Louis the Blind

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Louis the Blind (c.880 – 28 June 928) was the king of Provence from 887, king of Italy from 900, and briefly Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. He was the son of Boso of Provence, the usurper king of Provence, and Ermengard of Provence, a daughter of the Emperor Louis II. Through his father, he was a Bosonid, but through his mother, a Carolingian.

He succeeded his father upon his death in January 887, though at that time, the kingdom of Provence was restricted to the environs of Vienne. The Provençal barons elected Irmingard to act as his regent, with the support of Louis's uncle, Richard the Justiciar, Duke of Burgundy. In May, Irmingard travelled with Louis to the court of her relative, the emperor Charles the Fat, and received his recognition of the young Louis as king. Charles adopted Louis as his son and put both mother and son under his protection. In May 889, she travelled to Charles' successor, Arnulf, to make submission anew. In 890, at Valence, a council of prelates and feudatories of the realm, elected Louis as King of Arles, Provence, and Cisjurane Burgundy. In 894, Louis himself did homage to Arnulf.

In 896, Louis waged war on the Saracens. Throughout his reign, he had to deal with the depredations of these Moslem invaders, who had landed and established a base at Fraxinet in 889.

In 900, Louis, as the grandson and heir of the Emperor Louis II, was invited into Italy by various lords, including Adalbert II of Tuscany, who were suffering under the ravages of the Magyars and the incompetent rule of Berengar I. Louis thus marched his army across the Alps and defeated Berengar, chasing him from Pavia, the old Lombard capital, where he was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy on 12 October. He travelled onwards to Rome, where, in 901, he was crowned Emperor by Pope Benedict IV. The next year (902), however, Berengar defeated Louis's armies and forced him to flee to Provence and promise never to return.

In 905, Louis launched another attempt to invade Italy. He was again defeated by Berengar, with the aid of Bavarian troops, captured, and imprisoned in Verona, where, on 21 July, he had his eyes put out (for breaking his oath) and was forced to relinquish his royal Italian and imperial crowns. Later, Berengar became Emperor. After this last attempt to restore Carolingian power over Italy, Louis continued to rule Provence for many more years, though Hugh, Count of Arles, was the dominant figure in the territory.

Louis returned to Vienne, his capital, and by 911, he had put most of the royal powers in the hands of Hugh. Hugh was made Margrave of Provence and moved the capital to Arles. As regent, Hugh married Louis's sister Willa. Louis lived out his days until his death in obscurity.

[edit] Marriages and heirs

His first wife (married 905) has been claimed to have been Anna of Constantinople (or Macedonia), daughter of Leo VI the Wise and his second wife Zoe Zaoutzaina. This claim was presented on the basis of onomastics as Louis' son Charles is called "Constantine". However, this claim has often been disputed. Charles-Constantine is known to be the son of Louis, but Charles' mother's name is not known. Charles was the count of Vienne, and his descendants held the county of Provence. In 914, Louis remarried to Adelaide, daughter of Rudolph I of Upper Burgundy.

Preceded by Boso	King of Provence 890 – 928	Succeeded by Hugh
Preceded by Berengar I	King of Italy 900 – 905	Succeeded by Berengar I
Preceded by Arnulf	Holy Roman Emperor 901 – 905