Adelaide I, Abbess of Quedlinburg

Adelaide I (German: Adelheid; 977 – 14 January 1044/5) was Abbess of Quedlinburg and Gandersheim, as well as highly influential kingmaker of medieval Germany.^[1]

Early life

Named after her paternal grandmother, Adelaide of Italy, Abbess Adelaide was the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and Empress Theophanu. She was educated in the Quedlinburg Abbey by her paternal aunt, Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg, who died on 7 February 999. Adelaide was elected her successor.

Influencing the royal and imperial elections

Adelaide and her older sister, Sophie I, Abbess of Gandersheim, acted as true kingmakers, having rejected Eckard I, Margrave of Meissen (who discounted their influence), as candidate for kingship. Together with Sophie, Adelaide significantly influenced the election of Henry II as King of the Romans and legitimazing him in 1024, when he visited Vreden and Quedlinburg. The Princess-Abbess and her sister would play the same role in election of Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Nonetheless, when Sophie died in 1039, Conrad II denied Adelaide's request to succeed her as Abbess of Gandersheim. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, eventually granted her the right to rule Gandersheim too.^[1][2]

Death

Adelheid died either on 14 January 1045 or on 14 January 1044 and was succeeded by her kinswoman, Beatrice of Franconia. Adelaide is buried in Quedlinburg Abbey. A lifesized tomb marker preserves the conventional image of Adelaide. She is represented as holy woman by monastic habit and Gospel book. In fact, the image depicts what Adelaide represented rather than Adelaide herself.^[3]

Ancestry

References