Engelberga (c. 840–890)

Holy Roman empress. Name variations: Angelberga; Engelbertha; Engeberge; Ingelberg. Born around 840 in Germany; died around 890 at convent of Placenza, Italy; married Louis II le Jeune also known as Louis II the Child (c. 822–875), king of Italy (r. 844), king of Lorraine (r. 872–875), Holy Roman emperor (r. 855–875); children: Ermengarde of Provence ; Gisela.

Daughter of a Frankish noble, Engelberga married Emperor Louis II the Child in her teens and was one of the first medieval queen-consorts to co-rule openly with her husband. Administrative documents bore both their names, as did coins minted during their reign. Engelberga proved to be a capable leader of armies as well as an effective administrator. She and Louis led troops into battle together in central and southern Italy, and he also appointed her regent in northern Italy. However, Engelberga apparently overstepped her bounds and alienated many Italians with her aggressive policies. She and Louis divorced around 872. Though he remarried, his second union was less successful than his first, and Engelberga was reinstated as empress a few years before Louis' death in 875. His successor, Charles III the Fat, feared Engelberga's continuing political influence over the Italians and had her banished to Switzerland where she remained for some years. But by 888 Engelberga was in Italy again, this time interested in more pious activities than war and governing. In her days as empress, she had founded a monastery at Placenza, and it was to this convent she retired to live out the last few years of her life.

Laura York , Riverside, California