Otto II

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Between 973 and 983, Emperor of the West/King of Germany
• Fact: 973, King Of Italy

Otto married Theophano Skleros Of BYZANTIUM on 14 Apr 972 in Rome. Theophano was born in 956/958; died on 15 Sep 991 in Nymwagen. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Otto III Holy Roman EMPEROR
2. Matilda Of SAXONY was born in 978/981; died on 04 Nov 1025 in Esch, Sauer.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Between 939 and 973, King Of Germany
• Fact: 951, King Of Italy
• Fact: Between 962 and 973, Emperor of the West

Otto married St. Adelaide Of BURGUNDY. St. (daughter of Rudolph II King Of Burgundy And ITALY and Bertha Of SWABIA) was born in 932; died on 17 Dec 999 in Alsace. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Also Known As: Adelaide of Italy

Notes:

Name:
Adelaide's two marriages were the stuff of high drama. Betrothed at two, Adelaide married Lothair II, King of Italy, fourteen years later in 947. After three years of marriage, Lothair was poisoned on 22 November 950 by Berengar, a rival for the Italian crown. When Adelaide then refused to marry Berengar's son Adalbert, Berengar threw her into prison and treated her brutally. After four months in captivity, Adelaide managed to escape and make her way north to the castle of Canossa. From there she sent a plea for help to emperor Otto I of the Holy Roman Empire. Otto then led an army from Germany down to Italy, met Berengar in battle, defeated him, was crowned King of Italy, and then freed Adelaide and took her back to Germany. On 25 December 951, Otto married Adelaide.

The marriage of Otto and Adelaide was a very happy one. they had four children and were very close. She was interested in affairs of state, and Otto often asked her for advice. After Otto defeated the Magyars at the battle of Lechfeld in 955, he became known as the deliverer of western Christendom, and Adelaide became the most prominent woman in Europe. Loved by Otto's people, she was a very popular queen.

Besides helping Otto, Adelaide also assisted Christianity. She founded and restored convents and monasteries. She also worked for the conversion of the Slavic peoples, who were still pagans at the time.

When Otto I died on 7 May 973, their son Otto II was eighteen years old and able to rule in his own right. Adelaide began to devote more of her energy to the church. She continued to give money to religious foundations, personally distributed food and clothing to the poor, and became interested in the monastic reform efforts centered at Cluny. She was so generous that Otto II at one point accused her of squandering the imperial treasury. Adelaide left the court, and two years would pass before Otto II reconciled with his other and she returned to the palace.

The reconciliation was very timely, for when Otto II died on 7 December 983, his son and heir Otto III was just three years old. Adelaide became co-regent of the empire along with Otto III's mother Theophano, After conflict with Theophano, Adelaide once again left the court. Following Theophano's death in 991, she returned and ruled alone until Otto II became of age in 995.

Having finally retired from political responsibilities, Adelaide now devoted herself entirely to religious causes. She continued to personally minister to the poor. She also made pilgrimages to several religious sites in France, Germany, and Italy.

Shortly before her death, Adelaide retired to the convent of Saints Peter and Paul which she had founded at Selz in Alsace. she died there on 16 December 999. Her grave is at the convent, but several of her relics are in Hanover.