Time Enough for Love (21 page)

Authors’ Note

The life story of Adelaide of Burgundy, Queen of Northern Italy and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, is little known beyond her former realms, but it deserves a wider audience, replete as it is with all the passion and high drama found in more famous sagas. Who can resist the tale of a young and beautiful queen, kidnapped by the evil schemers responsible for her husband’s murder, and then heroically rescued from the depths of a dark and nefarious castle-keep? That and her second marriage to the king of her heart, Otto I of Germany, seem at first glance a blending of romance and legend, yet the story is grounded in actual historical events, recorded for posterity by Adelaide’s contemporaries and friends.

St. Odilo of Cluny knew her well and wrote a full accounting of her life, while other tenth century works shed light on her relationship with King Otto. These include the
Historia Ottonis
by Liutprand of Cremora (our Liutprand of Pavia, who became bishop of Cremora several years after our tale ends), and the
Gesta Ottonis
, a history of the Ottonian houses from 919 to 965, written by the nun Hroswitha of Gandersheim, a celebrated dramatist and poet and one of medieval Europe’s most prolific female writers. While it is unusual to have so many contemporary chronicles available from such a distant and tumultuous age, Adelaide was considered the most important woman of her time and therefore was written about extensively.

Even so, not every aspect of her life is known. We have found it necessary to mingle the well documented incidences and old folktales with our own dramatic inventions. Historians agree Berengar of Ivrea probably poisoned King Lothaire. Berengar did indeed capture the widowed Adelaide with the intention of marrying her to his son, Adalbert, thereby guaranteeing his family’s hold on power in Italy. In our novel, Berengar’s wife Willa of Tuscany is his partner-in-crime, although in reality she probably had little to do with the king’s murder. While a historical figure, Willa’s role as witch and instigator of our time travel mayhem is of course purely fictional, although Liutprand of Cremora and others tell of her mistreatment of Queen Adelaide. Additionally, Willa and Berengar had more children besides Adalbert and Rozala, but we have ignored them for our story’s sake and ask the reader’s forbearance in this regard. Moreover, Willa’s physical resemblance to her cousin, the slender and blond Queen Adelaide, is sheer invention. In fact, only Adelaide and the tall, muscular, and fair-haired King Otto are said to have looked as described; all others are the products of our imaginations.

Other depictions in our story are based on the available evidence, strongly hinting of what might have been: the medieval fortresses of Garda, Bianello, Rossena, and Canossa, now all in ruins; the various battlefields; the tenth century city of Pavia; the landscape surrounding Lake Garda, including the formidable La Rocca; and the towns of Lombardy and northern Tuscany. As for the battles, we have described them as near to the actual historical events as possible, with the exception of the siege of Canossa, which in reality took over three years, much too long for our story. We also remind readers that Adelaide, Otto, and their contemporaries spoke medieval languages like Old French. In the instances where we write dialogue in foreign tongues, we have chosen to use modern spellings, to avoid confusion.

Many additional incidences in our novel, passed down from generation to generation in the places where they occurred, also bear the ring of truth and so have been woven into our tale. On the way to Berengar’s castle-keep on Lake Garda, Queen Adelaide is said to have escaped, only to be recaptured by Berengar’s soldiers in a wheat field, the men thrusting their spears into the standing wheat as they searched. Once at Garda, the queen did spurn Adalbert, an act which resulted in the cutting of her hair, probably at Willa’s instigation. It is also recorded that Adelaide gained her freedom on the 16
th
of August, 951, yet the means by which this occurred is shrouded in legend. One version states a priest named Father Warinus (or Warren) came to her rescue by tunneling into the fortress; another says she was not shorn, but let down her hair like Rapunzel, allowing her rescuers to climb inside and then free her by battling from within. For obvious reasons, we chose to go with the tunneling story, but whatever the truth, it appears Adelaide won the sympathy of a local fisherman, who provided the means of passage across the lake. Afterward, Father Warinus’s foraging and fishing skills kept them alive as they hid in the forest.

It is here our Italian noble, Alberto Uzzo (also known as Adalberto Azzo), enters history. Alberto was the scion of a family of Italian upstarts, who gained nobility and land because of an audacious and talented ancestor. He was an ally of King Lothaire and therefore bound to protect Queen Adelaide, and he helped spirit her to safety at his keep in Canossa. Alberto actually had a wife named Hildegarde and several sons, but we have chosen to ignore the sons for the purposes of our story. Alberto and Hildegarde also had a daughter named Prangilda or Prangarda.

In an interesting aside, Alberto had two famous descendants: the great Renaissance artist and architect, Michelangelo Buonarroti,
and the medieval Italian countess, Matilda of Tuscany. Matilda was a brilliant military commander, who wore armor and fought battles alongside her men, and is perhaps a fitting descendant of Gwendolyn Godwyn in our imagined world.

Meanwhile, at Queen Adelaide’s behest, the aforementioned Liutprand did set out to find King Otto, who crossed the Alps into northern Italy. Joining forces with Alberto Uzzo, Otto decisively defeated Berengar at Canossa. Perhaps it is there the king captured Adelaide’s heart, or perhaps it occurred as we imagined it; although their marriage in Pavia on Christmas Day, 951 is historically accurate. Their happy union lasted until Otto’s death in 973, yet Adelaide’s presence continued on the world stage for many years afterward, first as the queen regent for their son and grandson, then as a founder of monasteries and convents, and eventually as a facilitator for the conversion of the Slavs. After her death in 999, she was canonized by the Catholic Church. Her Feast Day, December 16
th
, is still celebrated in parts of Germany and Italy.

After Berengar, Willa and Adalbert were exiled to Luciliburgum (modern day Luxemburg), Willa did give birth to Rozala, who grew up in the royal court of Otto and Adelaide. Rozala eventually became a Countess of Flanders and then Queen of France, taking the name Susanna upon receiving her crown. Here our story diverges from any semblance of truth, for the charming Stefano – Rozala Susanna’s supposed biological father – is but a fabrication, as is his hometown, the hamlet of Santa Lucia.

And, of course, our Gwen is fictional as well, although a young woman like her surely exists somewhere in time, dedicated to her family, brave of heart, wholly in love with the man of her dreams – and home at last.

About the Authors

Two authors writing as one, Cary Morgan Frates and Deborah O’Neill Cordes specialize in recreating pivotal moments in history, epic adventure, and romance
–
with a time travel twist.
Time Enough for Love
is the second novel in their medieval Italian time travel series. It was preceded by
The Other Side of Heaven
. They are also the authors of an epic Elizabethan time travel series, to be published by Entangled Publishing, LLC. The first novel in the series,
The Thornless Rose
, will debut in November of 2014.

Please visit Morgan O’Neill at:

http://www.morganoneill.com/

Copyright © 2013 and 2014 by Deborah O’Neill Cordes

and Cary Morgan Frates

e-book ISBN: 978-0-9912932-4-7
print
ISBN: 978-0-9912932-5-4

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