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How did Otto I gain the title king of the Lombards in 951?
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Otto I
Otto I and his wife Edith, sculptures in the cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany.
In 951, Otto I gained the title of king of the Lombards following his intervention in Italian affairs at the request of Adelaide, the widowed queen of Italy.123
After the death of her husband, Lothar, in 950, Adelaide had been imprisoned by Berengar II, who had seized the Italian throne. Following her escape from captivity, Adelaide appealed to the German king Otto I for assistance in regaining her position. Otto marched into Lombardy in September 951, where he declared himself king of the Lombards and subsequently married Adelaide in October or November of that year. By 952, Berengar II was forced to do homage to Otto as his vassal for the kingdom of Italy.45123