Clementia of Zähringen (died 1175), was a daughter of Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen and his wife Clementia of Namur. By her first marriage, Clementia was Duchess of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. By her second marriage she was Countess of

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria

Clementia was the youngest of six children, her family owned territory in Swabia. She was a great-granddaughter of Conrad I, Count of Luxembourg and his wife Clementia of Aquitaine, herself daughter of William VII, Duke of Aquitaine. Clementia was firstly married in 1147 to Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, he later inherited Bavaria. The marriage was arranged to confirm her father's alliance with the Welf party in Southern Germany. She was heiress of Badenweiler, although her husband sold these Swabian estates to

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

in 1158, receiving in exchange Herzberg, Scharzfels and Pöhlde south of the Harz. Clementia and Henry had three children: *Henry, died young * Gertrude (1155–1197), married first Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia, and then King Canute VI of Denmark *Richenza (c. 1157 – 1167), died young Henry repudiated Clementia because of the growing difficulties between her brother Duke Berthold IV and Emperor Frederick, the latter with whom Duke Henry was by then in close alliance with.Haverkamp (1988), p. 223. Frederick did not cherish Guelphish possessions in his home area and offered Henry several fortresses in Saxony in exchange. The couple's marriage was declared null at Constance on 23 November 1162.

Countess of Savoy

Clementia remained unwed for two years before she married her second husband, Umberto III, Count of Savoy, Clementia being his third wife. Umberto's first two marriages were not successful, his first wife died young; his second marriage ended in an annulment. Umberto gave up and became a Carthusian monk. However, the nobles and common people of Savoy begged him to marry yet again, which he reluctantly did to Clementia. Clementia and Humbert had two daughters: * Sophia (1165–1202), married Azzo VI of Este * Alicia (1166–1178), betrothed to

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

Clementia died in 1175, predeceasing both her husbands and three of her four daughters. After her death, Umberto attempted to return to the monastic life yet again but was forced to remarry a fourth and final time to Beatrice of Viennois who bore him the long-awaited son and heir, Thomas.

Ancestry

Notes

References

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clementia of Zahringen 12th-century births 1175 deaths Year of birth unknown House of Zähringen Duchesses of Saxony Duchesses of Bavaria Countesses of Savoy Burials at Hautecombe Abbey 12th-century German women 12th-century German nobility Remarried duchesses consort