LAMBERTO, king of ITALY, emperor. — Son of Guido II, duke of Spoleto, and Ageltrude of the dukes of Benevento, he died near Marengo from a fall from his horse on 15 October 898. He was elected associate in the Empire by Pope Formosus in 892; in December of that year, he received from the same Pontiff the imperial dignity, which was subsequently confirmed to him upon his father’s death, in 894.
Arnulf of Germany was set against him; having come down into Italy at the Pope’s invitation and captured Rome, which was stoutly defended by Ageltrude, L.’s mother, Arnulf was crowned emperor by Formosus on 22 February 896. Supported by Giovanni IX, after Arnulf’s departure from Italy, L., having reached an agreement with Berengario I at Pavia, ruled without opposition. He met Giovanni IX at Ravenna and attended the Synod that the Pontiff held in that same city during the spring of 898, at which the anti-Formosan “cadaver” Synod was condemned. L. was a young man filled with bold hopes and, despite the warlike spirit of his mother Ageltrude, succeeded in giving the country a brief period of peace.