Lutgard of Salzwedel or ''Liutgard/Luitgard of Stade'', (b. , murdered 1152) was Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Eric III.

Life

Lutgard was born to Richardis, Countess of Sponheim-Lavanttal, and Count Rudolf I of

Stade Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...

and Ditmarsh (d. 1124), Margrave of the

Northern March The Northern March or North March (german: Nordmark) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and ...

, seated in Salzwedel. Lutgard's paternal grandfather was Margrave Lothair Udo II (of the Udonids, german: Udonen). After the death of her father she lived at her mother's estates near Jerichow. Married to her uncle Frederick II, Count of Sommerschenburg ( – 19 May 1162), Count Palatine of Saxony as Frederick VI (since 1120), she had four children with him, but was forced to divorce him - on the grounds of prohibited degree of relation - by 1142. Her brother Hartwig, Count of Stade, provost at Bremen Cathedral since 1143, married her to Eric of Denmark in 1143 or 1144. With the death of her elder, childless brother Count Rudolf II of Stade and Freckleben in 1144, Lutgard and her children became the eventual heirs of the County of Stade, since her younger, inheriting brother, Hartwig, was childless too. However, in 1148 Hartwig stipulated with the cathedral chapter his election as Archbishop of Bremen in return for his bequest of the county to the archdiocese on his death, thus disinheriting Lutgard's children. As queen, she was criticized for being promiscuous and for influencing her spouse to waste money. She separated from her spouse after she was accused of adultery and

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d to the Holy Roman Empire. As a widow, she became the second wife of the widowed Count Herman II of Winzenburg- Northeim in 1148, and had three more daughters with him. Ministeriales of Bernard of Rothenburg, Bishop of Hildesheim, eventually at his instigation, murdered Count Herman, who was violent and ambitious to seize further territories, and the pregnant Lutgard in Winzenburg in the night between 29 and 30 January 1152. The murderers further robbed their treasury of 6,000 pound in silver.

Issue

With Frederick II of Sommerschenburg she had four children: * Albert (Adalbert), Count Palatine of Sommerschenburg (ca. 1130–15 January or 17 March 1179) * Adelheid (d. 1 May 1184), Princess-Abbess of

Gandersheim Abbey Gandersheim Abbey (german: Stift Gandersheim) is a former house of secular canonesses ( Frauenstift) in the present town of Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was founded in 852 by Duke Liudolf of Saxony, progenitor of the Liudolfing or ...

(1152/53–1184) and Quedlinburg Abbey (1161–1184) * Sophia (d. 1189 or 1190), married (1) with

Henry I, Count of Wettin 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, ...

(27 February 1142 – 30 August 1181), brother of the next Danish queen consort

Adela of Meissen Adela of Meissen (also ''Adelheid'' or ''Adele'') (died 23 October 1181) was a Danish Queen consort, spouse of King Sweyn III of Denmark. She was the daughter of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen, and Luitgard of Ravenstein. Adela was born in Meissen ...

and son of their father Margrave Conrad ''the Great''; (2) with

Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia Hermann I (died 25 April 1217), Landgrave of Thuringia and (as Hermann III) Count Palatine of Saxony, was the second son of Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia (''the Iron''), and Judith of Hohenstaufen, the sister of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. ...

* Dietrich, Count Palatine of Sommerschenburg, guardian of his nephew

Henry II, Count of Wettin 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 Portuga ...

, son of Sophia and Henry I of Wettin With Hermann II of Winzenburg- Northeim she had the following three daughters: * Daughter (1149– before 1204), married (1) in 1170 Henry III, Count of Schwarzburg (d. 26 July 1184), and (2) Ulrich I, Count of Wettin (ca. 1170–28 September 1206After her death Ulrich I married his second wife Hedwig of Saxony (ca. 1175–after 1206), daughter of Duke

Bernard I of Saxony Bernard I (c. 950 – 9 February 1011) was the Duke of Saxony between 973 and 1011, the second of the Billung dynasty, a son of Duke Herman and Oda. He extended his father's power considerably. He fought the Danes in 974, 983, and 994 during thei ...

.), son of Sophia and Henry I of Wettin * Daughter (b. 1150), in 1166 married Buris/Burits Henriksen (likely 1130–1167, murdered), Earl of Jutland (since 1162), a son of

Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter (Old Norse: ''Ingiríðr Rögnvaldsdóttir'') (1100/1110 – after 1161 AD) was born a member of the Swedish royal family, became a member of Danish royalty by marriage and later was Queen consort of Norway as the spouse of ...

and Henry Sweynson (

Henrik Skadelår Henrik Skadelår (c. 1090 - 4 June 1134) was a Danish prince, the son of Svend Tronkræver, an illegitimate son of king Sweyn II of Denmark. He was the father of King Magnus II of Sweden. He died in the Battle of Fotevik. After the murder on his ...

) * Hedwig (b. 1151), Provostress of

References

* Alf Henrikson: ''Dansk historia'' (Danish history) (1989) (Swedish) * Sven Rosborn (In Swedish): ''När hände vad i Nordens historia'' (When did what happen in the history of the Nordic countries) (1997) * Hans Olrik
"Lutgard (Ljutgard), –1152, Dronning"
in: '' Dansk biografisk leksikon'', vol. X: Laale - Løvenørn, p. 400.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutgard Of Salzwedel 1110s births Danish royal consorts German countesses Year of birth missing 1152 deaths Remarried royal consorts Place of birth missing Place of death missing 12th-century Danish women 12th-century Danish nobility 12th-century German women 12th-century German nobility