between the middle Po and the northern border of the Patrimonium Petri (Patrimony of Saint Peter). Emperor Conrad II wanted to tie his most powerful vassal in south of the Alps to his inner circle in the long term through a marriage. Boniface attended the emperor at the city of Nijmegen in 1036 on the occasion of the wedding of Conrad II's son Henry with Gunhilda of Denmark. On that occasion Conrad, his family and his court took up residence in Nijmegen for more than a month. Here Boniface met Beatrice of Lorraine, niece and foster daughter of Empress Gisela of Swabia with whom a marriage covenant could be arranged. According to the agreements, Beatrice brought important assets in Lorraine: the Château of Briey and the Lordships of Stenay, Mouzay, Juvigny, Longlier and Orval, all the northern part of her paternal family's ancestral lands. As the daughter of Duke Frederick II of Upper Lorraine and Matilda of Swabia, she and her sister Sophia were raised in the imperial court by their aunt Empress Gisela (her mother's sister) after the deaths of their parents. For Boniface, the marriage to Beatrice, a close relative of the Emperor, brought him not only prestige but also the prospect to finally have an heir; his first marriage with Richilda (died after February 1036), daughter of Giselbert II, Count Palatine of Bergamo, brought one daughter, born and died in 1014. Boniface subdued Pavia and Parma, in revolt against the emperor, and the emperor made a treaty with Boniface, an act which has been construed as recognition of Boniface's independence. In 1032, he was at war with the rebel Count Odo II of Blois. In early summer 1036, In 1037, he helped put down a revolt against the Emperor Conrad, and in February 1038, hosted the Emperor, while the latter journeyed to Florence. In 1043, for services rendered the Empire, he received the Duchy of Spoleto and Camerino. He also acquired more land in Parma and Piacenza, and his chief residence in this time was at Mantua. In 1039, Boniface travelled to Miroalto to aid Henry against the rebellious Odo of Blois. While he was returning, he destroyed the grain fields of the region and the enraged populace retaliated and stole some of his retainers' horses. It was during his blood reprisal that Boniface made his most famous recorded statement. Preparing to hack off the ears and