 1051 - 1087 (36 years)
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| Name |
Bertha of Savoy |
| Birth |
21 Sep 1051 |
| Gender |
Female |
| Name |
Bertha of Turin |
| Death |
27 Dec 1087 |
Mainz  |
| Burial |
cathedral of Speyer |
| Notes |
- «b»http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_of_Savoy
«/b»
Bertha of Savoy was a daughter of «u»Otto of Savoy «/u» (also called Eudes and Odo) and «u»Adelaide of Susa «/u». Her maternal grandparents were «u»Ulric Manfred II of Turin «/u» and Bertha of the «u»Obertenghi «/u».
As children, during the lifetime of «u»Emperor Henry III «/u», Bertha and Henry IV were betrothed on «u»25 December «/u» «u»1055 «/u» in «u»Zürich «/u». The wedding took place on «u»13 July «/u» «u»1066 «/u» in «u»Trebur «/u». While Bertha was apparently in love with Henry from the outset, Henry initially viewed his wife with aversion. Although she was apparently a pretty young woman, the Saxon chronicler Bruno, an avowed opponent of Henry IV, reported on the Emperor's continual unfaithfulness: "He had two or three «i»Kebsweiber«/i» («u»concubines «/u») at the same time, in addition [to his wife], yet he was not content. If he heard that someone had a young and pretty daughter or wife, he instructed that she be supplied to him by force. (...) His beautiful and noble wife Bertha (...) was in such a manner hated by him that he never saw her after the wedding any more than necessary, since he had not celebrated the wedding out of free will."
In 1069, Henry began procedures for a divorce, supplying what was for the time an unusually honest reason for the divorce: "The king explained publicly (before the princes), that his relationship with his wife was not good; for a long time he had deceived others, but now he did not want to do so any longer. He could not accuse her of anything that justified a divorce, but he was not capable of carrying out conjugal relations with her any longer. He asked them for the sake of «u»God «/u» to remove him from the bonds of a marriage closed under bad signs ... so that the way to a luckier marriage might be opened. And nobody knowing any objection to raise, and his wife being an obstacle to a second marriage ceremony, he then swore that she was as he received her, unstained and her virginity intact." (Bruno of Merseburg)
The German episcopacy dared not submit to the King's demands, and called on «u»Pope Alexander II «/u» for assistance. He sent «u»Petrus Damiani «/u» as his Legate to the Synod in Frankfurt, and rejected the divorce. Henry then apparently submitted to his fate, his first daughter by Bertha being born in the year after the divorce attempt.
Bertha also accompanied her husband on his dangerous journey to «u»Canossa «/u», carrying her three-year-old son Conrad. She remained with her husband between 25-28 January 1077 in freezing cold weather before the walls of the castle, in order to reach the solution to Henry's dispute with the Pope. Together with Henry, Bertha later also journeyed to «u»Rome «/u», and on «u»31 March «/u» «u»1084 «/u» was crowned Empress.
On 27 December 1087, Bertha died in Mainz.
«b»
Children
«/b»From her marriage with Henry there were eventually five children:
«tab» Adelheid (1070-4 June 1079)
«tab»Henry (1071-2 August 1071)
«u»«tab»Agnes of Germany «/u» (1072/73-«u»24 September «/u» «u»1143 «/u»)
«u»«tab»Conrad «/u» («u»12 February «/u» «u»1074 «/u»-«u»27 July «/u» «u»1101 «/u»), later Roman-German King and King of Italy
«u»«tab»Henry V «/u» («u»8 January «/u» «u»1086 «/u»-«u»23 May «/u» «u»1125 «/u»), later Roman-German King and Holy Roman Emperor
|
| Person ID |
I61108 |
Glenn Cook Family |
| Last Modified |
19 Jun 2013 |
| Father |
Otto I, Count of Savoy, b. Between 1010 and 1020 d. 1059 (Age ~ 49 years) |
| Mother |
Adelaide (Adelais, Adeline) of Susa, Marchioness of Turin, b. Between 1014 and 1020, Turin, Italy d. 19 Dec 1091, Camischio, Ivrea, Savoy (Age ~ 77 years) |
| Marriage |
1046 |
- In 1046 he married Adelaide , heiress of Turin and Susa .
|
| Family ID |
F1338 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Henry IV (Heinrich) of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor, b. 11 Nov 1050, Goslar, Niedersachsen, Germany d. 7 Aug 1106, Liege, Belgium (Age 55 years) |
| Marriage |
Jun 1066 |
| Children |
| | 1. Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, b. 12 Feb 1074, Hersfeld Abbey d. 27 Jul 1101, Florence , Italy, Holy Roman Empire (Age 27 years) |
| | 2. Henry V of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor, b. 11 Aug 1086, Goslar, Saxony d. 23 May 1125, Utrecht, Friesland (Age 38 years) |
| | 3. Agnes of Germany, Duchess of Swabia, b. 1074 d. 24 Sep 1143 (Age 69 years) |
|
| Family ID |
F2569 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
19 Jun 2013 |
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