Hedwig of Gudensberg, also known as ''Hedwig of Hesse'' (1098–1148) was German regent: she served as regent of Thuringia during the minority of her son Louis II from 1140.

Life

She was the daughter and heiress of

Giso IV, Count of Gudensberg Giso IV, Count of Gudensberg ( – 12 March 1122) was a German nobleman. He was a Count in the Upper Lahngau and from 1121, he was Count of Gudensberg in Lower Hesse and Imperial Standard Bearer. During his lifetime, the Gisones dynasty reac ...

(1070 – 12 March 1122), Count of Gudensberg and

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

and

Kunigunde of Bilstein 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 ...

(d. 1138/1140). Hedwig married in 1110 to

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, the son of Count Louis the Springer of Thuringia. Her husband was elevated to Landgrave of Thuringia in 1131. After her brother Giso V, Count of Gudensberg, the County of Hesse and the other vast possessions of the Gisones dynasty fell to her and her husband and thus fell to the Thuringian branch of the Ludowingians dynasty. In 1122, Hedwig's mother, Kunigunde of Bilstein remarried to Henry Raspe I, who was Louis I's younger brother. Kunigunde thus became her daughter's sister-in-law. Via these two marriages, the Thuringian counts inherited an extensive triple heritage: # The possessions of the Gisones dynasty to the North of Marburg, including the bailiwick of Wetter # A large part of the Lordship of Bilstein south of Marburg, plus the bailiff of Hersfeld Abbey # The possessions of the Counts of Werner. This family had died out in 1121 and Hedwig's parents had inherited their possessions. These include the County of Maden-Gudensberg and the post of bailiff of the

Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. Thirty-eight meters (125& ...

Cathedral,

Hasungen Abbey Hasungen Abbey (german: Kloster Hasungen) was a monastery of the Benedictine Order located at Burghasungen, now a part of Zierenberg in Hesse in Germany. The site is at the top of a basalt mountain, the Hasunger Berg. In 1074 a monastery was ...

and Breitenau Abbey In 1128 Hedwig gave birth to her son Louis II. In 1140, Louis I died and King

Conrad III Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

enfeoffed twelve-year-old Louis II with Thuringia. While he was a minor, Hedwig acted as

regent 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 ...

. In 1148, Hedwig founded Ahnaberg Abbey, together with her second son

Henry Raspe II Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, who at the time administered the parts of Hesse held by the Ludowingians. A settlement grew between this abbey and the former Franconian royal court ''Chasalla'' (from la, Castellum, "castle"), on the left bank of the

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

and this settlement developed into the city of

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, which became the capital of

in the 13th century.

External links

Entry at Genealogie-Mittelalter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedwig of Gudensberg Hessian nobility 12th-century German nobility 12th-century women rulers 1098 births 1148 deaths German countesses Regents of Germany