Agnes of Waiblingen

Agnes of Waiblingen (1072/73 – 24 September 1143), also known as Agnes of Germany, Agnes of Poitou and Agnes of Saarbrücken, was a member of the Salian imperial family. Through her first marriage, she was Duchess of Swabia; through her second marriage, she was Margravine of Austria.[1][2]

For the Holy Roman Empress, see Agnes of Poitou.

Agnes of Waiblingen
Duchess consort of Swabia
Margravine consort of Austria
Margravine Agnes, Babenberg pedigree, Klosterneuburg Monastery, c. 1490
Born1072
Died24 September 1143 (aged 70–71)
Klosterneuburg
Noble familySalian
Spouse(s)
Issue
FatherHenry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
MotherBertha of Savoy

Family

She was the daughter of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Bertha of Savoy.[3]

First marriage

In 1079, aged seven, Agnes was betrothed to Frederick, a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty; at the same time, Henry IV invested Frederick as the new duke of Swabia.[4] The couple married in 1086, when Agnes was fourteen. They had two sons, Frederick II of Swabia and Conrad III of Germany, as well as a 3 daughters:

  • Gertrud, who married Hermann III, Count Palatine of the Rhine [5]
  • Heilika, who married Frederick III of Pettendorf-Lengenfeld-Hopfenche
  • Richildis, who married Hugh I, Count of Roucy

In 1977, German genealogist and historian Hansmartin Decker-Hauff revealed the existence of several other children he claimed to have found in documents from the abbey of Lorch, the Staufers' family monastery. These claims were later exposed as forgeries.[6] Historian Heinz Bühler's suggestion that Berta of Boll, the wife of Count Adalbert of Elchingen-Ravenstein, was Agnes' and Frederick's daughter is purely speculative.[7]

Second marriage

Following Frederick's death in 1105,[8] Agnes married Leopold III (1073–1136), the Margrave of Austria (1095–1136).[9] According to a legend, a veil lost by Agnes and found by Leopold years later while hunting was the instigation for him to found the Klosterneuburg Monastery.[1]

Their children were:[10]

According to the Continuation of the Chronicles of Klosterneuburg, there may have been up to seven other children (possibly from multiple births) stillborn or who died in infancy.

In 2013, documentation regarding the results of DNA testing of the remains of the family buried in Klosterneuburg Abbey strongly favor that Adalbert was the son of Leopold and Agnes.[11]

In 1125, Agnes' brother, Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, died childless, leaving Agnes and her children as heirs to the Salian dynasty's immense allodial estates, including Waiblingen.

In 1127, Agnes' second son, Konrad III, was elected as the rival King of Germany by those opposed to the Saxon party's Lothar III. When Lothar died in 1137, Konrad was elected to the position.[1]

References
  1. Wilhelm Muschka (22 May 2012). Agnes von Waiblingen - Stammmutter der Staufer und Babenberger-Herzöge: Eine mittelalterliche Biografie. Tectum Wissenschaftsverlag. p. 74. ISBN 978-3-8288-5539-7.
  2. Thomas Oliver Schindler (20 February 2003). Die Staufer - Ursprung und Aufstieg eines Herrschergeschlechts. Grin. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  3. Robinson, Henry, p. 266
  4. Robinson, Henry, pp. 189, 223.
  5. Lyon 2013, p. 244.
  6. Graf, Klaus (2010). "Der Mythos der Staufer – Eine schwäbische Königsdynastie wird erinnert und instrumentalisiert". Schwäbische Heimat. No. 61. pp. 296–306.
  7. Weller, Tobias (2005). "Auf dem Weg zum 'staufischen Haus'". In Seibert, Hubertus (ed.). Grafen, Herzöge, Könige. Der Aufstieg der frühen Staufer und das Reich (1079–1152). pp. 58 ff. ISBN 978-3-7995-4269-2.
  8. Robinson, Henry, p. 330.
  9. Robinson, Henry, p. 332.
  10. Decker-Hauff, Zeit der Staufer, III, p. 346
  11. Bauer, Christiane Maria; Bodner, Martin; Niederstätter, Harald; Niederwieser, Daniela; Huber, Gabriela; Hatzer-Grubwieser, Petra; Holubar, Karl; Parson, Walther (February 2013). "Molecular genetic investigations on Austria's patron saint Leopold III". Forensic Science International. Genetics. 7 (2): 313–315. doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2012.10.012. PMC 3593208. PMID 23142176.

Sources
  • Lyon, Jonathan R. (2013). Princely Brothers and Sisters: The Sibling Bond in German Politics, 1100-1250. Cornell University Press.
  • Karl Lechner, Die Babenberger, 1992.
  • Brigitte Vacha & Walter Pohl, Die Welt der Babenberger: Schleier, Kreuz und Schwert, Graz, 1995.
  • Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Line 45-24
  • I.S. Robsinson, Henry IV of Germany, 1056-1106 (Cambridge 2003).
  • H. Decker-Hauff, Die Zeit der Staufer, vol. III (Stuttgart, 1977).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.