Irene Angelina ( el, ; c. 1181 – 27 August 1208) was a Byzantine princess and member of the

Angelos dynasty The House of Angelos (; gr, Ἄγγελος), feminine form Angelina (), plural Angeloi (), was a Byzantine Greek noble lineage which rose to prominence through the marriage of its founder, Constantine Angelos, with Theodora Komnene, the young ...

and by her two marriages

Queen of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which occ ...

in 1193 and Queen of Germany from 1198 to 1208.

Life

Irene was born in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, the second daughter of

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

emperor

Isaac II Angelos Isaac II Angelos or Angelus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, ; September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a ...

and his first wife, quite possibly an unknown Palaiologina with a non-Greek mother, who became a nun with the name Irene. In 1193 her father and King Tancred of Sicily arranged Irene's marriage with Tancred's eldest son,

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

. Her husband was declared co-king, but he died on 24 December 1193, shortly before his father's death on 20 February 1194. Sicily was claimed by Tancred's aunt Constance and her husband,

Emperor Henry VI Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sic ...

. Irene was captured 29 December 1194 during the conquest of Sicily. She was married on 25 May 1197 to Henry's younger brother, 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 (w ...

, and took the name Maria. After the Emperor had died on September 28, Philip was elected

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 ...

Mühlhausen Mühlhausen () is a city in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen. Mühlhausen was first mentioned in 967 and b ...

on 8 March 1198. Queen Irene's father, who had been deposed in 1195, urged her to get Philip's support for his reinstatement; her brother,

Alexius Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios ( el, Αλέξιος, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia ( el, Αλεξία) and its variants such as Alessia ...

, subsequently spent some time at Philip's court during the preparations for the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

. She thus had an early influence on the eventual diversion of the Crusade to

in 1204. Rivalled by the Welf scion

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 119 ...

, Philip was able to consolidate his rule over the German kingdom. On 21 June 1208, he was killed by the Bavarian Count Palatine Otto VIII of

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

, leaving Irene widowed a second time. After the murder of her husband, Irene - who was pregnant at the time - retired to

Hohenstaufen Castle Hohenstaufen Castle (german: Burg Hohenstaufen) is a ruined castle in Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The hill castle was built in the 11th century, on a conical hill between the Rems and Fils rivers (both tributaries of the Necka ...

. There, two months later on 27 August 1208, she gave birth to another daughter. Both mother and child died shortly afterwards. She was buried in the family mausoleum in the Staufen proprietary monastery of Lorch Abbey, along with her children. Her grave was destroyed and cannot be reconstructed.

Issue

Philip and Irene had: *

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

(April/June 1198 – 11 August 1212), who married her father's rival,

Emperor Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

on 22 July 1212 and died three weeks later without issue. *

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

(1199/1200 – 29 March 1235), who married Duke

Henry II of Brabant Henry II of Brabant ( nl, Hendrik, french: Henri; 1207 – February 1, 1248) was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235. His mother was Matilda of Boulogne. Henry II supported his sister Mathilde's son, ...

before 22 August 1215 and had issue. *

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 ...

(February/March 1202 – 13 September 1248), who married King

Wenceslaus I of Bohemia Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav I.; c. 1205 – 23 September 1253), called One-Eyed, was King of Bohemia from 1230 to 1253. Wenceslaus was a son of Ottokar I of Bohemia and his second wife Constance of Hungary. Marriage and children In 1224, Wencesl ...

in 1224 and had issue. * Elisabeth (March/May 1205 – 5 November 1235), who married King

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguel ...

on 30 November 1219 and had issue. * DaughterNamed ''Beatrix Posthuma'' in some articles and genealogical website
1
however, the primary source which confirms her name has not yet been identified. (posthumously born and died 20/27 August 1208). She and her mother died following childbirth complications. Sources identified two short-lived sons, Reinald and Frederick, also born from the union of Philip and Irene-Maria Angelina, being both buried at Lorch Abbey alongside their mother. However, there were no contemporary sources who could ascertain their existence without doubt.

Legacy

In his poem on King Philip's

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

Christmas celebrations, the minnesinger

Walther von der Vogelweide Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170c. 1230) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs (" Sprüche") in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hundr ...

described Irene as ''rose ane dorn, ein tube sunder gallen'' (

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

for "rose without a thorn, a dove without gall").

References

Sources

*''O city of Byzantium: annals of Niketas Choniates'' tr. Harry J. Magoulias (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1984). *Bruno W. Häuptli: ''IRENE (Angelou) von Byzanz'', in: ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL)'', vol. 28, Bautz, Nordhausen 2007, , pp. 858–862. * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Bibliography about Irene Angelina (in German)
in OPAC Regesta Imperii. etrieved 25 May 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Irene Angelina 1180s births 1208 deaths Year of birth uncertain

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United State ...

Hohenstaufen Byzantine queens consort Royal consorts of Sicily German queens consort Burgundian queens consort Duchesses of Swabia Deaths in childbirth People from Constantinople Hauteville family Daughters of Byzantine emperors 12th-century German women 12th-century German nobility 12th-century Italian nobility 12th-century Italian women 12th-century Byzantine people 12th-century Byzantine women Remarried royal consorts