Beatrice or Beatrix of Swabia (April/June 1198 – 11 August 1212), a member of the
Hohenstaufen dynasty, was
Holy Roman Empress and
German Queen
German queen (german: Deutsche Königin) is the informal title used when referring to the wife of the king of the Kingdom of Germany. The official titles of the wives of German kings were Queen of the Germans and later Queen of the Romans ( la, ...
in 1212 as the first wife of the
Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to:
*Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious
*Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau
*Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...
emperor
Otto IV.
She was also the shortest-serving Holy Roman Empress, dying three weeks into her marriage.
Life
Born at
Worms in
Rhenish Franconia in April or June 1198, Beatrice was the eldest daughter and first child of Duke
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208) was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination.
The death of his older brother Emperor Henry VI in 1197 meant that the Hohenstaufen rule (whi ...
, who during the time of her birth was
elected German king (
King of the Romans
King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward.
The title originally referred to any German k ...
or ''Rex Francorum'' according to
Salic law
The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old Du ...
), and his wife, the
Byzantine princess
Irene Angelina. After her father Philip, a younger brother of late Emperor
Henry VI, had been elected king on 8 March 1198, her future husband Otto of Brunswick was elected
Anti-king of Germany on 9 June.
Struggles for betrothal
Already in 1203, King Philip attempted to betroth Beatrice to the nephew of
Pope Innocent III, in order to gain the support of the Roman Curia. However, his plans failed and the rivals continued to fight. In 1207 Philip made an attempt to reconcile with Otto by offering him the hands of his daughter. Though Otto's strategic position had become unfavourable, he did not accept until Philip on 21 June was killed by the
Bavarian count palatine
Otto VIII of Wittelsbach Otto VIII, Count of Bavaria (before 1180 – 7 March 1209) was Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1189 to 1209.
Origin
Otto VIII was the son of Otto VII, and thereby the grandson of Otto IV, Count of Scheyern.
Regicide
On 21 June 1208 Otto VII ...
. Otto of Wittelsbach, who had to dissolve his former engagement with Philip's daughter
Kunigunde Kunigunde, Kunigunda, or Cunigunde, is a European female name of German origin derived from "kuni" (clan, family) and "gund" (war). In Polish this is sometimes Kunegunda or Kinga. People with such names include:
* Kunigunde of Rapperswil (c. early ...
, had asked for the hand of either Beatrice or one of her three younger sisters in compensation. His request had been denied and he reacted violently. Beatrice was orphaned, when her mother Irene, renamed Maria, fled to
Hohenstaufen Castle and died there on 27 August after delivering her youngest child.
Otto IV, suspected of being involved in the assassination, had by this point lost the support of his two main allies,
Pope Innocent III and King
John of England. He had been forced to retire to his hereditary lands near
Brunswick in
Saxony. However, the murder of Philip left him the only King of Germany. He took advantage to make amends with the remaining members and supporters of the House of Hohenstaufen and finally accepted late Philip's offer. Their new alliance was sealed with the betrothal of Beatrice to Otto IV.
On 11 November 1208, Otto IV was again elected King of Germany in
Frankfurt. This time he was supported by members of both sides of the previous civil war. He was crowned
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
by Pope Innocent III on 4 October 1209. Beatrice was only eleven years old and remained betrothed to Otto IV, approximately thirty-four years old.
Marriage and death
As the bride was related to the Welf dynasty by her great-grandmother
Judith of Bavaria, a papal consent had to be obtained, granted by Pope Innocent III in return for donations to the
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
abbeys of
Walkenried
Walkenried () is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the southern Harz, approx. 15 km south of Braunlage, and 15 km northwest of Nordhausen.
Walkenried was the seat of the ''Samtgeme ...
and
Riddagshausen. They were married in
Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to:
* Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany
** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district
**Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city
* Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen)
* Narost ...
on 22 July 1212. The bride then was fourteen years old and the groom about thirty-seven.
The marriage with the granddaughter of late Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
helped to reinforce Otto's position after Philip's nephew
Frederick II, Beatrice's cousin, had been elected anti-king a year before. However, Beatrice soon fell sick and died only nineteen days after the marriage. She was childless at the time of her death.
Beatrice was buried in
Brunswick Cathedral. A few weeks later, Frederick II arrived in Germany and on 9 December was crowned king in
Mainz Cathedral
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. Otto IV was deposed and died in retirement at
Harzburg Castle.
References
External links
*
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatrice of Swabia
1198 births
1212 deaths
Hohenstaufen
House of Welf
Duchesses of Swabia
13th-century German women
Holy Roman Empresses
Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Burials at Brunswick Cathedral
Daughters of kings