Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People < Previous Next >

____ Boso (Bozon)
Birth:          ABT  890 
Death:          ABT  938 

Notes
d 936/940
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boso,_Margrave_of_Tuscany
Boso (Italian: Bosone; died after 940?) was a Burgundian nobleman who spent much 
of his career in Italy, where he became Margrave of Tuscany about 932. He ruled 
semi-autonomously and was a benefactor of the churches of his region. He lost his 
office in 936 and probably returned to Burgundy.
Years in Provence[edit]

Boso was the second son of Count Theobald of Arles and Bertha, illegitimate daughter 
of King Lothair II.[1] His elder brother Hugh was born in 880/1.[1] His family belonged 
to the highest ranks of the aristocracy of the Carolingian Empire and were related by 
marriage to the Carolingian dynasty and the Bosonids, the ruling family of Provence.[1]

After Theobald's death (895), Boso's mother remarried to Adalbert the Rich, then 
margrave of Tuscany.[1] Boso and Hugh inherited their father's counties. After the 
Emperor Louis III was blinded by his foes in 905, Hugh assumed the regency in 
Provence and the county of Arles, while Boso took over the county of Avignon.[1] In 
907, Hugh and Boso entered Italy with an army in support of their mother.[a] In 926, 
after Hugh had become King of Italy, he appointed Boso regent of Provence.[1] In 931 
he brought Boso to Italy at the same time as he made his son, Lothair, co-ruler in order 
to strengthen his position against the powerful margrave Lambert of Tuscany.[1] 
Lambert was the reputed son of Adalbert and Bertha and half-brother of Hugh and 
Boso. According to Liutprand of Cremona, the rumours of the time had it that Bertha, 
unable to conceive, in order to safeguard her second husband's succession, had 
feigned pregnancy and presented as her own two sons, Lambert and Guy, who were 
actually the children of others.[1][b]

Early years in Italy[edit]

In his earliest documented presence in Italy, Boso is found intervening on behalf of 
the Patriarchate of Aquileia on 17 October 931.[1] The first document recording his 
rank of "margrave" (marchio) dates to 1 July 932, when he persuaded the king to 
make a donation to the church of Saint Martin in Lucca.[1]

According to Liutprand of Cremona, when Hugh forbade Lambert of Tuscany to call 
himself a half-brother of the king, the margrave challenged Hugh to a judicial duel, 
which he won. In order to obtain the march of Tuscany for himself, Boso convinced 
Hugh to arrest Lambert; who was subsequently blinded in prison.[1] A more likely 
explanation than Liutprand's is that Lambert refused give up his quasi-independence 
and as a result Tuscany was taken from him.[1][2]

Margrave of Tuscany[edit]

Few notices from Boso's rule in Tuscany have survived. Most deal with his 
interventions with the king on behalf of the churches of Lucca and Arezzo.[1] The last 
reference to Boso as margrave of Tuscany comes from 17 September 936, when he 
sent representatives to oversee an exchange of property by the diocese of Lucca.[1] 
Later that year, Hugh removed his brother from the march and placed his own 
illegitimate son, Hubert, there instead.[1][2]

Liutprand claims that Boso was arrested on suspicion of plotting against the king at 
the instigation of his wife, Willa.[3][c] Another possible explanation is that he 
continued to act as autonomously as Lambert had and Hugh removed him in favour of 
a more pliant margrave.[1][2] Boso had married his daughter Willa, named for her 
mother, to Berengar of Ivrea, one of the most powerful margraves in the kingdom. This 
aristocratic axis may have seemed like a threat to Hugh, precipitating Boso's 
downfall.[1][4]

Later years[edit]

In 940 a certain "illustrious count Boso" (inclitus comes Boso) made a donation to the 
monastery of Saint-Barnard-de-Romans. This is probably the same person as the 
margrave of Tuscany, since the monastery is known to have been patronised by Hugh 
and there were family possessions in the region.[1] By his wife, Willa, perhaps a 
daughter of Rudolph I of Upper Burgundy, Boso left behind four daughters: Richilda, 
Gisla, Willa and Bertha. This last married first Boso, son of Duke Richard of Burgundy, 
and second Raymond, the duke of Aquitaine.[1] It was to her that Hugh bequeathed 
his huge personal wealth and his Provençal possessions.[1][5]

Parents
DE ARLES Theobald (Thibaud) (ABT  850 - BEF  895)
OF LORRAINE Bertha (ABT  863 - 8 Mar  925)

Siblings
OF PROVENCE Hugh (ABT  880 - 10 Apr  947)
DE ARLES Teutberga (ABT  881 - BEF 30 Sep  948)
____ Boso (Bozon) (ABT  890 - ABT  938)

Marriage To OF TUSCANY OR OF BURGUNDY Willa (ABT 900 - ) m. Notes Parents OF BURGUNDY Rudolph (ABT 880 - ) ----- ----- () Children by OF TUSCANY OR OF BURGUNDY Willa ABT 900 -
OF ARLES Willa (ABT 918 - AFT 966) OF TUSCANY Bertha (ABT 920 - )
Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017