy.
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| In 843, Charlemagne's empire was divided among his three grandsons, Charles the Bold, Louis (Ludwig) the German, and Lothair I-- who further divided his kingdom, Middle Francia, among his three sons, with Lothair II receiving the northern portion, Lotharingia |
But before Lothair entered into this advantageous marriage with Boso the Eldedr's daughter, he had a long-standing relationship with a woman named Waldrada.
While Theutberga's family was an influential one and Lothair's marriage to Theutberga brought him an imprtant alliance, little is known about Waldrada or about the status of her union with Lothair. In her book Unmarriages: Women, Men, and Sexual Unions in the Middle Ages, historian Ruth Mazo Karras explores the many forms of "sexual unions" that were practiced in the early Middle Ages. (Many of them challenging modern notions about "traditional" marriage.) Karras notes the work of earlier scholars who identified what they called an épouse de jeunesse--a young man, like Lothair, might be provided with a suitable sexual partner until the time was right for a political alliance. These arrangements were only temporary. Another scholarly view is that such a relationship was a kind of "trial marriage," arranged by a woman's family "in the hopes that the relationship would last and turn into a real, recognized marriage." Another possibility, more simply, is that Waldrada was simply Lothair's "boyhood mistress," that the two had found their way to one another and enjoyed a sexual (or romantic) relationship. Any one of these might be the case--there is just no way to determine which one.
Whatever the nature of their relationship, it would endure even after Lothair married Theutberga. Waldrada gave birth to at least four of Lothair's children--the first of them, a son named Hugh, was born in 855, just before or shortly after Lothair's marriage.
And as historian Pierre Riché notes, this situation was not a problem, at least at first, for Lothair--who had his "advantageous marriage" even as he "kept his cherished mistress." Riché offers no opinion about how state of affairs this might have affected Theutberga and Waldrada.
But by 857, Lothair decided that he no longer wanted to be married to Theutberga, and he wanted to be rid of her. It may be that he no longer needed the political alliance with Theutberga's family--West speculates that Lothair might have felt frustrated and overwhelmed by his wife's relatives and hoped to "free himself from their influence."
But Theutberga's family wasn't the only source of political pressure he felt--Lothair needed an heir to stave off the threats posed by his two powerful uncles. And so, despite the brevity of his marriage, Lothair decided Theutberga was incapable of bearing him the heir he needed. He wanted his marriage annulled.*
Whatever the reasons for his decision, Lothair wasn't only focused on getting out of his marriage to Theutberga. He also wanted his relationship with Waldrada to be recognized and to have their children legitimized.
His efforts to set aside Theutberga were to occupy Lothair from 857 until his death in 869. It proved to be no easy task. And no matter how hard the Frankish king tried to bend ecclesiastical authorities to his will, his machinations were unsuccessful.
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| This Carolingian family tree is from a twelfth-century "universal chronicle"-- on the tree is Lothair II, who unforunately (for him) is not depicted with any wife at all (Berlin, Staatsbibliothek MS Lat. fol. 295; the image is on 80v, but you can view the entire ms. at this link) |
While Theutberga's trials as Lothair's rejected wife are lamentable, Waldrada's as his preferred "wife" are no better, though given her anomalous position, her experiences during the long conflict are less well documented. The extended ecclesiastical wrangling over the marriage focused on Lothair and Theutberga.
One of the complicating factors in the ongoing struggle is not only the nature of Waldrada's relationship with Lothair but but also her uncertain origin--while Theutberga's familial status and support are clear, Waldrada's lack of connections seem to contribute to her predicament. Theutberga's powerful male relatives intervened to insist on the legality of her marriage, even if their motivations were to protect their own power and not her feelings. But no one supported Waldrada. Well, except for Lothair . . .
Early sources do not have much to say about Waldrada herself, much less her family connections. In the Frankish Annales Bertiniani (The Annals of Saint Bertin), a contemporary (ninth century) history recorded at the Abbey of St. Bertin (Omer, France), the chronicler notes in 853 that Lothair's father, Emperor Lothair, had taken two mistresses, identified as "serving-women," and adds, with a sniff, that the emperor's sons, like their father, "gave themselves up to adulterous affairs." In this source, Waldrada is simply identified as Lothair's "concubine" (Hlotharius Waldradam concubinam), and it is suggested that she used witchcraft to achieve her hold over Lothair.
In his support of Lothair II's desire for recognition of his union with Waldrada, Adventius, bishop of Metz, rejected any suggestion that Waldrada was a concubine. In letters written after a council held at Aachen in 862, Lothair's advocate asserted that the king had been formally married to Waldrada--that the marriage had taken place before Lothair I, nobles, and bishops (though Adventius says he himself was not there to witness the event!), and that Waldrada had received a bridal gift, provided by Lothair I. Adventius also referred to Waldrada not only as a free woman, but as a woman of noble birth. Regardless of his claims about Waldrada's status, He offers no no specifics about her family, and most surviving records documenting Lothair's efforts to get rid of Theutberga continue to refer to Waldrada as his "concubine."
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| Here's a detail from the Carolingian family tree showing Lothair II-- unfortunately for him, the family tree doesn't give him a wife (but he is in a castle tower, so I guess it's not all bad for him) |
Interestingly, a specific family connection for Waldrada emerges in later chronicles. In the tenth-century Vita Sancti Deicoli (Life of Saint Deicolus), Waldrada is said to be a member of the Alsatian Etichonid family, and the chronicle also claims she was also related to Eberhard II, count of Nordgau (Waldrada…Heberardo comitis consanguinitatis). (Lothair II's mother, Ermengarde of Tours, is a descendant of the Etichonid family.) Despite offering these family connections, the author reiterates the claim that Waldrada had used witchcraft to secure the affections of Lothair and refers to her as a "she-wolf." This connection, between Waldrada and the Etichonids, seems to have been based principally on the name of Lothair and Waldrada's son, Hugh--it is a common name in the Etichonid family.
In later sources, more is said about Waldrada's background. According to the Gesta Treverorum (The Deeds of the Trevians), a collection of materials begun by Benedictine monks in the twelfth century (the monks were from the Abbey of St. Mathias in Trier, or Trèves, thus "Trevians"), Waldrada is identified as the sister of Gunther, archbishop of Cologne (Waldradam sororem…Guntheri Coloniensis archiepiscopus).
In the thirteenth century, a Cistercian monk named Caeserius of Heisterbach compiled lists of church leaders in his Cæsarii Heisterbacensis Catalogus. He also writes that Waldrada is the sister of Gunther, archbishop of Cologne (Waldradam, sororem Guntheri archiepiscopi Coloniensis) and, further, claims that Gunther encouraged Lothair to ignore his marriage to Theutberga and return to Waldrada.
This account of Waldrada, "her brother," and his efforts on her behalf also appears in the Annals of Novesia (Annales Novesienses), compiled by Augustinian canons in the Oberkloster, near Neuss, and founded by members from the cathedral in Cologne. Again, this chronicle notes Gunther's approval of 'his sister's" relationship with Lothair and indicates that Gunther approved Lothair's divorce from Theutberga, who was his "legitimate wife" (legitima uxore Tyberga).
This identification of Waldrada was embraced in the nineteenth century by the historian Alfred-August Ernouf, in his history of Waldrada, Lothar II, and "their descendants" (Histoire de Waldrade, de Lother II, et de leurs descendants). Indeed, the first section of his history is on "the family of Waldrada." According to Ernouf, the archbishop of Cologne was not Waldrada's brother but her uncle, "the most active auxiliary of his niece and Lothar." Further, he claimed that Theutgard, archbishop of Trier, was Waldrada's brother.
Where did these family connections for Waldrada's come from? Lacking any documentation for Waldrada's background, later chroniclers may have supplied her these family connections as a way of explaining the support of these clergymen for Lothair (and, thus, Waldrada) as the king sought to separate himself from Theutberga. Both Archbishop Gunther of Cologne and Archbishop Theutgaud of Trier aided Lothair II in his efforts to get rid of Theutberga--in 860, they obligingly annulled Lothair's marriage to her, and in 862, they judged that Lothair had been married to Waldrada all along. In 863, they traveled to Rome to present their findings to the pope, who promptly put their findings before a synod, where they were rejected. When the two archbishops refused to submit, the pope excommunicated them and then deposed them. But if Gunther and Theutgaud were indeed closely related to Waldrada, it did not protect them from Lothair's wrath at their failure.
I've spent a fair amount of time here with what is known--and what is speculated--about Waldrada's social status and family connections because her lack of support seems relevant to the widespread opposition by the Church to Lothair's efforts to set aside his marriage to Theutberga. If Waldrada had family as significant as Theutberga, the outcome for her may have been different. Not that Theutberga's life was made easy by her family connections.
For a brief period of time, between 862, when Gunther and Theutgad had decided matters in Lothair's favor, and 863, when Pope Nicholas I decided against him, Waldrada was "recognized" as queen of Lotharingia and, as Charles West notes, she "participated," at least for a short while, in Lothair's court, "in the full theatre of medieval queenship." In his book on Lothair's divorce, historian Karl Heideker writes that after the king presented Waldrada to his court with a retinue, she was acclaimed queen and crowned. But by 865, Lothair was once more compelled to take Theutberga back as his wife. The couple appeared together, both wearing their crowns, in August of that year. As for Waldrada, she was summoned to Rome. According to an account in the Annales Bertiniani (The Annals of Saint Bertin), Waldrada set off with the papal legate, but at some point she took off, and in 866, she was excommunicated.
In a letter to Frankish bishops dated 13 June 866, the pope provides a few interesting details about Waldrada. After outlining his summons of Waldrada and her refusal to travel to Rome, Pope Nicholas claims that she returned to Lotharingia so that she "might rule over it." She "dominates the state" and she continues "plotting the destruction of Queen Theutberga." And although she does not seem to have returned to court, Nicholas writes that she has placed herself so that she has "easier access" to Lothair, and "he to her." And then, while noting that some critics say that if Waldrada is so condemned, Lothair should be blamed also, Nicholas seems to dismiss that--Waldrada is the one responsible for leading the king into sin and causing all the problems. (Crucially, West observes, the pope does not mention any supporters or family for Waldrada.)
During his reign, Lothair issued at least one royal charter, from 863, referring to Waldrada as "our beloved wife" and her son, Hugh, as "our son." After the 865 papal decision, Waldrada nevertheless functioned as his queen--even though she did not return publicly to Lothair, those wishing favors from him sought out Waldrada, and she is also said to have counseled the king about ecclesiastical appointments (hmmm). In 867, Lothair made Hugh the duke of Alsace.
In 867, Pope Nicholas died, and--ever hopeful he would achieve his goal--Lothair put his case before the new pope, Adrian II, who at least removed the excommunication from Waldrada. (His letter to Waldrada on this occasion is available at Epistolae--click here.) Lothair himself took off for Rome, met with Pope Adrian, and presented him with gifts. Unfortunately, the king died on his return journey to Lotharingia. (His death date, 9 August, provides the occasion fot this post.)
As for Waldrada? Like her rival, Theutberga, she retired to a convent--sources indicate she entered the convent of Remiremont after Lothair's death and died there. The year of her death is unknown.
Waldrada's son with Lothair, Hugh, was declared illegitimate and thus unable to inherit the kingdom of Lotharingia--it was to go to Lothair's brother, Louis, but ultimately it went to Charles the Bald. Hugh spent nearly two decades after his father's death trying to recover Lotharingia, but in 888 he was blinded and sent off to a series of monasteries. He died in 895.
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| The Carolingian family tree (above, right) does include Waldrada's daughter, Bertha (who gets to keep not only her second husband, Adalbert of Tuscany, but also her son, Guy, for whom she was regent after Adalbert's death) |
Gisela (b. 860-865) was married to a Viking, Godfrid Haraldsson, son of the Danish king Harald Klak. Godfrid was baptized in 822, with Lothair I as his godparent, but after remaining part of Lothair's retinue for some time, he ultimately rebelled against him. In 882, after being baptized once again (did he forget?), he married Gisela and was named duke of Frisia. After Godfrid's death, Gisela became abbess of Nivelles. She died in the year 907.
Ermengarde (b. c 861) may have been married to Berlion, vicomte of Vienne, and it has been suggested that she traveled to Provence with her sister when Bertha married Theobald of Arles. This identification is not certain, however--Berlion did marry an Ermengarde, but it may not have been Waldrada's daughter, Ermengarde. Ermengarde of Lotharingia may not have married at all, but she did become a nun at the abbey of Santa Giustina in Lucca--the epitaph recorded at the time of her death identifies her as the daughter of Lothair.
Lothair's divorce is much discussed, researched and analyzed in work by many great scholars, some of whom I have linked to here. Unfortunately, with the exception of Karras and West (links, above) not much information is provided about Waldrada. The exception is Ernouf's nineteenth-century Histoire de Waldrade, de Lother II et de leurs descendants which is easily accessed via the Internet Archive, but which is not accessible if your don't read French.
You may be interested in a podcast from History Extra: "Lothar II vs Theutberga: A Marriage Scandal that Shook the Ninth Century" (click here). If you can't listen to it at that link, search wherever you usually find your podcasts--the History Extra series is available on Apple, for instance, and the episode is #1929.
*The details and chronology of events in what follows vary significantly in the sources I've used for what follows, and I have done my best to produce a reasonable summary here. These sources also vary in the word they use to describe the separation Lothair desires, employing both "annulment" and "divorce." In canon law, these are not the same, and I am not always sure which is technically correct at each step of Lothair's process. For an accessible version of Lothair's effort to divorce Theutberga, "The Marriage of Lothair and Theutberga," click here. This essay appears in Encyclopedia.com, usually a reliable resource, but I can't find an author. For a longer read, see Karl Heidecker, The Divorce of Lothair II: Christian Marriage and Political Power in the Carolingian World, trans. Tanis M. Guest.
