Louis the Blind

Louis the Blind
Silver denarii minted in the name of Pope Benedict IV (obverse) and Emperor Louis (reverse)
Holy Roman Emperor
Reign	901–905
Predecessor	Arnulf
Successor	Berengar I
King of Italy
Reign	900–905
Predecessor	Arnulf
Successor	Berengar I
King of Provence
Reign	887–928
Predecessor	Boso
Successor	Hugh
Born	c. 880 Provence
Died	28 June 928 Vienne, Provence
Spouse	Anna, daughter of Leo VI Adelaide
Issue	Charles-Constantine
House	Bosonid
Father	Boso
Mother	Ermengard

Louis the Blind (c. 880 – 28 June 928) was the king of Provence from 11 January 887, King of Italy from 12 October 900, and briefly Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. He was the son of Boso, the usurper king of Provence, and Ermengard, a daughter of the Emperor Louis II. Through his father, he was a Bosonid, but through his mother, a Carolingian. He was blinded after a failed invasion of Italy in 905.

As a boy of seven, Louis succeeded to the throne of his father Boso, the King of Provence upon Boso’s death on 11 January 887. The kingdom Louis inherited was much smaller than his father’s, as it did not include Upper Burgundy (lost to Rudolph I of Burgundy), nor any of French Burgundy, absorbed by Richard the Justiciar, Duke of Burgundy. This meant that the kingdom of Provence was restricted to the environs of Vienne. The Provençal barons elected Ermengard to act as his regent, with the support of Louis's uncle, Richard the Justiciar.

In May, Ermengard traveled 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 traveled to the court of Charles' successor, Arnulf, to make a new submission, while at the same time seeking the blessing of Pope Stephen V. The short work, Visio Karoli Grossi, may have been written shortly after Charles' death to support Louis's claim. If so, Louis must have had the support of Fulk the Venerable, Archbishop of Reims. On the other hand, the Visio may have been written later, circa 901, to celebrate (and support) Louis's imperial coronation.