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
Holy Roman Empress; German Queen
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
Born	1143/5
Died	15 November 1184 Jouhe, near Dôle
Burial	Speyer Cathedral
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	Ivrea
Father	Renaud III
Mother	Agatha of Lorraine
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Beatrice of Burgundy (1143 – 15 November 1184) was the only daughter of Renaud III, Count of Burgundy and Agatha of Lorraine. Orphaned as a child, she inherited the County of Burgundy and became one of the most desirable heiresses in France. She then became the second wife of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, and as such Holy Roman Empress, at the age of about 12. 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 he 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. Beatrice died young in 1184, 6 years before her much older husband.

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 on 9 June 1156 at Würzburg.^[1] She was 13 years of age; he was 33. By this marriage Frederick obtained control of the vast county of Burgundy. The couple had 11 children, most of whom died young.

They had the following children:

1. Beatrice (b. 1162 – d. 1174). She was betrothed to King William II of Sicily but died of tuberculosis before they could be married.
2. Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (b. Pavia, 16 July 1164 – d. 28 November 1170).
3. Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. Nijmegen, November 1165 – d. Messina, 28 September 1197).^[1]
4. Conrad (b. Modigliana, February 1167 – d. Acre, 20 January 1191), later renamed Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia after the death of his older brother.^[1]
5. Daughter (Gisela?) (b. October/November 1168 – d. 1184), died young.
6. Otto I, Count of Burgundy (b. June/July 1170 – killed, Besançon, 13 January 1200).^[1]
7. Conrad II, Duke of Swabia and Rothenburg (b. February/Marc 1172 – killed, Durlach, 15 August 1196).^[1]
8. Renaud (b. October/November 1173 – d. in infancy).
9. William (b. June/July 1176 – d. in infancy).
10. Philip of Swabia (b. August 1177 – killed, Bamberg, 21 June 1208) King of Germany in 1198.^[2][1]
11. Agnes (b. 1181 – d. 8 October 1184). She was betrothed to King Emeric of Hungary but died before they could be married.

In 1184, Beatrice fell ill with an unknown illness at Jouhe and quickly died, aged about 40. She was buried in Speyer Cathedral, but her heart was buried in Jouhe's old Benedictine abbey.

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

References

External links

Media related to Beatrice of Burgundy at Wikimedia Commons

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