Agnes of Kuenring (ca. 1236 - fl. 1261), was an Austrian noble,

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official r ...

of Queen Margaret of Austria and mistress of her spouse, King

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...

. She was the first historically documented mistress of a Bohemian sovereign.

Life

Nothing is known about Agnes' early years. It is supposed that when Duchess Margaret of Austria married with Prince Přemysl Ottokar of Bohemia in 1252, she was part of her retinue as a lady-in-waiting. Described by the chroniclers as one of the most beautiful women in court, with short cut red hair (she was nicknamed ''Palcéřík'' for that), Agnes soon captivated the young Prince and, with around only 16 years old, she became his official mistress. One year later, in 1253, Prince Přemysl Otakar succeeded his father as the King of Bohemia. Queen Margaret was much older than her husband and already barren. It is believed that she offered young Agnes to King Ottokar II as his mistress. This story was described by the chronicler Přibík Pulkava of Radenín: ::''At first the (Margaret's) shame of infertility was attributed to her husband. When Prince Přemysl learned about that, he said: Give me one of your ladies and prove my potency or impotence. She agreed and gave him one of the girls she loved more than others, the daughter of the House of Kuenring from Austria. In the first year she bore him a son, Nicholas, who was later made Duke of Opava... In addition, she made him father of three daughters ... So the infertility, earlier attributed to the husband, was credited to his wife''. The relationship between King Ottokar II and Agnes was well known by contemporary sources, and perhaps she even accompanied the King on festive occasions, instead of the aging Queen Margaret. Around the first year of the affair (ca. 1254–55), Agnes gave birth her first child, a son, named

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

, later

Duke of Opava The Principality of Opava ( cs, Opavské knížectví; pl, Księstwo Opawskie) or Duchy of Troppau (german: Herzogtum Troppau) was a historic territory split off from the Margraviate of Moravia before 1269 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia to prov ...

. It is known that she bore the King more children, but the exact number is contradictory in sources; it is believed that they had three daughters: Agnes (married Bavor III, Lord of Strakonicz), Elisabeth (married Vikard, Lord of Polna and Burgrave of Brünn) and one unknown daughter (wife of Vok, Lord of Kravaře), and another son, Ješek (d. 26 August 1296) (later Priest at Wysehrad). After the birth of his eldest son, King Ottokar II's main objective was the recognition of this child as his heir. In 1260 he unsuccessfully asked

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death in 1261. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne (now in the Province of Rome), he ...

for the legitimation of Nicholas and his siblings. The King divorced Margaret in 1261 and married

Kunigunda of Halych Kunigunda Rostislavna (1245 – 9 September 1285; Czech: ''Kunhuta Uherská'' or ''Kunhuta Haličská'') was Queen consort of Bohemia and its regent from 1278 until her death. She was a member of the House of Chernigov, and a daughter of Rostisl ...

. It is not known what happened with Agnes after that, but supposedly she returned to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

with the former Queen.

Footnotes

References

* ŠAROCHOVÁ, G. V. ''Radostný úděl vdovský. Královny-vdovy přemyslovských Čech.'' Praha, 2004. * ČECHURA, J. ''Ženy a milenky českých králů''. Vydání 1. Praha ; Akropolis, 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuenring, Agnes of 1230s births 13th-century deaths 13th-century Austrian women Mistresses of Bohemian royalty 13th-century Austrian people Austrian ladies-in-waiting