Adelheid of Vohburg

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Adelheid of Vohburg (1122 - 1190) was the first Queen consort of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor.

[edit] Family

Adelheid was a daughter of Diepold III, Margrave of Vohburg (d. 1146) and his second wife Kunigunde of Beichlingen.

Her paternal grandparents were Diepold II, Count of Cham (d. 1078) and Liutgarde of Zähringen. Diepold II was also Margrave of Nordgau. Her maternal grandparents were Kuno, Count of Beichlingen and Kunigunde of Weimar.

Diepold II was a younger son of Diepold I, Count of Cham and his unnamed wife. Liutgarde was a daughter of Berthold II, Duke of Carinthia and his first wife Richwara. Kuno was a younger son of Otto of Nordheim and Richenza of Swabia. Kunigunde of Weimar was a daughter of Otto of Weimar, Margrave of Meissen and his wife Adela of Louvain.

Diepold I was a son of Ratpoto II, Count of Cham. Richenza was a daughter of Otto II, Duke of Swabia and Matilda von Egisheim. Otto of Weimar was a son of Wilhelm III, Count of Weimar and his second wife Oda of Ostmark. Adela was a daughter of Lambert II of Leuven and his wife Uda of Lotharingia.

Ratpoto II was a son of Ratpoto I, Count of Cham. Matilda was a daughter of Hugo VI, Count of Nordgau and Egisheim by his wife Heilwig of Dagsburg. She was also a sister of Pope Leo IX. Wilhelm III was a son of Wilhelm II, Count of Weimar (d. 1003), Margrave of Thuringia.

Ratpoto I is lnown for donating property to the church of Salzurg in 977. His donations were confirmed by a charter of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, dated on 7 October 984. He is considered the founder of a local dynasty, the Ratpotonen. Hugo VI was a son of Hugo V, Count of Nordgau. Heilwig was a daughter of Ludwig of Dagsburg. Wilhelm II was a son of Wilhelm I, Count of Weimar (d. 963) whose further ancestry is not known with certainty. There have been several contradictory theories on the subject.

Hugo V was a son of Eberhard IV, Count of Nordgau and Liutgarde of Bidgau.

Eberhard IV was a son of Hugo III, Count of Nordgau and his wife Hildegard. Liutgarde was a daughter of Wigerich III, Count of Ardennes and Cunegundis.

Hugo III was a son of Eberhard III, Count of Nordgau. Uncertain relation to his predecessors. Cunegundis was a daughter of Ermentrude.

Ermentrude was reportedly a daughter of Louis the Stammerer and his third wife Adelaide of Paris.

[edit] Marriages

In Eger before 2 March 1147, Adelheid married Frederick of Swabia, son and heir of Frederick II, Duke of Swabia and his wife Judith of Bavaria

One month later, on 6 April, her father-in-law died. Frederick became Frederick III, Duke of Swabia and Adelheid became his Duchess.

Frederick also managed to be elected as the successor of his paternal great-uncle Conrad III of Germany. He was crowned King of Germany on 4 March 1152. Adelheid became his Queen consort. However she remained childless and Frederick petitioned Pope Eugene III for an annulment.

The annulment was granted and confirmed in the city of Konstanz on March 1153. The justification was given on grounds of consanguinity but this was a somewhat exaggerated application of the concept. One of the great-great-grandfathers of Frederick was reportedly a brother to one of her great-great-great-grandmothers. Which is not considered a particularly close blood relation.

No longer a Queen, Adelheid proceeded to marry Dietho of Ravensburg, welfische Ministerialer. Dietho died in 1180 or shortly before. Adelheid survive him and died between 1184-1190.