Gertrude of Saxony ( 1030 – August 4, 1113), also known as Gertrude Billung, was a countess of Holland by marriage to

Floris I, Count of Holland Floris I (born c. 1017 in Vlaardingen – 28 June 1061) was count of Holland, then called Frisia west of the Vlie, from 1049 to 1061. Floris was born in Vlaardingen. He was a son of Dirk III and Othelindis of Nordmark. Floris succeeded his brot ...

, and countess of Flanders by marriage to

Robert I, Count of Flanders Robert I ( – 13 October 1093), known as ''Robert the Frisian'', was count of Flanders from 1071 to his death in 1093. He was a son of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and the younger brother of Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders. He usurped the countsh ...

. She was regent of Holland in 1061-1067 during the minority of her son

Dirk V Dirk V (1052 – June 17, 1091) was Count of Holland (called Frisia at that time) from 1061 to 1091. Dirk V succeeded his father, Floris I, under the guardianship of his mother, Gertrude of Saxony. William I, Bishop of Utrecht, took advantag ...

, and regent of Flanders during the absence of her spouse in 1086–1093.

Biography

She was the daughter of

Bernard II, Duke of Saxony Bernard II (c. 995 – 29 June 1059) was the Duke of Saxony between 1011 and 1059, the third of the Billung dynasty as a son of Bernard I and Hildegard. Besides his position in Saxony, he had the rights of a count in Frisia. Bernard expanded th ...

and Eilika of

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agg ...

Countess of Holland

In c. 1050, she married

(c. 1017 – June 28, 1061). Upon the death of her spouse in 1061, her son

became

Count of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. House of Holland The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests th ...

. Since he was a minor, she became regent. When Dirk V came into power,

William I, Bishop of Utrecht William I was bishop of Utrecht between 1054 and 1076. He was a typical representative of the German imperial system in which bishops (who couldn't inherit their lands) were the main officials of the empire. He was a loyal follower of king Henr ...

, took advantage of the situation, occupying territory that he had claimed in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

. Gertrude and her son withdrew to the islands of

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...

(Zeeland), leaving William to occupy the disputed lands.

Countess of Flanders

In 1063 Gertrude married Robert of Flanders (Robert the Frisian), the second son of Baldwin V of Flanders. This act gave Dirk the Imperial

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

as an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

– including the islands of Frisia west of the Frisian

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

. She and her husband then acted as co-regents of Holland for her son during his minority. When her spouse left for a journey to Jerusalem in 1086–1093, Gertrude served as regent of Flanders during his absence.

Family and children

She had a total of seven children with

: # Albert (b. ), a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of , of which is land, with residents in . Geogr ...

– 17 June 1091) # Peter (b. ), a

in Liége #

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

( – 15 October 1094,

Montreuil-sur-Mer Montreuil (; also nl, Monsterole), also known as Montreuil-sur-Mer (; pcd, Montreu-su-Mér or , literally ''Montreuil on Sea''), is a sub-prefecture in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It is located on the Canche river, not far fro ...

), who married

Philip I of France Philip I (23 May 1052 – 29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low i ...

in 1072. # Floris (b. ), a

in Liége. # Matilda (b. ), who married Adalbert von Saffenburg von Klosterath. # Adela (b. ), who married Baudouin I,

Count of Guînes Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. From her second marriage to Robert of Flanders she had five children: #

Robert II of Flanders Robert II, Count of Flanders (c. 1065 – 5 October 1111) was Count of Flanders from 1093 to 1111. He became known as Robert of Jerusalem (''Robertus Hierosolimitanus'') or Robert the Crusader after his exploits in the First Crusade. Early li ...

(c. 1065 – October 5, 1111). #

Adela Adela may refer to: * ''Adela'', a 1933 Romanian novel by Garabet Ibrăileanu * ''Adela'' (1985 film), a 1985 Romanian film directed by Mircea Veroiu * ''Adela'' (2000 film), a 2000 Argentine thriller film directed and written by Eduardo Mign ...

(d. 1115), who first married king

Canute IV of Denmark Canute IV ( – 10 July 1086), later known as Canute the Holy ( da, Knud IV den Hellige) or Saint Canute (''Sankt Knud''), was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy ...

, and was the mother of

Charles the Good Charles the Good (10842 March 1127) was Count of Flanders from 1119 to 1127. His murder and its aftermath were chronicled by Galbert of Bruges. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1882 through ''cultus'' ''confirmation''. Early life Charles w ...

, later count of Flanders. She then married

Roger Borsa Roger Borsa (1060/1061 – 22 February 1111) was the Norman Duke of Apulia and Calabria and effective ruler of southern Italy from 1085 until his death. Life Roger was the son of Robert Guiscard and Sikelgaita, a Lombard noblewoman. His ambiti ...

, duke of

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

. # Gertrude, who married

Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine Theodoric II (died 30 December 1115), called the Valiant, was the Duke of Lorraine from 1070 to his death. He was the son and successor of Gerhard and Hedwige of Namur. He is sometimes numbered ''Theodoric I'' if the Dukes of the House of Ardenn ...

, and was the mother of

Thierry of Alsace Theoderic ( nl, Diederik, french: Thierry, german: Dietrich; – 17 January 1168), commonly known as Thierry of Alsace, was the fifteenth count of Flanders from 1128 to 1168. With a record of four campaigns in the Levant and Africa (including pa ...

, also later count of Flanders. # Philip of Loo, whose illegitimate son

William of Ypres William of Ypres ( nl, Willem van Yper; 1090 – 24 January 116524 January 1164 O.S., 1165 N.S.) was a Flemish nobleman and one of the first mercenary captains of the Middle Ages. Following two unsuccessful bids for the County of Flanders, ...

was also a claimant to the county of Flanders. # Ogiva,

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

of Messines.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Genealogy A-Z
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gertrude of Saxony 1030s births 1113 deaths Year of birth uncertain Countesses of Holland Countesses of Flanders House of Billung 11th-century women rulers 11th-century French nobility 12th-century French nobility 11th-century French women 12th-century French women 12th-century French people 11th-century Saxon people 12th-century Saxon people 11th-century German women 12th-century German women