Theodora (senatrix)
Theodora was a senatrix and serenissima vestaratrix of Rome.
She was the mother of Marozia, alleged concubine to Pope Sergius III, and the mother of Pope John XI, fathered by—according to Liutprand of Cremona and the Liber Pontificalis— Sergius. A third contemporary source, however—the annalist Flodoard —says John XI was the brother of Count Alberic II of Spoleto, the latter being the offspring of Marozia and her husband Count Alberic I of Spoleto. Hence John too was probably the son of Marozia and Alberic I.
Theodora was characterized by the aforementioned Liutprand as a "shameless whore... exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man". Liutprand, a bishop of Cremona, was described by the Catholic Encyclopedia as frequently being unfair to adversaries and could be partial in his judgments.
