Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy

Beatrice I
suo jure Countess of Burgundy
Reign	22 January 1148 – 15 November 1184
Predecessor	Renaud III
Successor	Frederick I & Otto I
Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire; Queen consort of the Romans
Reign	9 June 1156 – 15 November 1184
Coronation	1 August 1167 at Rome
Queen consort of Italy
Reign	9 June 1156 – 15 November 1184
Queen consort of Burgundy
Reign	9 June 1156 – 15 November 1184
Coronation	August 1178 at Vienne
Spouse	Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Issue among others...	Frederick V, Duke of Swabia Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, Count of Burgundy Conrad II, Duke of Swabia Philip of Swabia
House	House of Ivrea
Father	Renaud III
Mother	Agatha of Lorraine
Born	1143/5
Died	15 November 1184 Jouhe, near Dôle
Burial	Speyer Cathedral
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Beatrice of Burgundy (1143 – November 15, 1184) was the only daughter of Renaud III, Count of Burgundy and Agatha of Lorraine. She was the second wife of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor and as such was styled Empress. Her maternal grandparents were Simon I, Duke of Lorraine and his wife Adelaide of Leuven. Beatrice was active at the Hohenstaufen court, encouraging literary works and chivalric ideals. She accompanied her husband on his travels and campaigns across his kingdom, and Frederick Barbarossa was known to be under Beatrice's influence. She was crowned Holy Roman Empress by Antipope Paschal III in Rome on 1 August 1167, and later as Queen of Burgundy at Vienne in August 1178.

The poem Carmen de gestis Frederici I imperatoris in Lombardia, written about 1162, describes Beatrice upon her wedding day:

"Venus did not have this virgin's beauty,

Minerva did not have her brilliant mind

And Juno did not have her wealth.

There never was another except God's mother Mary

And Beatrice is so happy she excels her."

Marriage and issue

Beatrice and Frederick were married June 9, 1156 at Würzburg. By this marriage Frederick obtained control of the vast county of Burgundy.

They had the following children:

1. Sophie (b. 1161 – d. 1187), married to Margrave William VI of Montferrat.
2. Beatrice (b. 1162 – d. 1174). She was betrothed to King William II of Sicily but died before they could be married.
3. Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (b. Pavia, 16 July 1164 – d. 28 November 1170).
4. Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. Nijmegen, November 1165 – d. Messina, 28 September 1197).
5. Conrad (b. Modigliana, February 1167 – d. Acre, 20 January 1191), later renamed Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia after the death of his older brother.
6. Daughter (Gisela?) (b. October/November 1168 – d. 1184).
7. Otto I, Count of Burgundy (b. June/July 1170 – killed, Besançon, 13 January 1200).
8. Conrad II, Duke of Swabia and Rothenburg (b. February/Marc 1172 – killed, Durlach, 15 August 1196).
9. Renaud (b. October/November 1173 – d. in infancy).
10. William (b. June/July 1176 – d. in infancy).
11. Philip of Swabia (b. August 1177 – killed, Bamberg, 21 June 1208) King of Germany in 1198.
12. Agnes (b. 1154 – d. 8 October 1184). She was betrothed to King Emeric of Hungary but died before they could be married.

In literature

Beatrice is a character in Umberto Eco's novel Baudolino, whose (fictional) protagonist is deeply in love with her - a love never consummated except for a single kiss.

Ancestry

Sources

Media related to Beatrice of Burgundy at Wikimedia Commons

• Carson, Thomas. Barbarossa in Italy, 1994.
• Beatrix de Bourgogne