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ENGELBERGA, EMPRESS |
Engelburga, [Angilberga], a German empress, married Louis II, who ascended the imperial throne in 855. Although her conduct was exemplary and she set an example of the finest virtues for the court, two noblemen - jealous of her nobility of spirit and the trust the Emperor placed in her - accused her of adultery. Engelburga protested her innocence; however, the slander had made such an impression on people's minds that her only remaining recourse was the ordeal by water and fire - two methods of vindication common at the time. She was preparing to undergo these trials when Count Boso of Arles, a kinsman of hers, sent a formal challenge to the Prince of Anhalt and the Count of Mansfeld, who had been the two instigators of the slander.
He defeated them one after the other in tournaments and, holding his sword to their throats, compelled them to swear an oath affirming the Empress's virtue. In 879, as a reward for his victory, the Emperor granted Boso the title of King of Arles and the hand of Princess Ermengard, his only daughter. Engelburga, after having become a widow in 882, renounced the world and took the veil at a Benedictine convent, where she died a saintly death in 890.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, p. 66)
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org

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