AGELTRUDE. - Queen and Empress, daughter of Adelchi, Prince of Benevento, married Guido, Duke of Spoleto and Camerino. An ambitious and unscrupulous woman, she supported and encouraged her husband in his designs for power and dominion. After Guido was proclaimed first King of Italy and then Emperor in 891, she became queen and empress. Three years later, upon her husband’s death, she continued her role as a strong advisor to their son Lambert. When Arnulf arrived, she withdrew with all the Lombard forces to Spoleto, determined to face siege and battle. After the emperor’s sudden departure, she consented—though without taking part—to the horrific trial of Pope Formosus held in Rome. After Lambert’s death in 898, she retired to Spoleto, accepting gifts and favors from Berengar I.
AGELTRUDE
Bibl.: L. Salvatorelli, *L’Italia medievale Dalle invasioni barbariche agli inizi del sec. XI*, Milano 8, p. 4, passim; M. Schipa, *Il mezzogiorno d’Italia anteriormente alla monarchia*, *Ducato di Napoli e Principato di Salerno*, Bari 1923, pp. 91-101; R. Cagree, *L’alto Medioevo*, Torino 1937, pp. 402-404, 408.