LOTHAR II

Specialty Definition: Lothair II

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Lothair (825 - August 8, 869), was the second son of the emperor Lothair I. On his father's death in 855, he received for his kingdom a district lying west of the Rhine, between the North Sea and the Jura mountains, which was called Regnum Lotharii and early in the 10th century became known as Lotharingia or Lorraine.
On the death of his brother Charles in 863 he added some lands south of the Jura to this inheritance, but, except for a few feeble expeditions against the Danish pirates, he seems to have done little for its government or its defence.
The reign was chiefly occupied by efforts on the part of Lothair to obtain a divorce from his wife Teutberga, a sister of Hucbert, abbot of St Maurice (d. 864); and his relations with his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German, were influenced by his desire to obtain their support to this plan. Although quarrels and reconciliations between the three kings followed each other in quick succession, in general it may be said that Louis favoured the divorce, and Charles opposed it, while neither lost sight of the fact that Lothair had no sons to inherit his lands. Lothair, whose desire for the divorce was prompted by his affection for a certain Waldrada, put away Teutberga; but Hucbert took up arms on her behalf, and after she had submitted successfully to the ordeal of water, Lothair was compelled to restore her in 858. Still pursuing his purpose, he won the support of his brother, the emperor Louis II, by a cession of lands, and obtained the consent of the local clergy to the divorce and to his marriage with Waldrada, which took place in 862.
A synod of Frankish bishops met at Metz in 863 and confirmed this decision, but Teutberga fled to the court of Charles the Bald, and Pope Nicholas I declared against the decision of the synod. An attack on Rome by the emperor was without result, and in 865 Lothair, convinced that Louis and Charles at their recent meeting had discussed the partition of his kingdom, and threatened with excommunication, again took back his wife. Teutberga, however, either from inclination or compulsion, now expressed her desire for a divorce, and Lothair went to Italy to obtain the assent of the new pope Adrian II. Placing a favourable interpretation upon the words of the pope, he had set out on the return journey, when he was seized with fever and died at Piacenza on the August 8, 869. He left, by Waldrada, a son Hugo who was declared illegitimate, and his kingdom was divided between his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German.
See:
Hincmar, "Opusculum de divortio Lotharii regis et Tetbergae reginae," in Cursus completus patrologiae, tome cxxv., edited by J. P. Migne (Paris, 1857-1879)
M. Sdralek, Hinkmars von Rheims Kanonistisches Gutachten uber die Ehescheidung des Königs Lothar II (Freiburg, 1881)
E. Dummler, Geschichte des ostfrankischen Reiches (Leipzig, 1887-1888)
E. Muhlbacher, Die Regenten des Kaiser-reichs unter den Karolingern (Innsbruck, 1881).

See also: List of Frankish Kings
Initial text from the 1911 encyclopedia. Please update as needed.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Lothair II."

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Lothar II, Holy Roman Emperor

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The sole member of the house of Supplinburg to hold the titles, Lothar II (1075-1137) became duke of Saxony in 1106, king of Germany in 1125 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1133.
Lothar faced opposition through most of his reign from Frederick II, the Hohenstaufen duke of Swabia, whom he had defeated in the election to the kingship (the usual preliminary to accession as emperor), and Frederick's brother Conrad III.
Elected as rival king (1127), Conrad submitted to Lothar only in 1135. After Lothar's death, he was elected (1138) king of the Romans, ruling as emperor in all but name, though he was never crowned as such.
The son of Gebhard, count of Supplinburg, and Hedwig, countess of Formbach, Lothar married Richensia of Nordheim. Their daughter Gertrude married Henry the Proud, duke of Saxony and Bavaria. Lothar is entombed in the monastery church of Königslutter.

Preceded by:
Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor List of German Kings and Emperors Succeeded by:
Conrad III, King of the Romans

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Lothar II, Holy Roman Emperor."

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INDEX

1. Bibliography