Gertrude of Brunswick
{{Short description|German countess (c.1060–1117)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox noble
| title = Margravine of Meissen
| name = Gertrude of Brunswick
| full name =
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| heir =
| spouse = Dietrich II, Count of Katlenburg
Henry, Margrave of Frisia
Henry I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark
| issue = Dietrich III of Katlenburg
Richenza of Northeim
Otto III of Northeim
Henry II, Margrave of Meissen
Gertrude of Northeim
| noble family = Brunonids
| royal anthem =
| father =Egbert I, Margrave of Meissen
| mother =Immilla of Turin
| birth_date = c. 1060
| birth_place = Brunswick
| death_date = 9 December {{death year and age|1117|1060}}
| death_place =
| place of burial=Brunswick Cathedral
|}}
Gertrud of Brunswick ({{langx|de|Gertrud von Braunschweig}}; {{circa|1060}} – 9 December 1117)Posse, Die Wettiner, p. 42.{{cite ADB |9|71|72|Gertrud|Schirrmacher, Friedrich Wilhelm|ADB:Gertrud (Markgräfin von Meißen)}} was Countess of Katlenburg by marriage to Dietrich II, Count of Katlenburg, Margravine of Frisia by marriage to Henry, Margrave of Frisia, and Margravine of Meissen by marriage to margrave Henry I.
She served as regent of the County of Katlenburg during the minority of her son Dietrich III of Katlenburg in 1085-?, as regent of the Margrave of Frisia during the minority of her son Count Otto III of Northeim in 1090-?, and as regent of the County of Northeim during the minority of her son Henry II, Margrave of Meissen in 1103-?. She was also one of the leaders of the insurrections against Emperor Henry IV and his son Henry V.
Life
Gertrud was the only daughter of Margrave Egbert I of Meissen (d. 1068) and Immilla of Turin (d. 1078), and as such a member of the Brunonid dynasty.Elpers, 'Gertrud,' p. 35. Through her father, Gertrude was a great-granddaughter of Brun I, Count of Brunswick and Gisela of Swabia; since Gisela later became German queen and empress consort (from 1024 to 1043), Gertrude was closely related to Emperor Henry III and Emperor Henry IV.Elpers, 'Gertrud,' pp. 36-7; Fenske, Adelsopposition, p. 342. Through her mother, Gertrude was the niece of Adelaide of Turin and first cousins with Bertha of Savoy, German queen and empress consort from 1066 to 1087.Elpers, 'Gertud,' pp. 38-9.
=Katlenburg=
She was married to Count Dietrich II of Katlenburg (d. 1085).Brusch, Die Brunonen, p. 37; Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln, table 181. In 1090, after the childless death of her older brother Margrave Egbert II of Meissen, last of the male Brunonids, she inherited the ancestral seat of Brunswick in Saxony. When her husband died, she acted as regent for their son Dietrich III.Elpers, 'Gertud,' p. 39
=Frisia=
About 1086, Gertrude married again, this time to the Northeim count Henry the Fat (d. 1101), who was appointed Margrave of Frisia on 14 April 1099.Elpers, 'Gertud,' p. 40; Brusch, Die Brunonen, p. 37. Their daughter Richenza of Northeim (d. 1142) married Lothar of Süpplingenburg, Duke of Saxony and future Holy Roman Emperor.Elpers, 'Gertud,' p. 42; W. Petke, 'Richenza von Northeim,' Lexikon des Mittelalters 7 (1995), col. 829. He received the Brunonen's seat at Brunswick. After Henry's death in 1101, Gertrud again acted as regent, this time for her second son Count Otto III of Northeim.
=Meissen=
Gertrud's third husband was the Wettin scion Henry I of Eilenburg (d. 1103), Margrave of Margraviate of Meissen since 1089.Elpers, 'Gertud,' pp. 46-7; Posse, Die Wettiner, table 1. Their son, Henry II was probably born after his death in 1103; Gertude acted as regent during his minority.Elpers, 'Gertrud,' p. 49; Fenske, Adelsopposition, p. 343; Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln table 181. She was one of the leaders of the insurrections against Emperor Henry IV and his son Henry V.Elpers, 'Gertud,' p. 52; Partenheimer, Albrecht der Bär, p. 28. She protected the interests of her sons and Margrave Henry II later secured the Wettin authority over Meissen.Posse, Die Wettiner, table 1.
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- B. Elpers, ‘Gertrud von Braunschweig (gest. 1117): die Akkumulation von Macht durch Herkunft und Heirat: eine übermächtige Witwe in Sachsen,’ in B. Elpers, Regieren, Erziehen, Bewahren. Mütterliche Regentschaften im Hochmittelalter (Frankfurt am Main, 2003), pp. 35–57.
- Tania Brüsch, Die Brunonen, ihre Grafschaften und die sächsische Geschichte. Herrschaftsbildung und Adelsbewußtsein im 11. Jahrhundert (Matthiesen Verlag 2000). ISBN 978-3786814597
- L. Fenske, Adelsopposition und kirchliche Reformbewegung im östlichen Sachsen
- L. Partenheimer, Albrecht der Bär. Gründer der Mark Brandenburg und des Fürstentums Anhalt (Cologne, 2001).
- O. Posse, Die Wettiner (Leipzig, 1897).
- A. Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte. Band I, Teilband 1 Deutsche Kaiser-, Königs-, Herzogs- und Grafenhäuser I.
External links
- {{in lang|de}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312051613/http://www.genealogie-mittelalter.de/brunonen_sippe/gertrud_von_braunschweig_graefin_von_katlenburg_1117/gertrud_von_braunschweig_graefin_von_katlenburg_+_1117.html genealogie-mittelalter.de]
- The information in this article is based on and/or translated from its German equivalent.
{{Authority control}}
Category:Margravines of Meissen
Category:11th-century women regents
Category:12th-century women regents
Category:11th-century German women
Category:11th-century women from the Holy Roman Empire
Category:12th-century German women
Category:12th-century German nobility
Category:Burials at Brunswick Cathedral
Category:Remarried royal consorts