Her father was
Welf I (d. 825), Count of
Altorf in
Alamannia; her mother was
Hedwig (Heilwig; c. 775 – after 833), a daughter of the
Saxon count
Isambart. Emma's elder sister was
Judith, who in February 819 married the
Carolingian emperor
Louis the Pious, and thereby became Queen consort of the Franks and
Holy Roman Empress. The marriage marked a crucial step forward in the rise of the Welf dynasty. In 827, probably at the instigation of Judith, Hemma married
Louis the German, the youngest son of Emperor Louis the Pious from his first marriage with
Ermengarde of Hesbaye, and stepson of Hemma's sister Judith. The wedding ceremony possibly took place in
Regensburg, where Louis the German resided as
King of Bavaria subordinate to his father. In 833, Hemma received
Obermünster Abbey in Regensburg from her husband. Emperor Louis died in 840. After severe innerdynastic struggles, the
Carolingian Empire eventually was divided according to the
Treaty of Verdun in 843. The Kingdom of Bavaria was merged with Louis the German's Kingdom of
East Francia (the predecessor of the
Kingdom of Germany), and his wife Hemma became the first East Frankish queen. Hemma is rarely mentioned in contemporary sources; she does not seem to have had much influence on her husband's rule. The
Annales Bertiniani written by Archbishop
Hincmar of Reims however reproach her for a pride which displeased the people of Italy. She is also said to have inordinately favoured her son
Carloman, designated heir of his father in Bavaria, which led to a revolt by his brothers. Hemma suffered a stroke in 874 and subsequently became paralyzed and speechless; King Louis visited her the last time in 875. She died on 31 January 876, a few months before her husband, and was buried in
St. Emmeram's Abbey, Regensburg. Her tomb, erected around 1300, is considered a masterpiece of medieval sculpture. == Family ==