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Adalbert I of Ivrea, Berengar of Italy, Carolingian Dynasty, Emperor Lothair, Emperor Louis III, Hugh of Arles, King of Italy, King of Provence, Louis The Blind, Lower Burgundy
Louis III the Blind (c. 880 – June 5, 928) was the King of Provence from January 11, 887, King of Italy from October 12, 900, and briefly Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. His father was a Bosonid and his mother was a Carolingian.
Born c.880, Louis was the son of Boso, the usurper King of Provence, and Ermengard, the daughter of Emperor Louis II and his wife Engelberga, who was probably the daughter of Adelchis I of Spoleto and a member of one of the most powerful families in the Kingdom of Italy at that time, the Supponids. Ermengard was also a great-niece of Emperor Charles the Bald.
As a boy of seven, Louis succeeded to the throne of his father Boso as King of Provence upon Boso’s death on 11 January 887.
Kingdom of Burgundy – Provence
Shortly before his death in 855, Emperor Lothair I divided his Kingdom of Middle Francia among his three sons in three parts: Lotharingia, the Kingdom of Italy, and the regions of Lower Burgundy and Provence. The latter were left to the youngest son, thus known as Charles of Provence. This partition created more conflicts, as older Carolingians who ruled West Francia and East Francia viewed themselves as the true heirs of Middle Francia.
After the overthrow of Charles the Bald in 877, followed by the death of his son Louis II the Stammerer two years later, the Frankish noble Boso of Provence proclaimed himself a “King of Burgundy and Provence” at Vienne in 879.
This kingdom lasted until Boso’s death in 887. in 888, Rudolph I of Burgundy of the Elder House of Welf carved out his own kingdom of Upper Burgundy, centered on Lake Geneva and including the lands around Besançon that later became the Franche-Comté.
Meanwhile, Boso’s child son Louis, later known as Louis the Blind, became King of Lower Burgundy (Provence ) in Valence in 890. In 933, Rudolph’s son and heir Rudolph II acquired Lower Burgundy and merged the two kingdoms into a single Kingdom of Burgundy.
The kingdom Louis inherited was much smaller than his father’s, as it did not include Upper Burgundy (lost to Rudolph I of Burgundy), nor any of French Burgundy, absorbed by Richard the Justiciar, Duke of Burgundy. This meant that the Kingdom of Provence was restricted to the environs of Vienne. The Provençal barons elected Ermengard to act as his regent, with the support of Louis’s uncle, Richard the Justiciar.
In May, Ermengard traveled with Louis to the court of her relative, the Emperor Charles the Fat, and received his recognition of the young Louis as king. Charles adopted Louis as his son and put both mother and son under his protection.
Conflict with Berengar
In 900, Louis, as the grandson and heir of the Emperor Louis II, was invited into Italy by various lords, including Adalbert II, Margrave of Tuscany, who were suffering under the ravages of the Magyars and the incompetent rule of Berengar I.
Louis thus marched his army across the Alps and defeated Berengar, chasing him from Pavia, the old Lombard capital, where, in the church of San Michele, Louis was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy on October 12, 900. He travelled onwards to Rome, where, in 901, he was crowned Emperor by Pope Benedict IV.
However, his inability to stem the Magyar incursions and impose any meaningful control over northern Italy saw the Italian nobles quickly abandon his cause and once again align themselves with Berengar. In 902, Berengar defeated Louis’s armies and forced him to flee to Provence and promise never to return.
In 905, Louis, after again listening to the Italian nobles who were tired of Berengar’s rule, this time led by Adalbert I of Ivrea, launched another attempt to invade Italy. Once again throwing Berengar out of Pavia, he marched and also succeeded in taking Verona with only a small following, after receiving the promise of support from the bishop, Adalard.
Partisans of Berengar in the town soon got word to Berengar of Louis’s exposed position at Verona, and his limited support. Berengar returned, accompanied by Bavarian troops, and entered Verona in the dead of night. Louis sought sanctuary at the church of St Peter.
However , Emperor Louis III was captured, and on July 21, 905, he had his eyes put out (for breaking his oath) and was forced to relinquish his royal Italian and imperial crowns. Later, Berengar became Emperor. After this last attempt to restore Carolingian power over Italy, Louis III continued to rule Provence for over twenty years, though his cousin Hugh, Count of Arles, was the dominant figure in the territory.
Louis returned to Vienne, his capital, and by 911, he had put most of the royal powers in the hands of Hugh. Hugh was made Margrave of Provence and Marquis of Vienne and moved the capital to Arles. As regent, Hugh married Louis’s sister Willa. Louis lived out his days until his death in obscurity, and through his life he continued to style himself as Roman Emperor. He was succeeded by his brother-in-law Hugh of Arles in 928.