v25_0834 - BOSON Denier

BOSON

(879-11/01/887)

Boson was born around 842. In January 871, Charles the Bald appointed him governor of Lyonnais and Viennese, a position previously held by Girard. The following year he was appointed adviser and chamberlain to the son of Charles the Bald, Louis the Pious, King of Aquitaine.. That same year he recovered the county of Berry following the deposition of Count Gérard d'Auvergne.. In February 876, he received in Pavia the title of viceroy. That same year he married the Queen of Provence Ermengarde, daughter of the late Emperor Louis II.. From this union were born four children including Louis III called "the Blind" in 883. The death of Louis II, known as "the Stammerer", in April 879 was the cause of succession disputes. His two sons, Louis III and Carloman II succeeded him, the latter obtaining Burgundy, while Boson obtained the county of Autun. On October 15, 879, at the castle of Mantaille, near Vienna, most of the nobles met and elected Boson as the man most able to defend the kingdom and the Church.. He established his capital in Vienne and would have been crowned by Aurélien, Archbishop of Lyon. Pope John VIII refused this election. Charles III "the Fat" and Louis II "the Germanic" allied themselves in June 880 with their cousins Louis III and Carloman to overthrow Boson. At the end of 880, many cities were taken, Autun, Besançon, Lyon, Mâcon. . . and Boson is besieged in Vienna. The siege is lifted quickly, Charles "the Fat" having to be crowned in Italy. In 882, the imperial troops presented themselves in front of Vienna which was looted and burned.. In 884, Charles III "le Gros" was elected king of the Franks and recognized Boson as king of Provence on condition that he pay homage to the kingdom of France.. Boson died on January 11, 887 and was buried in the Saint-Maurice church in Vienne..