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Monday, October 15, 2012

[October 15] Lambert, Holy Roman Emperor

Parents: Guy III, duke of Spoleto, and Ageltrude
Born: 880
House: Guideschi
Spouse(s): (1) Isabel, daughter of John, earl of Atholl, and Marjory of Mar, then (2) Isabella, daughter of Uilleam II, earl of Ross, and Euphemia
Predecessor: Guy
Reign: 892 – 898
Brief: The earliest records of Lambert begin with his coronation alongside his father in 891 at the age of roughly eleven. Pope Formosus, however, found the Guideschi emperor and his son intolerable and requested Arnulf of Carinthia, another man of Carolingian descent, to come and liberate Rome. A civil war in Italy broke out between the Guideschi's and Arnulf, with Guy dying in late 892. In 894, Arnulf returned with another army but decided against conquering all of Italy and deposing Lambert. For a third time in 895, Arnulf invaded but Lambert would not meet him in battle, which lost him considerable support among the nobility but saved his life. Arnulf conquered Rome in 896, freeing the pope and earning the crown. Lambert was formally deposed but Arnulf suffered a stroke and the pope died soon after, thus Lambert reasserted his claim. The new pope and his successor confirmed Lambert as emperor, but Lambert was assassinated in 898 while hunting after capturing Adalbert of Tuscany, one of his many rivals for the Italian throne. The Imperial throne was contested between multiple claimants while Spoleto fell to his brother, Guy IV.
Date of Death: 15 October 898
Successor: Arnulf (as Holy Roman Emperor), Guy IV (in Spoleto)

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:
  • Theophilus, pope of Alexandria (412)
  • Otto-Henry, duke of Burgundy (1002)
  • Urban VI, pope of Rome (1389)

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