Adelaide of Savoy (; c.1050/2 – 1079),Hlawitschka, E. ‘Zur Herkunft und zu den Seitenverwandten des Gegenkönigs Rudolf,’ in ''Die Salier und das Reich.'' pp. 180-191. a member of the Burgundian

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

, was Duchess of Swabia from about 1062 until 1079 by her marriage with

Rudolf of Rheinfelden Rudolf of Rheinfelden ( – 15 October 1080) was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt a ...

, who also was elected German

anti-king An anti-king, anti king or antiking (; ) 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-, 2" The OED does not give "anti-king" its own entry ...

in 1077.

Biography

Adelaide's parents were Count

Otto of Savoy Otto (; ; 1023 – 1057/1060) was count of Savoy from around 1051 until his death. Through marriage to Adelaide, the heiress of Ulric Manfred II, he also administered the march of Susa from around 1046 until his death. Family He was a younger ...

and his wife

Adelaide of Susa Adelaide of Susa (also ''Adelheid'', ''Adelais'', or ''Adeline''; – 19 December 1091) was the countess of part of the March of Ivrea and the Marchioness of Turin in Northwestern Italy from 1034 to her death. She was the last of the Arduin ...

from the

Arduinici The Arduinici were a nobility, noble Franks, Frankish family that immigrated to Italy in the early tenth century, possibly from Neustria. They were descended from and take their name after one Arduin (Hardouin). The first of the Arduinici to ente ...

noble family. Her maternal grandparents were Margrave Ulric Manfred II of Turin and

Bertha of Milan Bertha of Milan or Bertha of Luni (c. 997-c. 1040), was a countess margravine of Turin by marriage to Ulric Manfred II of Turin, and regent in Turin and Susa for her daughter Adelaide of Susa in 1033. She is sometimes identified with the Bertha w ...

. Adelaide was the younger sister of

Bertha of Savoy Bertha of Savoy (21 September 1051 – 27 December 1087), also called Bertha of Turin, was Queen of Germany from 1066 and Holy Roman Empress from 1084 until 1087 as the first wife of Emperor Henry IV. Life Bertha of Savoy was a daughter ...

, who was betrothed to the future king

Henry IV of Germany Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy R ...

in 1055. According to the ''

Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for t ...

'' genealogy, she first was married to Count

Guigues I of Albon Guigues I (born c. 1000, died in 1070 at Cluny), was Count of Oisans, Grésivaudan, and Briançonnais. He was the son of Guigues d'Albon and Gotelana de Clérieux. At the time these territories were in the Kingdom of Arles, which was made part ...

, though this assumption seems highly unlikely. Actually Adelaide, around 1060/62 and aged about ten, married the Swabian duke

. In 1069 Rudolf attempted to repudiate Adelaide for an alleged affair with Count Werner of Habsburg. In 1071 Adelaide cleared herself of the accusation of adultery in the presence of

Pope Alexander II Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria reform mo ...

. Rudolf was required to reconcile with Adelaide. At the same time, Henry IV attempted to repudiate her sister Bertha, also without success. In 1077, an assembly of revolting German princes elected Rudolf anti-king. He was crowned by Archbishop Siegfried I of Mainz on March 26, with Adelaide as his consort. When the

Great Saxon Revolt Saxon war, Saxon revolt or Saxon rebellion may refer to: *War of the Saxon Federates, part of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain around AD 500 *Saxon Wars (772–804), a series of wars between the Saxons and the Franks under Charlemagne * Saxon ...

broke out, Adelaide remained in Swabia, defending her husband's lands, whilst Rudolf campaigned against Henry IV in Saxony. Adelaide died during the Easter period of 1079, apart from her husband at

Hohentwiel Hohentwiel () is a mountain of volcanic origin in the Hegau region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is the '' Hausberg'' of the industrial city of Singen, located west of it and ca west of '' Zeller See'' (Lake Constance). The ...

Castle. She was buried in the monastery of

St. Blasien St. Blasien (; sometimes spelled in full as Sankt Blasien) is a small town located in the Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Southern Black Forest, 17 km northeast of Waldshut-Tiengen. St. Blaise's Ab ...

Issue

With Rudolf, Adelaide had at least four children: * Agnes of Rheinfelden, married

Berthold II of Zähringen Berthold may refer to: * Berthold (name), a Germanic given name and surname * Berthold Type Foundry, former German type foundry * Berthold, North Dakota, a place in the United States See also * Berthod, a surname * Berchtold Berchtold (also Bert ...

Adelaide of Rheinfelden Adelaide of Rheinfelden (or Adelaide of Swabia) () (1060s – May 1090), was Queen of Hungary by marriage to King Ladislaus I. Life Adelaide was born circa 1065 to Rudolf of Rheinfelden, duke of Swabia and German anti-king, and his second wi ...

, married King

Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I (, , , ; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Richeza (or Adela ...

Adelaide of Rheinfelden (c. 1065–?)
. ''Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Gale Research Inc. Archived from o

10 June 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2025. *

Bertha of Rheinfelden Bertha of Rheinfelden (also Bertha of Bregenz) (born c. 1065; d. after 1128), countess of Kellmünz, was the daughter of Rudolf of Rheinfelden and wife of Ulrich X of Bregenz. Life Bertha was the daughter of Rudolf of Rheinfelden and Adelaide ...

, Countess of Kellmünz, married

Ulrich X, Count of Bregenz Ulrich X (also called Ulric or Udalrich) ( –1097) was Count of Bregenz from 1079 to his death in 1097. Life Ulrich X was the son of Ulrich IX of Bregenz (d. 1079). In late 1080 or early 1081 Ulrich married Bertha of Rheinfelden, daughter ...

* Otto (died young) * Berthold of Rheinfelden (disputed)

References

Sources

*E. Hlawitschka, ‘Zur Herkunft und zu den Seitenverwandten des Gegenkönigs Rudolf,’ in ''Die Salier und das Reich'', I, pp. 175–220 *H. Bresslau, ''Jahrbücher des Deutschen Reichs unter Konrad II.'', 2 vols. (1884), online at
archive.org
*

Charles William Previté-Orton Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, ''The Early History of the House of Savoy (1000-1233)'' (Cambridge, 1912), online at
archive.org
*Bernold of Constance, ''Chronicon'', i

* G. Meyer von Knonau, ''Jahrbücher des Deutschen Reiches unter Heinrich IV und Heinrich V,'' 7 vols (Leipzig, 1890-1909).

External links

(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adelaide of Savoy, Duchess of Swabia Nobility from Turin People from Lombardy 11th-century Italian nobility Duchesses of Swabia 11th-century Italian women Women in 11th-century warfare Year of birth uncertain 1079 deaths Women in war in Italy 11th-century people from the Savoyard State House of Savoy