Willa of Burgundy ( – after 936) was a member of the Elder House of Welf. By birth she was a daughter of Rudolph I of Burgundy, king of Upper Burgundy. Through marriage to Boso, Margrave of Tuscany, Willa became countess of Avignon and Arles, and then margravine of Tuscany.
Family Willa’s parents were Rudolph I of Burgundy, king of Upper Burgundy and Willa of Provence, daughter of Boso of Provence. Willa’s siblings included Adelaide, wife of Emperor Louis the Blind, and Rudolph II of Burgundy, who succeeded their father as king of Burgundy. After Willa’s father’s death in 912, her mother married Hugh of Italy.Bouchard, 'Burgundy', pp. 340-1.
Marriage In 912 Willa married Boso, count of Arles and Avignon.Liutprand of Cremona, Antapodosis, IV.7, p. 317. Boso was the son of Theobald of Arles and Bertha, a daughter of King Lothair II.Keller, ‘Bosone di Toscana’. His older brother, Hugh of Italy, was married to Willa’s mother. In 926, when Hugh became king of Italy, he made Boso regent of Provence. According to Liutprand of Cremona, at Willa’s and Boso’s urging, in 931 Hugh accused his half-brother Lambert of Tuscany of conspiring against him, and deposed him.Liutprand of Cremona, Antapodosis, IV.10 p. 318. Hugh invested his brother Boso as margrave of Tuscany in Lambert’s place, and Willa became margravine of Tuscany. According to Liutprand of Cremona, Willa’s ambition led Boso to rebel against Hugh in 936.Liutprand of Cremona, Antapodosis, IV.11 pp. 318-9. Willa was sent into Burgundy, and Hugh replaced Boso as margrave of Tuscany with his own son, Hubert.Wickham, Early Medieval Italy, p. 178.
Willa’s date of death is not known.
Children With Boso, Willa had several children, including:Liutprand of Cremona, Antapodosis, IV.10 p. 318. Willa of Tuscany Bertha, who married Boso, count of Burgundy, and Raymond II of Rouergue Richilda Gisela
Notes
References Bouchard, Constance Brittain (1999), 'Burgundy and Provence, 879–1032', in Reuter, Timothy; McKitterick, Rosamond. The New Cambridge Medieval History, c.900-c.1024. Volume 3. Cambridge University Press. Keller, Hagen (1971). Bosone di Toscana, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. 13. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Wickham, Chris (1981). Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society, 400–1000. London: Macmillan