Agnes of Poitou and Aquitaine Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire 1
- Born: Abt 1025
- Marriage (1): Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (1046-1056) and King of Germany (1028-1056) in 1043 in Germany
- Died: 14 Dec 1077 about age 52
General Notes:
Agnes of Poitou, also called Agnes of Aquitaine or Empress Agnes (c.?1025 \endash 14 December 1077), a member of the House of Poitiers, was German queen from 1043 and Holy Roman Empress from 1046 until 1056. From 1056 to 1061 she acted as Regent of the Holy Roman Empire during the minority of her son Henry IV.
Family
She was the daughter of the Ramnulfid duke William V of Aquitaine (d. 1030)[1] and Agnes of Burgundy. She thereby was the sister of Duke William VI of Aquitaine, Duke Odo of Gascony, Duke William VII, and Duke William VIII of Aquitaine. Her maternal grandparents were Count Otto-William of Burgundy and Ermentrude of Rheims, daughter of Renaud of Roucy.
Agnes married King Henry III of Germany in November 1043[Note 1] at the Imperial Palace Ingelheim.[2] She was his second wife[1] after Gunhilda of Denmark, who had died, possibly from malaria, in 1038.[3] This marriage helped to solidify the Empire's relationships with the princely houses in the west.[1] King Henry was able to improve his position versus the French royal dynasty and to exert his influence in the Duchy of Burgundy. Agnes, like her husband, was of profound piety, her family had founded Cluny Abbey and Abbot Hugh the Great was godfather of her son Henry IV.
Their children were:
Adelaide II (1045, Goslar \endash 11 January 1096), abbess of Gandersheim from 1061 and Quedlinburg from 1063
Gisela (1047, Ravenna \endash 6 May 1053)
Matilda (October 1048 \endash 12 May 1060, Pöhlde), married 1059 Rudolf of Rheinfelden, duke of Swabia and antiking (1077)
Henry, his successor[1]
Conrad II (1052, Regensburg \endash 10 April 1055), Duke of Bavaria (from 1054)
Judith (1054, Goslar \endash 14 March 1092 or 1096), married firstly 1063 Solomon of Hungary and secondly 1089 Ladislaus I Herman, Duke of Poland
Agnes married Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (1046-1056) and King of Germany (1028-1056) in 1043 in Germany. (Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (1046-1056) and King of Germany (1028-1056) was born on 28 Oct 1017 and died on 5 Oct 1056 in Bodfeld, Germany.)
|