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Lothar I and the visibility of the female aristocracy

  • Maria Cristina La Rocca

The descriptions of the female aristocracy in the age of Lothar I differ somewhat from those of the preceding and following age: in general, women do not appear on the scene as a source of conflict or scandal, but instead seem to hide behind a stereotyped and aseptic image. This seems to apply especially to Lothar I’s bride, Ermengard. However, a broader analysis shows that, in practice, the empress’s political interventions greatly contributed to the acceptance of Lothar in the vast imperial space. Conversely, the control of women’s behaviour was a very important issue in defining Lothar’s imperial authority. This is shown by his decision to punish the nun Gerberga of Chalon-sur-Saône and to increase the protection around the royal nunnery of Santa Maria Teodota in Pavia. In the age of Lothar, the imperial power over women underlines his ability to potentially avoid the problems linked to the impurity of women’s bodies, their sexuality and the political turmoil.

  • Keywords:
  • Middle Ages,
  • ninth century,
  • Carolingian Italy,
  • Female aristocracy,
  • queenship.,
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Maria Cristina La Rocca

University of Padua, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-8634-9809

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Chapter Information

Chapter Title

Lothar I and the visibility of the female aristocracy

Authors

Maria Cristina La Rocca

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0771-3.05

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2025

Copyright Information

© 2025 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

Aristocratic networks. Elites and social dynamics in Italy in the age of Lothar I

Editors

Giuseppe Albertoni, Manuel Fauliri, Leonardo Sernagiotto

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

350

Publication Year

2025

Copyright Information

© 2025 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0771-3

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0770-6

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979-12-215-0771-3

eISBN (xml)

979-12-215-0773-7

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Reti Medievali E-Book

Series ISSN

2704-6362

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2704-6079

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