Gertrude of Sulzbach (german: Gertrud; – 14 April 1146) was
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, ...
from 1138 until her death as the second wife of the
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
king
Conrad III.
Life
She was the daughter of the
Bavarian count
Berengar II of Sulzbach (c.1080–1125) and
Adelheid of Wolfratshausen
Adelheid of Wolfratshausen (d. 11 January/12 January 1126) was a countess of Sulzbach as the second wife of Berengar II, Count of Sulzbach. Slightly different dates for her death are given in the necrologies of Tegernsee and the Salzburg Cathedral ...
(d. 1126).
The identity of Gertrude's mother is mentioned in the ''Kastler Reimchronik'', Vers 525. Adelheid of Wolfratshausen is mentioned in various other documents of the 12th century as "Countess of Sulzbach", without mentioning her husband. ''De Fundatoribus Monasterii Diessenses'' contains a rather confused genealogy concerning her two most prominent daughters. Otto II, Count of
Wolfratshausen
Wolfratshausen () is a town of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, located in Bavaria, Germany. The town had a population of 19,033 as of 31 December 2019.
History
The first mention of "Wolveradeshusun" appears in documents from the year ...
, father of Adelheid, is given as father to
Richenza of Northeim
Richenza of Northeim (c. 1087/1089 – 10 June 1141) was Duchess of Saxony from 1106, Queen of Germany from 1125 and Holy Roman Empress from 1133 as the wife of Lothair of Supplinburg.
Family
She was the daughter of Count Henry the Fat of Nort ...
, "Empress" and "Maria, Empress of the Greeks". Richenza was actually the wife of
Lothair II. The author of the text had apparently confused her with Gertrude von Sulzbach. Maria is probably a confusion for "Irene", the baptismal name of Gertrude's sister
Bertha of Sulzbach Bertha of Sulzbach (1110s – August 29, 1159) was a Byzantine Empress by marriage to Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
Life
She was born in Sulzbach, a daughter of Berengar II, Count of Sulzbach (c. 1080 – 3 December 1125) and his second spo ...
, wife of the Roman Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos. Both were granddaughters of Otto and children of Count Berengar and Adelheid.
At the time of Gertrude's birth, in 1111, Count Berengar II was among the nobles attending the
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...
of the last
Salian
The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125).
After the death of the l ...
emperor
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
. He is mentioned among the
sureties of documents related to the coronation. In 1120, Berengar is recorded granting a donation to the
Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg
The Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg (german: Hochstift Bamberg) was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire. It goes back to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bamberg established at the 1007 synod in Frankfurt, at the behest of King Henry II ...
. He is mentioned as co-founder of
Kastl Abbey
Kastl Abbey (german: Kloster Kastl) is a former Benedictine monastery in Kastl in the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria.
History
The monastery, dedicated to Saint Peter, was founded in 1103, or shortly before, by Count Berengar II of Sulzbach togethe ...
about 1103 and as the founder of the Berchtesgaden monastery on behalf of his late mother in 1101–02, as well as of
Baumburg Abbey about 1107–09. On 23 December 1122, he was one of the German nobles who signed the
Concordat of Worms between Emperor Henry V and
Pope Callixtus II. In August 1125, Berengar is mentioned in documents of Henry's successor King Lothair II of Germany; his death is documented four months later.
Marriage
Gertrude married Conrad of Hohenstaufen, son of late Duke
Frederick of Swabia, in 1136. While Conrad's elder brother
Frederick II had succeeded their father as
Duke of Swabia, he himself was elected German
anti-king
An anti-king, anti king or antiking (german: Gegenkönig; french: antiroi; cs, protikrál) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, ...
in 1127, but had to witness the coronation of his rival Lothair II as
Holy Roman Emperor in 1133. Conrad finally submitted in 1135; the next year he joined the emperor on his
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
campaign and married Gertrude. The matrimonial alliance between the House of Hohenstaufen and the Counts of Sulzbach led to close relations between the two families; when in Gertrude's brother Count Gebhard III died, the line became extinct, leaving the Hohenstaufen emperor
Frederick I 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 o ...
(Gertrude's nephew by marriage) as his sole heir.
After Emperor Lothair II died in 1137, Gertrude's husband Conrad finally was elected
King of the Romans on 7 March 1138, though he had to ward off the claims raised by the rivalling
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 ...
duke
Henry X of Bavaria and his sons
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180.
Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...
and
Welf VI
Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf.
Biography
Welf inherited the familial po ...
. To secure the Hohenstaufen rule, Conrad had the
princes
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
elect his son
Henry Berengar Henry Berengar (1136/7–1150), sometimes numbered Henry (VI), was the eldest legitimate son of Conrad III of Germany and his second wife, Gertrude von Sulzbach. He was named after his father's maternal grandfather, the Emperor Henry IV, and his mot ...
, then ten years old, as co-King of Germany at an
Imperial diet held in
Regensburg on 13 March 1147. Overall King Conrad relied in a great extent to the relatives of his wife Gertrude for support.
Gertrude died in 1146 at
Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse (formerly in Hesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda. The ruins are now a medieval festival venue.
History
...
, as she became ill after the birth of her second son
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
* Frederick ...
. She was 36 years old, and was buried in the church of the former
Cistercian monastery of
Ebrach, right next to her younger son.
Issue
Gertrude had two children:
*
Henry Berengar Henry Berengar (1136/7–1150), sometimes numbered Henry (VI), was the eldest legitimate son of Conrad III of Germany and his second wife, Gertrude von Sulzbach. He was named after his father's maternal grandfather, the Emperor Henry IV, and his mot ...
(1136 or 1137 – 1150), who in March 1147 was proclaimed co-king by his father, being crowned on 30 March 1147 in Aachen
*
Frederick of Rothenburg (1145–1167),
Duke of Swabia from 1152, married 1166
Gertrude of Bavaria
Gertrude of Bavaria (Danish and ; 1152/55–1197) was Duchess of Swabia as the spouse of Duke Frederick IV, and Queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Canute VI.
Gertrude was born to Henry the Lion of Bavaria and Saxony and Clementia of Zähri ...
(d. 1196), daughter of
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180.
Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...
, Duke of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
and
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Hohenstaufen
German queens consort
12th-century German women
1110s births
1146 deaths
People from Amberg-Sulzbach