Adelaide I, Abbess of Quedlinburg

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Adelaide I
Hase Quast 1877 S 10 Nr 1 Adelheid I.jpg
Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg
Reign 999 – 14 January 1045
Predecessor Matilda
Successor Beatrix I
Born 973/974
Died 14 January 1045
Quedlinburg Abbey
Burial Quedlinburg Abbey
House Ottonian Dynasty
Father Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother Theophanu
Religion Roman Catholic

Adelaide I (German: Adelheid; 973/974 – 14 January 1045) was Abbess of Quedlinburg and Gandersheim, as well as highly influential kingmaker of medieval Germany.[1]

Early life

Named after her paternal grandmother, Adelaide of Italy, Abbess Adelaide was the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and Empress Theophanu. She was educated in the Quedlinburg Abbey by her paternal aunt, Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg, who died on 7 February 999. Adelaide was elected her successor.

Influencing the royal and imperial elections

Adelaide and her older sister, Sophie I, Abbess of Gandersheim, acted as true kingmakers, having rejected Eckard I, Margrave of Meissen (who discounted their influence), as candidate for kingship. Together with Sophie, Adelaide significantly influenced the election of Henry II as King of the Romans and legitimazing him in 1024, when he visited Vreden and Quedlinburg. The Princess-Abbess and her sister would play the same role in election of Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Nonetheless, when Sophie died in 1039, Conrad II denied Adelaide's request to succeed her as Abbess of Gandersheim. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, eventually granted her the right to rule Gandersheim too.[1][2]

Death

Adelheid died either on 14 January 1045 or on 14 January 1044 and was succeeded by her kinswoman, Beatrice of Franconia. Adelaide is buried in Quedlinburg Abbey. A lifesized tomb marker preserves the conventional image of Adelaide. She is represented as holy woman by monastic habit and Gospel book. In fact, the image depicts what Adelaide represented rather than Adelaide herself.[3]

Ancestry

Family of Adelaide I, Abbess of Quedlinburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. Otto I, Duke of Saxony
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Henry I of Germany
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Hedwiga of Franconia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. Dietrich of Westphalia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Matilda
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Reinhild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20. Rudolph I of Burgundy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Rudolph II of Burgundy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Guilla of Provence
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Adelaide of Italy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. Burchard II, Duke of Swabia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Bertha of Swabia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23. Regelinda of Zürich
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Adelaide I, Abbess of Quedlinburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Konstantinos Skleros
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Theophanu
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Sophia Phokaina
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References

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Regnal titles
Preceded by Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg
999 – 14 January 1045
Succeeded by
Beatrix I
Preceded by Abbess of Gandersheim
1039–1043