Waldrada

This article deals with Waldrada, the lover of the Frankish king Lothar II from the 9th century. For the daughter of the Longobard king Wacho from the 6th century, often with the same name, see Walderada .

Waldrada († April 9 after 869 ) was a concubine (older research: Friedelfrau ) of the Frankish King Lothar II of Lorraine , who was married, however. This fact had far-reaching political and legal historical consequences.

She came from a noble family from the Maas-Mosel area and was the sister of Gunthar , Archbishop of Cologne.

Lothar's marriage with Theutberga in 855 remained childless. From 857 until his death in 869 Lothar tried unsuccessfully to divorce Theutberga in order to enter into a valid marriage with Waldrada. The divorce was particularly rejected by Pope Nicholas I. After the divorce was recognized again (allegedly through bribery) at the synod of Metz in the presence of the papal legates, the pope revoked this decision and excommunicated the archbishops Gunthar of Cologne and Theutgaud of Trier , who were the driving force at the synod of Metz were. In 868 Waldrada was excommunicated by the Pope.

Even a train to Italy, on which Lothar was able to present his matter to Pope Hadrian II personally, did not change the decision. However, Lothar was re-accepted into the community of the Church after assuring the Pope that he had not met with Waldrada since their excommunication. On the way back to the north, Lothar II died in Piacenza . After Lothar's death, Waldrada retired to the Remiremont monastery , where she was buried.

Lothar II and Waldrada had four children:

• Hugo (* 855/860; † after 900), Duke in Alsace
• Gisela von Nivelles (* 860/865; † 907), Abbess of Nivelles and Fosses
• Berta von Lotharingen (863–925), Countess of Arles and Margravine of Tuszien
• Ermengard († August 6 after 895/898), nun

literature

• Reinhold Rau (Hrsg.): Sources for the Carolingian Empire history . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt (Latin, German, 1961/62; the Annales Xantenses and the Annales Bertiniani report on Waldrada in detail ).
• Bernd Schneidmüller : Waldrada . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 8, LexMA-Verlag, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-89659-908-9 , Sp. 1958 f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The source for this is the Placentinae urbis ac nonnullarum nobilium tum in ea, tum per Italiam familiarum descriptio by Giovanni de'Mussis from the late 14th or early 15th century. Printed by Lodovico Antonio Muratori : Rerum Italicarum Scriptores , Volume 16, Milan 1730, Col. 571E: “Et etiam in dicta ecclesia requiescit Lotharius rex Galliae” ( digital copy ).
2. ↑ Hans Grotz: inheritance against will. Hadrian II. (867-872) and his time , Vienna et al., Böhlau 1970, pp. 137 and 192–197