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, and countess of Flanders by marriage to Robert I, Count of Flanders. She was regent of Holland in 1061-1067 during the minority of her son Dirk V, and regent of Flanders during the absence of her spouse in 1086–1093.

Biography

She was the daughter of Bernard II, Duke of Saxony 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 ag ...

Countess of Holland

In c. 1050, she married Floris I, Count of Holland (c. 1017 – June 28, 1061). Upon the death of her spouse in 1061, her son Dirk V became Count of Holland. 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 (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 cultu ...

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. 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 Floris I, Count of Holland: # 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 ...

in Liège # Dirk V (, Vlaardingen – 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 fr ...

), 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. 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 (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, 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. # Gertrude, who married Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine, 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 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, Copt ...

of Messines.

References

Sources

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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