Willa of Spoleto

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Willa of Spoleto
Margravine of Tuscany
PredecessorWilla of Burgundy
Duchess of Spoleto
Bornc. 900
Died7 January 978
SpousesHubert, Duke of Spoleto
IssueHugh of Tuscany
Waldrada of Tuscany
Bertha?
FatherBoniface of Spoleto and Camerino
MotherWaldrada
ReligionCatholic Church

Willa of Spoleto (also Willa of Tuscany) (c. 900 – 7 January 978) was the daughter of Boniface I, duke of Spoleto. Through marriage to Hubert, Duke of Spoleto Willa became duchess of Spoleto and margravine of Tuscany.

Family[edit]

Willa’s parents were Boniface I, duke of Spoleto and Waldrada, daughter of Rudolf I, king of Upper Burgundy.[1] Thus her maternal uncle was Rudolph II of Burgundy, and his daughter Adelaide of Italy was her cousin.[2]

Marriage and issue[edit]

Around 945 Willa married Hubert, an illegitimate son of King Hugh and Wandelmoda.[3][4][5] Hubert and Willa at least two children:[6]

Religious patronage[edit]

According to a diploma issued by Emperor Otto III in 998, Willa was the founder of the convent of San Ponziano in Lucca.[10] Willa was widowed, around 968, and her son Hugh succeeded Hubert as margrave of Tuscany.[11] Willa moved with Hugh from Lucca to Florence, establishing this as the new capital of Tuscany. In 978 Willa founded the monastery of Badia Fiorentina in Florence to commemorate her late husband.[12]

Willa’s date of death is not known.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Hlawitschka, Franken, p. 158.
  2. ^ Brunhofer, Arduin, p. 118.
  3. ^ Liutprand of Cremona, Antapodosis, III.20, p. 306.
  4. ^ Wickham 1981, p. 185.
  5. ^ Previté Orton 1917, p. 347.
  6. ^ Hlawitschka, Franken, p. 203
  7. ^ Barker & Kleinhenz 2004, p. 516.
  8. ^ Iohannis Chronicon Venetum, MGH SS VII, p. 25; Peter Damian, Vita S. Romualdi, MGH SS IV, c. 5, p. 848.
  9. ^ Carutti, Conte Umberto, pp. 227f.
  10. ^ Die Urkunden des Otto III. (Hannover, 1893), no. 269 (998), p. 687.
  11. ^ Hlawitchka, Franken, p. 203.
  12. ^ Goez, Beatrix, pp. 77, 128.

References[edit]

  • Liutprand of Cremona, Antapodosis, in J. Becker, ed., Die Werke Liutprands, MGH SS rer Germ 41 (Hannover, 1915).
  • Previté Orton, C.W. (1917). "Italy and Provence, 900-950". The English Historical Review. 32 (127): 335–347. ISSN 0013-8266. OCLC 5549158732.
  • Barker, John W.; Kleinhenz, Christopher (2004). "Hugo, Marquis of Tuscany". In Kleinhenz, Christopher (ed.). Medieval Italy : an encyclopedia. Vol. 1, A-K. Taylor & Francis. p. 516. ISBN 0-203-50275-2. OCLC 648136406.
  • Brunhofer, Ursula: Arduin von Ivrea. Untersuchungen zum letzten italienischen Königtum des Mittelalters (Augsburg, 1999).
  • Goez Elke: Beatrix von Canossa und Tuszien. Eine Untersuchung zur Geschichte des 11. Jahrhunderts (Sigmaringen, 1995).
  • Hlawitschka, Eduard: Franken, Alemannen, Bayern und Burgunder in Oberitalien (774-962) (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1960).
  • Thiele, Andreas: Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band II, Teilband 2 Europäische Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa (R.G. Fischer Verlag, 1994).
  • Wickham, Chris (1981). Early medieval Italy : central power and local society, 400-1000. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-389-20217-7. OCLC 7576748.
  • D. Carutti, Il conte Umberto (Biancamano) e il re Ardoino. Ricerche e documenti (Rome, 1884, 2nd ed., first published 1878).