St. Adelaide Of BURGUNDY

932 - 999  (67 years)

• Name	St. Adelaide Of BURGUNDY  [1, 2]
  	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. [1]
  Birth	932  [2]
  Gender	Female
  Also Known As	Adelaide of Italy
  Death	17 Dec 999	Alsace   [2]
  Person ID	I09066	Main Tree
  Last Modified	10 Jul 2013

  
  

  Father	Rudolph II King Of Burgundy And ITALY   d. 11 Jul 937
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Bertha Of SWABIA   d. 02 Jan 966
  Relationship	Birth
  Marriage	922  [2]
  Family ID	F14719	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Otto I "The Great",   b. 23 Nov 912   d. 07 May 973, Memleben (Age 60 years)
  Children	1. Otto II,   b. 955   d. 07 Dec 983, Rome (Age 28 years)  [Birth]   2. Liudolf Duke Of SWABIA,   b. 930   d. 957 (Age 27 years)  [Natural]
  Family ID	F14920	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Death - 17 Dec 999 - Alsace  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S5452] Alan J. Koman, A Who's Who of Your Ancestral Saints, (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. - Baltimore). [S03311] Roderick W. Stuart, Royalty For Commoners - Fourth Edition, (Name: Name: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc;;).