Adelaide of Turin (also ''Adelheid'', ''Adelais'', or ''Adeline''; – 19 December 1091) was the countess of part of the March of Ivrea and the

marchioness of Turin The March or Marquisate of Turin ( it, marca di Torino) was a territory of medieval Italy from the mid-10th century, when it was established as the Arduinic March ( la, marca Arduinica). It comprised several counties in Piedmont, including the cou ...

in Northwestern Italy from 1034 to her death. She was the last of the Arduinici. She is sometimes compared to her second cousin, and close contemporary,

Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as ...

Biography

Early life

Born in Turin to

Ulric Manfred II Ulric Manfred II ( it, Olderico Manfredi II; 975 992 – 29 October 1033 or 1034) or Manfred Ulric (') was the count of Turin and marquis of Susa in the early 11th century. He was the last male margrave from the Arduinid dynasty. Ulri ...

and Bertha around 1014/1020, Adelaide's early life is not well known. Adelaide had two younger sisters, Immilla and Bertha. She may also have had a brother, whose name is not known, who predeceased her father. Thus, on Ulric Manfred's death (in December 1033 or 1034), Adelaide inherited the bulk of her father's property. She received property in the counties of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

(especially in the

Susa Valley The Susa Valley ( it, Val di Susa; pms, Valsusa; french: Val de Suse; oc, Val d'Ors) is a valley in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the so ...

), Auriate, and

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a '' comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deeme ...

. Adelaide also inherited property, but probably not comital authority, in the counties of Albenga,

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...

, Bredulo and

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label= Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label= Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label= Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

. It is likely that Adelaide's mother, Bertha, briefly acted as regent for Adelaide after Ulric Manfred's death.

Marriages

Since the margravial title primarily had a military purpose at the time, it was thus was not considered suitable for a woman.

Emperor Conrad II Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

therefore arranged a marriage between Adelaide and his stepson, Herman IV, in 1036 or 1037. Herman was then invested as margrave of Turin. Herman died of the plague while fighting for Conrad II at

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

in July 1038. Adelaide remarried in order to secure her vast possessions. Probably in 1041, and certainly before 19 January 1042, Adelaide married Henry, Marquess of Montferrat. Henry died c.1045 and left Adelaide a widow for the second time. Immediately, a third marriage was undertaken, this time to

Otto of Savoy Otto (french: Odon, Oddon, Othon; it, Oddone; /1060) was count of Savoy from around 1051 until his death. Through marriage to Adelaide, the heiress of Ulric Manfred II, he also administered the march of Susa from around 1046 until his deat ...

(1046). With Otto she had three sons,

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...

, Amadeus II, and Otto. The couple also had two daughters, Bertha, who married Henry IV of Germany, and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, who married Rudolf of Rheinfelden (who later opposed Henry as King of Germany).

Widowhood and rule

After the death of her husband Otto, c.1057/60, Adelaide ruled the march of Turin and the county of Savoy alongside her sons, Peter and Amadeus. It is sometimes said that Adelaide abandoned Turin as the capital and began to reside permanently at

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo- Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

. This is incorrect. Adelaide is documented far more frequently at the margravial palace in Turin than anywhere else. In 1070 Adelaide captured and burned the city of Asti, which had rebelled against her.

Relationship with empire

In 1069 Henry IV tried to repudiate Adelaide's daughter, Bertha, which caused Adelaide's relationship with the imperial family to cool. However, through the intervention of Bertha, Henry received Adelaide's support when he came to Italy to submit to

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

and

Canossa Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a '' comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his ...

. In return for allowing him to travel through her lands, Henry gave Bugey to Adelaide. Adelaide and her son Amadeus then accompanied Henry IV and Bertha to Canossa, where Adelaide acted as a mediator, alongside Matilda and Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan, among others. Bishop

Benzo of Alba Benzo of Alba (died ) was an Italian bishop. He was an opponent of Gregorian reform who supported Henry IV of Germany in the Investiture Controversy. Benzo's date of birth is unknown but he was probably born in northern Italy. Benzo began his car ...

sent several letters to Adelaide between 1080 and 1082, encouraging her to support Henry IV in the Italian wars which formed part of the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...

.For English translations of these letters, se
Epistolae: Medieval Women's Latin Letters
. For discussion, see
Creber, ‘The Princely Woman and the Emperor'
Adelaide's dealings with Henry IV became closer after this. She offered to mediate between him and Matilda of Tuscany, and may even have joined him on campaign in southern Italy in 1084.

Relationship with the Church

Adelaide made many donations to monasteries in the march of Turin. In 1064 she founded the monastery of Santa Maria at

Pinerolo Pinerolo (; pms, Pinareul ; french: Pignerol; oc, Pineròl) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary b ...

. Adelaide received letters from many of the leading churchmen of the day, including

Pope Alexander II Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria reform ...

Peter Damian Peter Damian ( la, Petrus Damianus; it, Pietro or '; – 21 or 22 February 1072 or 1073) was a reforming Benedictine monk and cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo IX. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of '' Paradiso'' ...

, and

. These letters indicate that Adelaide sometimes supported

Gregorian reform The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be na ...

, but that at other times she did not. Peter Damian (writing in 1064) and Gregory VII (writing in 1073), relied upon Adelaide to enforce clerical celibacy and protect the monasteries of

Fruttuaria 300px, Bell tower of the abbey. Fruttuaria is an abbey in the territory of San Benigno Canavese, about twenty kilometers north of Turin, northern Italy. History The abbey was founded by Guglielmo da Volpiano. The first stone was laid 23 Februa ...

and San Michele della Chiusa. By contrast, Alexander II (writing c.1066/7) reproached Adelaide for her dealings with

Guido da Velate Guido da Velate (also Guy or Wido) (died 1071) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1045 until his death, though he had simoniacally abdicated in 1067. He had been chosen as successor to Aribert by the people in opposition to the choice of the noble ...

the

simoniac Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...

Archbishop of Milan.

Death

Adelaide died in December 1091. According to a later legend, she was buried in the parochial church of

Canischio Canischio is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about north of Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cult ...

(''Canisculum''), a small village on the

Cuorgnè Cuorgnè (; pms, Corgnè or ' ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about north of Turin. Cuorgnè is located at the mouth of the Orco Valley, and borders the following munic ...

in the Valle dell'Orco, where she had supposedly been living incognito for twenty-two years before her death. The medieval historian

Charles William Previté-Orton Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

called this story "absurd". In the cathedral of Susa, in a niche in the wall, there is a statue of

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

wood, beneath a bronze veneer, representing Adelaide, genuflecting in prayer. Above it can be read the inscription: ''Questa è Adelaide, cui l'istessa Roma Cole, e primo d'Ausonia onor la noma''.

Family and children

Because of a late Austrian source, Adelaide and Herman IV, Duke of Swabia are sometimes mistakenly said to have had children together. This was not the case. Herman was on campaign for much of his short marriage to Adelaide and he died without heirs. Nor did Adelaide have children with her second husband, Henry. Adelaide and

had five children: *

Peter I of Savoy Peter I (c. 1048 – 9 August 1078) was count of Savoy and margrave of Turin jointly with his brother Amadeus II of Savoy from c. 1060 to 1078. He ruled only nominally, as true power was in the hands of his mother, Adelaide of Susa. Peter presid ...

(c. 1048 – 1078), married Agnes, daughter of

William VII, Duke of Aquitaine William VII (born Peter, ''Pierre-Guillaume'') (1023 – autumn 1058), called the Eagle (''Aigret'') or the Bold (''le Hardi''), was the duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitou (as William V) between 1039 and his death, following his half-brother Odo. ...

.Previte-Orton, p.231. * Amadeus II of Savoy (c. 1050 – 1080) *OttoOtto is sometimes said to be Bishop Otto III of Asti (r.c.1080-c.1088), but this identification is uncertain. See L. Vergano, ''Storia di Asti'', part I. (Asti, 1951) *

Bertha of Savoy Bertha of Savoy (21 September 1051 – 27 December 1087), also called Bertha of Turin, was Queen of Germany from 1066 and Holy Roman Empress from 1084 until 1087 as the first wife of Emperor Henry IV. Life Bertha of Savoy was a daughter ...

(1051 – 1087), married

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the ...

, June 1066. * Adelaide of Savoy, married Rudolf von Rheinfelden

Legacy

Ritratto di Adelaide di Susa moglie di Oddone - Google Art Project

Adelaide is a featured figure on Judy Chicago's installation piece '' The Dinner Party'', being represented as one of the 999 names on the '' Heritage Floor.''Chicago, 121.

Notes

References

*H. Bresslau, ''Jahrbücher des Deutschen Reichs unter Konrad II.'', 2 vols. (1884), accessible online at
archive.org
*Chicago, Judy. ''The Dinner Party: From Creation to Preservation''. London: Merrell (2007). *F. Cognasso, 'Adelaide' in
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani
'- Volume 1 (1960) *A. Creber, 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Dissolving Royal and Noble Marriages in Eleventh-Century Germany', ''German History'' 37:2 (2018), pp. 149–171.
A. Creber, ‘The Princely Woman and the Emperor: Imagery of Female Rule in Benzo of Alba’s ''Ad Heinricum IV'',’
''Royal Studies Journal'' 5:2 (2018), 7-26.
A. Creber, ‘Women at Canossa. The Role of Elite Women in the Reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany (January 1077),’
''Storicamente'' 13 (2017), article no. 13, pp. 1–44. *A. Creber, 'Mirrors for Margraves: Peter Damian's Different Models for Male and Female Rulers,’ ''Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques'', 42:1 (2016), 8-20. *V. Fumagalli, 'Adelaide e Matilde, due protagoniste del potere medievale,’ in ''La contessa Adelaide e la società del secolo XI'', a special edition of ''Segusium'' 32 (1992), 243-257 *E. Goez, 'Ein neuer Typ der europäischen Fürstin im 11. und frühen 12.Jahrhundert?’ in B. Schneidmüller and S. Weinfurter, eds., ''Salisches Kaisertum und neues Europa. Die Zeit Heinrichs IV. und Heinrichs V.'' (Darmstadt, 2007), pp. 161–193. *S. Hellmann, ''Die Grafen von Savoyen und das Reich: bis zum Ende der staufischen Periode'' (Innsbruck, 1900), accessible online (but without page numbers) at

*R. Merlone, 'Prosopografia aleramica (secolo X e prima metà dell'XI),' ''Bollettino storico-bibliografico subalpino'', LXXXI, (1983), 451-585. *C.W. Previté-Orton, ''The Early History of the House of Savoy (1000–1233)'' (Cambridge, 1912), accessible online at:
archive.org
*D. Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'' (Marburg, 1978). *G. Sergi, 'I poli del potere pubblico e dell'orientamento signorile degli Arduinici: Torino e Susa, in ''La contessa Adelaide e la società del secolo XI'', a special edition of ''Segusium'' 32 (1992), pp. 61–76 *G. Sergi, ''I confini del potere. Marche e signorie fra due regni medievali'' (1995). *G. Sergi, 'Matilde di Canossa e Adelaide di Torino: contatti, confronti, valutazioni tipologiche,’ in ''Matilde di Canossa e il suo tempo. Atti del XXI congresso internazionale di studio Sull’alto Medioevo'' (Spoleto, 2016), pp. 57–74.

External links

''Women's Biography: Adelaide of Turin and Susa''
(Brief biography of Adelaide, plus English translations of letters to Adelaide, and legal documents issued by Adelaide)

*[http://www.manfred-hiebl.de/genealogie-mittelalter/savoyen_grafen_von/adelheid_von_turin_+_1091/adelheid_von_turin_herzogin_von_schwaben_+_1091.html Adelheid von Turin, Herzogin von Schwaben, Markgräfin von Turin, Gräfin von Savoyen] * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adelaide of Susa 11th-century births 1091 deaths Year of birth uncertain Babenberg 11th-century women rulers Marquesses of Turin Marchionesses of Montferrat Countesses of Savoy Duchesses of Swabia 11th-century Italian women Aleramici Regents of Savoy Women in medieval European warfare Women in 11th-century warfare 11th-century Italian nobility Women in war in Italy