Beatrice of Bar (also ''Beatrix''; c. 1020 – 18 April 1076) was the marchioness of Tuscany by marriage to

Boniface III of Tuscany Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

, and Regent of Tuscany from 1052 until her death, during the minority of and in co-regency with, her daughter

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

. She was the daughter of

Frederick II, Duke of Upper Lorraine Frederick II (c. 995–1026), son of Thierry I of the House of Ardennes and Richilde von Blieskastel, daughter of Folmar III, Count in Bliesgau, was the Count of Bar and Duke of Lorraine, co-reigning with his father from 1019. On the Emperor He ...

count of Bar The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the ''Barrois, pays de Barrois'' and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the County of Montbéliard, House of Montbéliard from the 11t ...

, and

Matilda of Swabia Matilda of Swabia (german: Mathilde von Schwaben; – 29 July 1032), a member of the Conradines, Conradine dynasty, was Duchy of Carinthia, Duchess of Carinthia by her first marriage with Duke Conrad I, Duke of Carinthia, Conrad I and List of c ...

. She was married first to

and later to

Godfrey of Lotharingia Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, a ...

Life

Beatrice was born in what is now northeastern France around 1020. She was also known as Beatrice of Tuscany or Beatrice of Canossa. After her father Duke Frederick II of Upper Lorraine died in 1026, she and her sister

Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...

went to live with their mother's sister,

Empress Gisela Gisela of Swabia ( 990 – 15 February 1043), was queen of Germany from 1024 to 1039 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 to 1039 by her third marriage with Emperor Conrad II. She was the mother of Emperor Henry III. She was regent of S ...

at the imperial court. c.1037/8, she became the second wife of

in a splendid ceremony. She had the following children: *Beatrice (died 17 December 1053) *

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederi ...

(died July 1055), briefly successor before imprisonment *

(1046 – 24 July 1115),''The Reform of the Church'', J.P. Whitney, ''The Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. V'', ed. J.R. Tanner, C.W. Previte-Orton, Z.N. Brooke, (Cambridge University Press, 1968), 31. successor as marchioness of Tuscany

Regency

With Boniface's death on 6 May 1052, Beatrice assumed the

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

for her son Frederick. Little is else is known about her life before the murder of her husband In 1054, to give her son the protection she could not militarily provide, she married her cousin,

Godfrey Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, an ...

, former

duke of Lower Lorraine The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of t ...

. However, in 1055, the

Emperor Henry III Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was raised by ...

arrested Beatrice for marrying a traitor. She was brought to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

a prisoner while Frederick was summoned to Henry's court at

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. He refused to go and died before any action was taken against him. The heir of Boniface was now his youngest daughter Matilda, who was imprisoned with her mother. On the death of Henry, Godfrey was reconciled with his heir, Henry IV, and exiled to Italy with his wife and stepdaughter. In January 1058, as a partisan of the newly elected

Pope Nicholas II Pope Nicholas II ( la, Nicholaus II; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his ...

Leo de Benedicto Leo de Benedicto Christiano, or just Benedictus Christianus, was a Jew of Trastevere in the late eleventh century. He converted to Christianity and was baptised by Pope Leo IX, whence he took his Christian name. He related himself to the ancient pat ...

had the gates of the

Leonine City The Leonine City (Latin: ''Civitas Leonina'') is the part of the city of Rome which, during the Middle Ages, was enclosed with the Leonine Wall, built by order of Pope Leo IV in the 9th century. This area was located on the opposite side of the ...

thrown open for Godfrey and Beatrice. Godfrey immediately possessed the

Tiber Island The Tiber Island ( it, Isola Tiberina, Latin: ''Insula Tiberina'') is the only river island in the part of the Tiber which runs through Rome. Tiber Island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. The island is boat-shaped, approximately ...

and attacked the

Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their properties to Emperor Constantine ...

, forcing

Benedict X Benedict X (died 1073/1080), born Giovanni, was elected to succeed Pope Stephen IX on 5 April 1058, but was opposed by a rival faction that elected Nicholas II. He fled Rome on 24 January 1059 and is today generally regarded as an antipope.Mary ...

to flee on January 24. Beatrice and Godfrey were allied with the reformers, including

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword". ...

and

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 refor ...

, against the emperor. In 1062, Beatrice tried to stop the

Antipope Honorius II Honorius II ( 1010 – 1072), born Pietro Cadalo (Latin ''Petrus Cadalus''), was an antipope from 1061 to 1072. He was born in the County of Verona, and became bishop of Parma in 1045. He died at Parma in 1072. Biography Cadalo was the son of ...

from reaching

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 1069, Godfrey died. Matilda was of age, yet Beatrice continued to exercise government in her name until the day she died. On 29 August 1071, Beatrice founded the monastery

Frassinoro Frassinoro ( Frignanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southwest of Bologna and about southwest of Modena. References External links Official website See also * ...

at the Apennine pass of

Foce della Radici Foce is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica. Population See also *Communes of the Corse-du-Sud department An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have ...

. In 1074-1076, Beatrice was a key negotiator in the dispute between

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 her kinsman, King Henry IV of Germany over certain rights in episcopal appointments.

Death

Beatrice died at Pisa on 18 April 1076. She was buried in the

Cathedral of Pisa Pisa Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the t ...

, in a

Late Roman Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

sarcophagus, bearing reliefs illustrating the story of Hippolytus and

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...

. (

Nicola Pisano Nicola Pisano (also called ''Niccolò Pisano'', ''Nicola de Apulia'' or ''Nicola Pisanus''; c. 1220/1225 – c. 1284) was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the ...

adapted nude figures for his pulpit in the cathedral from the sarcophagus; they can still be seen in the cathedral.) Beatrice's sarcophagus is now located in the Campo Santo in the cathedral square. The inscription around the sarcophagus, which was added in the eleventh century for Beatrice, reads: :''Quamvis peccatrix sum domna vocata Beatrix'' :''In tumulo missa iaceo quæ comitissa'' :''Quilibet ergo pater noster, det pro mea anima ter.''Bertolini
'Beatrice di Lorena'
/ref> (“Although a sinner, I was called Lady Beatrice. I, who was a countess, lie in this grave . Whoever wishes may say three Our Fathers for my soul.”)

Notes

Sources

''Lexikon des Mittelalters'': Beatrix von Ober-Lothringen, Markgräfin von Tuszien.
(in German) *M.G. Bertolini
''Beatrice di Lorena, marchesa e duchessa di Toscana''
in ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' 7 (1970). *A. Creber
‘‘Women at Canossa. The Role of Royal and Aristocratic Women in the Reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany,’’
in V. Eads and T. Lazzari, eds., ''Matilda 900: Remembering Matilda of Canossa Wide World'', a special edition of ''Storicamente'' 13 (2017), article no. 13, pp. 1–44 (Open Access). *E. Goez, ''Beatrix von Canossa und Tuszien. Eine Untersuchung zur Geschichte des 11. Jahrhunderts'' (Sigmaringen, 1995). * Gregorovius, Ferdinand. ''Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. IV Part 1''. 1905. * *T. Lazzari
‘Matilda of Tuscany: New Perspectives about Her Family Ties,’
in V. Eads and T. Lazzari, eds., ''Matilda 900: Remembering Matilda of Canossa Wide World'', a special edition of ''Storicamente'' 13 (2017), article no. 28, pp. 1–26 (Open Access).

External links

contains several letters sent and received by Beatrice.

(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beatrice of Lorraine House of Bar Duchesses of Lorraine 1020s births Year of birth uncertain 1076 deaths 11th-century Italian nobility 11th-century Italian women Regents of Tuscany 11th-century women rulers Women in war in Italy Women in 11th-century warfare Matilda of Tuscany