Agnes of Germany

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Stained-glass painting of Agnes, c. 1290, in the well-house of Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Austria
Stained-glass painting of Agnes, c. 1290, in the well-house of Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Austria

Agnes of Germany (1072September 24, 1143), was the daughter of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Bertha of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Otto, Count of Savoy, Aosta and Moriana and Adelaide, Marchioness of Turin and Susa.

Agnes married firstly, in 1089, Frederick I, Duke of Swabia. They had several children, amongst whom were Frederick II of Swabia (1090 - 1147) (the father of Frederick Barbarossa) and Conrad III of Germany (1093 - 1152).

Following Frederick's death in 1105, Agnes married Leopold III (born 1073; died 15 Nov. 1136) and later Margrave of Austria(born 1095; died 1136). Leopold was the son of Margrave Leopold II and Ida of Formbach-Ratelnberg. According to legend, a veil lost by Agnes and found by Leopold years later while hunting instigated him to found the monastery of Klosterneuburg.

Their children were:

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

[edit] Sources and Further Reading

  • 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