Adelaide of Burgundy

Born 931; died 16 December, 999, one of the conspicuous characters in the struggle of Otho the great to obtain the imperial crown from the Roman Pontiffs. She was the daughter of Rudolph II, King of Burgundy, who was at war with Hugh of Provence for the crown of Italy. The rivals concluded a peace in 933, by which it was stipulated that Adelaide should marry Hugh's son Lothaire. The marriage took place, however, only fourteen years later; Adelaide's mother meantime married Hugh. By this time Berengarius, the Marquis of Ivrea, came upon the scene, claiming the Kingdom of Italy for himself. He forced Hugh to abdicate in favour of Lothaire, and is supposed to have afterwards put Lothaire to death by poison. He then proposed to unite Adelaide in marriage with his son, Adalbert. Refusing the offer, Adelaide was kept in almost solitary captivity, in the Castle of Garda, on the lake of that name. From it she was rescued by a priest named Martin, who dug a subterraneous passage, by which she escaped, and remained concealed in the woods, her rescuer supporting her, meantime, by the fish he caught in the lake. Soon, however, the Duke of Canossa, Alberto Uzzo, who had been advised of the rescue, arrived and carried her off to his castle. While this was going on the Italian nobles, weary of Berengarius, had invited Otto I to invade Italy. He met with little resistance, and betook himself to Canossa where he met Adelaide, and married her on Christmas day, 951, at Pavia. This marriage gave Otho no new rights over Italy, but the enthusiasm of the people for Adelaide, whose career had been so romantic, appealed to them and made Otho's work of subjugating the peninsula easy. In Germany she was the idol of her subjects, while her husband lived. During the reign of her son Otho II, her troubles began, chiefly owing to the jealousy of her daughter-in-law, Theophana, and possibly also because of her excessive liberality in her works of charity. It resulted in her withdrawing from court and fixing her residence at Pavia, but a reconciliation was effected by the Abbot of Cluny, St. Mayeul. The same troubles broke out when her grandson came to the throne, the jealous daughter-in-law being yet unreconciled, and Adelaide was again forced into seclusion. But Theophano dying suddenly, Adelaide was recalled to assume the burden of a Regency. Her administration was characterized by the greatest wisdom. She took no revenge upon her enemies; her court was like a religious house; she multiplied monasteries and churches in the various provinces, and was incessant in her efforts to convert the pagans of the North. In the last year of her reign she undertook a journey to Burgundy to reconcile her nephew Rudolph with his subjects, but died on the way at Seltz, in Alsace. She is not mentioned in the Roman martyrology, but her name appears in several calendars of Germany, and her relics are enshrined in Hanover. St. Odilo of Cluny wrote her life. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01140c.htm

Adelaide, Queen of Burgundy and Empress of the Holy Roman, died just as Europe entered the year 1000. She was the daughter of King Rudolf of Lorraine, widow of Duke Lothar of Burgundy, wife of the powerful Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, and regent for both her son Otto II and, later, grandson Otto III.

Adelaide's Adventures: Adelaide lived a in rough and traitorous time. Her first husband, Duke Lothar of Burgundy, was poisoned by a fellow duke, Berengar. Berengar's aim was to try and get his hands on Lothar's great tracts of land in northern Italy. He crowned himself King of Italy, ignoring Adelaide who as Lothar's widow was the rightful heir and mistress of the region. Berengar could not ignore Adelaide for long as his tyrannical rule turned the people against him. When they turned to Adelaide for help, Berengar and his wife Willa seized the young widow, imprisoned her, and tried to force her to marry their misshaped son. A noble and educated nun Hroswitha of Gandersheim, who knew Adelaide, wrote of the event: "Engorged with hatred and envy, Berengar directed his fury against Queen Adelaide. Not only did he seize her throne but at the same time forced the doors of her treasury and carried off, with greedy hand, everything he found...He even took her royal crown..."

Though imprisoned, Adelaide managed to resist Berengar's plan to marry his son, whom she suspected had helped poison her husband. Somehow, with her two maidservants, she managed to escape. Almost at once she was found, recaptured, and punished even more. Berengar's wife Willa turned vicious. She tore off Adelaide's jewelry, pulled her hair, scratched her face, and kicked her. Then Berengar locked Adelaide up in one of his castles on an island in Lake Garda. There Adelaide languished for four months.

It was a faithful priest named Warinus who saved Adelaide by digging a hole into the castle's thick walls. Every night the hole bored a little deeper into the stone. Adelaide and her one remaining maid did the same from inside her room. At last the wall broke through. The two women squeezed out, and all three escaped in a waiting boat. Of course they were pursued, yet managed to hide in a wheat field. Through the wheat field went their pursuers, stabbing right and left with their lances. Somehow, Adelaide was not found. With Warinus' help, she found her way to the castle of Count Azzo in Canossa, Italy and put herself under his protection.

Berengar was not about to give up. He arrived at the castle and laid siege to it. The faithful Warinus was Adelaide's savior again. He slipped through the siege and fled to Germany with a letter from Adelaide to Otto I, who was the most powerful man in Europe. The letter begged Otto to come to Adelaide's rescue. In return, she offered to marry him, thus uniting her lands with his. Otto couldn't resist the offer! In 951 he entered Italy and Berengar wisely fled before him.

Adelaide's Rule: Otto and Adelaide liked each other at once. Although she was a beautiful twenty year old and he was twice her age, all accounts say that they had a happy marriage. Otto let Adelaide control the lands she brought into the marriage, and even added some he owned. On February 2, 962, Otto and Adelaide were crowned emperor and empress by the pope in Rome. Adelaide now was officially empress of the "Holy Roman Empire."

Adelaide and Otto mainly ruled from Saxony (Northern Germany). They had five children. When Otto died, Adelaide became regent for her son Otto II. Greatly influenced by his mother, young Otto II included Adelaide in his decrees, arriving at decisions "with the advice of my pious and dearest mother." Then a rival appeared on Adelaide's horizon - a daughter-in-law for Otto II named Theophano.

Theophano was a Byzantine princess who in 971 was given in marriage to Otto II. When they married Theophano was only sixteen and Otto seventeen. Fresh from the glorious but treacherous court of Byzantium, Theophano brought with her a useful knowledge of the ins and outs of political intrigue. Otto began to listen to her more, and his mother less. Adelaide and her son and daughter-in-law grew apart.

Unexpectantly Otto II died young, leaving Theophano with a 3 year old son, Otto III. Immediately, both empresses overcame their feelings of ill will and united to safeguard the child king's claims to power. Theophano assumed the title "Imperator Augustus" and defended her son Otto's title both from dukes, princes and attacks by the still pagan Slavs and Danes.

For seven years Theophano with tact and firmness administered the empire in her son's name. Then, in her early thirties she died, and Adelaide took her place as Otto III's regent. She was now sixty years old. On his fourteenth birthday, Otto III gently, but firmly, broke loose from his grandmother, making it known that he no longer wished to be ruled by a woman. For the rest of her life Adelaide lived in a nunnery. She took a last title: "Adelheida, by God's gift empress, by herself a poor sinner and God's maidservant," and died in 999 on the eve of the next millennium.

Adelaide believed that the end of the world, the apocalypse, would come to pass in the year 1,000. According to the Biblical book of Revelation, she thought that Satan would be loosed out of his prison and Christ would come again. She told the abbot of the great monastery house of Cluny, "As the thousandth year of our Lord's becoming flesh approaches, I yearn to behold this day, which knows no evening, in the forecourt of our Lord."

http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/adelaide.html (A.D. 1000: Europe on the Brink of the Millennium, Richard Erdoes, Harper & Row, 1988.)

John Coulson, editor, 1960. The Saints: A Concise Biographical Dictionary


Adela of England

Adela, the daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders, was born in Normandy in about 1062. In 1080 she married Stephen, the Count of Blois. A capable administrator, she is believed to have played a major role in managing her husband's lands.

When her husband went on the First Crusade in 1096, (dispatched by Adela?) she became regent of Blois and Chartres. The Count of Blois deserted at Antioch in 1098. Adela was furious and in 1101 managed to persuade him to return to the Holy Land. He was killed the following year in Ramlah.

Adela ruled Blois and Chartes until 1107 when she handed over power to her son Theobald. Another son, Stephen of Blois, became king of England in 1136. A third son, Henry, became Bishop of Winchester. Adela died in 1137.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/NORblois.htm

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Adela of Blois (c. 1062 or 1067 – March 8, 1137?) was by marriage countess of Blois, Chartres, and Meaux. She was a daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. She was also the mother of both Stephen, King of England and Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester.

Her birthdate is generally believed to have been between 1060 and 1064; however, there is some evidence she was born after her father's accession to the English throne in 1066. She was the favorite sister of King Henry I of England; they were probably the youngest of the Conqueror's children. She was a high-spirited and educated woman, with a knowledge of Latin.

She married Stephen Henry, son and heir to the count of Blois, sometime between 1080 and 1084, probably in 1083. Stephen inherited Blois, Chartres and Meaux in 1089, making him one of the wealthiest men of his day. He was a proud and self-indulgent man, who had no intention of taking the cross until Adela insisted upon it. Stephen reluctantly left to join the First Crusade, along with his brother-in-law Robert Curthose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adela_of_Blois


Eystein Adilsson

Eystein ruled the Swedes after his father, at which time Rolf, the King of Leidra died. King Eystein was at a feast in a district called Lofond when a plundering sea king called Solve, a son of Hogne of Njardo from Jutland surrounded the house and burned him and all his court. Solve then went to Sigtun to gain the Swedes approval, there followed a famous eleven day battle but Solve won, ruling Sweden until the Swedes betrayed him and had him killed.
Heimskringla, Ynglinga Saga, Section 35

Snorri Sturluson relates that Östen ruled Sweden at the time when Hrólf Kraki died in Lejre. It was a troubled time when many seakings ravaged the Swedish shores. One of those kings was named Sölve and he was from Jutland (but according to Historia Norwegiae he was Geatish). At this time Sölve was pillaging in the Baltic Sea and so he arrived in Lofond (probably the island of Lovön or the Lagunda Hundred), where Östen was at a feast. It was night-time and Sölve and his men surrounded the house and set it on fire burning everyone inside to death. Then Sölve arrived at Sigtuna (Old Sigtuna) and ordered the Swedes to accept him as king. The Swedes refused and gathered an army that fought against Sölve and his men, but they lost after eleven days. The Swedes had to accept him as king for a while until they rebelled and killed him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96sten


Adalbert

Adalbert the Victorious (died May 26, 1055 in Melk) was Margrave of Austria from 1018 until his death. He extended the eastern border of the then small Ostmark of Bavaria as far as the rivers Morava/March and Leitha and supported King Henry III in his battles against Hungary and Bohemia. He resided in the Lower Austrian Babenberg castle of Melk, where Melk Abbey was to develop later. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Austria


Adalbert

Adalbert (c.932 – c.975) was the king of Italy from 950 to 963. He was the son of the Margrave Berengar of Ivrea and Willa. He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne through his father and a seventh one through his mother.

On 15 December 950, both he and his father were crowned kings of Italy after the death of Lothair II. His father forced Adelaide, widow of the late Lothair, to marry Adalbert and cement their claim to the kingship.

In 951, King Otto I of Germany invaded Italy and rescued Adelaide, marrying her himself. He forced Berengar and Adalbert to do homage to him for their kingdom in 952. In 953, Adalbert began besieged Azzo, count of Modena, Reggio, and Canossa in his Canossan castle, where Adelaide had taken refuge two years prior. In 957, Liudolf, Duke of Swabia, invaded Lombardy and caused Berenagar to flee, though Adalbert gathered a large force at Verona. He was defeated, but Liudolf died prematurely and his army left.

In 960, he joined his father in attacking the pope, John XII. Otto came down at the pope's call and defeated the two co-kings and was crowned Emperor. Adalbert fled to Fraxinet, then under the Saracens. From there he fled to Corsica. When he returned, he tried to take Pavia, the Italian capital, but was defeated by another invading Swabian army, this time under Burchard III. Only the interference of his brothers Conrad and Guy, who died fighting, saved him to fight another day. He never did. His negotiations with the Byzantine Empire fell through and he retired with his wife Gerberga to Burgundy, where he died at Autun sometime between 971 and 975. His widow married Otto-Henry, Duke of Burgundy, and his son, Otto-William, inherited through his stepfather the county of Burgundy and is thus the forefather of the Free Counts and the Hohenstaufen emperors.

Brother Guy or Guido (940 – 25 June 965) was the margrave of Ivrea from 950 to his death. In 950, his father, King Berengar II of Italy, appointed him to rule in the familial margraviate. His elder brother was Adalbert II, co-king with their father, and their younger brother was Conrad.

In 959, Guy sheltered the exiled doge of Venice, Pietro III Candiano. Guy brought Pietro to his father the king and then the two of them led an expedition against Theobald II, Duke of Spoleto. He captured both Soleto and Camerino.

In 962, when Adalbert returned from exile in Corsica to try and reclaim his throne. Guy and Conrad joined with him in besieging Pavia, the Italian capital. The brothers then retreated into the fortresses around Lakes Como and Garda. His lands were confiscated by the Emperor Otto I and given to Guy, Bishop of Modena. In 965, fighting an army of Swabians under Duke Burchard III, Guy was killed, in a battle on the Po coming to his brother's rescue. Adalbert escaped to France.


Adele of France

Adela of Flanders (1009-June 5, 1063) was the Countess of Contenance, later the Countess of Flanders, and second daughter of Robert II of France (Robert le Pieux) and Constance of Arles. Her first husband, Richard III of Normandy (997 - 1027), had a short and inconsequential reign over the Duchy of Normandy before dying under mysterious circumstances in 1027. They did not have any children together, though Richard had two illegitimate children by unknown mistresses.

Adela married Baldwin V of Flanders (d.September 1, 1067) in 1028 and encouraged her husband to rebel against his father, Baldwin IV of Flanders. Her efforts failed, and Baldwin V did not become Count of Flanders until his father's death in 1035. Baldwin and Adela had four children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adela_Capet