Notes:

Agnes of Burgundy (or Agnes de Macon), Duchess of Aquitaine (died 10 November 1068) was a daughter of Otto-William, Count of Burgundy and Ermentrude of Roucy. She was a member of the House of Ivrea.

Life

We do not know the date of the birth of Agnes but it is probably shortly before the year 1000. Agnes' father was the son of Adalbert of Italy.

First Marriage: Duchess of Aquitaine

In 1019, she married Duke William V of Aquitaine by whom she had three children: William VII, Duke of Aquitaine, William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine and Agnes, Holy Roman Empress. William died on January 31, 1030, leaving his widow and their three young children, plus the three surviving children from his first two marriages.

Second Marriage: Countess of Anjou

After her husband's death, Agnes lost her influence at the court of Poitiers since her sons were not heirs. In order for her to regain her position and ensure a future for her children, Agnes had to remarry. Thus she married Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou which was an attractive offer because his father was the powerful Fulk III, Count of Anjou.

In 1033, Geoffrey's troops invaded Poitou with the support of Agnes. William VI, Duke of Aquitaine the new Count of Poitou, was captured in March. He was released only in 1036 against a large ransom and he died in 1038 without children. The county then returned to his brother, Agnes' stepson Odo of Gascony, who was already Duke of Gascony. He went to war against Agnes, her husband and sons. Odo was killed at the battle at Mauzé.

Regency

The succeeding Count of Poitou was Agnes's son, Peter, who took the name of William VII Aigret. Being too young, his mother governed territories in his place from 1039 to 1044 and indeed it even seems the government itself, without her husband. When she transmitted the power to William, she married and took the opportunity to give his second son, Geoffrey Guy the duchy of Gascony, by marrying an heiress. Agnes then joined Geoffrey in Anjou and although she may not have actively participated in the government, certainly had some influence on him.

Agnes and Geoffrey stayed in Germany at the imperial court, so her daughter Agnes could marry Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. They then bonded with the imperial couple, during a trip to Italy where they participated in the council of Sutri, filing and inducting two popes Pope Clement II, who was quick to crown the emperor and empress. After a pilgrimage to Monte Garaño, the couple went back to Poitou in 1047 where they founded the Abbey of Our Lady and Sacred. Between 1047 and 1049, Agnes founded the abbey of Saint Nicolas de Poitiers.

Separation from Geoffrey

Between 1049 and 1052, Agnes and Geoffrey separated. The reasons are varied: the most logical is the absence of children, however we must not forget that the council of Reims in 1049 condemned certain marriages as incestuous and judged them to part; in addition, Geoffrey went to war against the King of France who appreciated the little freedom from war that would take his vassal to Germany (it seems that Geoffrey had to swear allegiance to the emperor and to no longer depend on the King of France) and it is very possible that the King imposed on his vanquished vassal that he should divorce his wife. Indeed, Agnes also influenced her husband, but she came from Burgundy and had retained strong links with her homeland, so it may be that it was Agnes who wanted the divorce.

Later life

Still, Agnes returned to the court of Poitiers and her son William over whom she had much influence. A war soon broke out between Anjou and Poitou, which saw a victory for Geoffrey in 1053. This would have probably never happened if Agnes had not divorced Geoffrey. In 1058 William left for another war against his former stepfather Count of Anjou, probably because Geoffrey gave the dowry of Agnes to his new wife, Adelaide. William was on the verge of winning when he died of an illness in 1058.

He was succeeded by his brother, Geoffrey Guy, who took the dynastic name of William VIII. The young count had remained close to Geoffrey because he was the only father figure he knew and he reconciled with Anjou. But only during Geoffrey's lifetime, in fact, after Geoffrey's death, William did not hesitate to attack his heirs and assume control of Saintonge from 1062. Agnes, despite her retirement, was still very active and did not hesitate to travel throughout Poitou to participate in donations or simply see her son at the court of Poitiers. Agnes died on 10 November 1068. She is buried at St. Nicolas de Poitiers.

Agnes married William, V Duke of Aquitaine 1019. William (son of William, IV Duke of Aquitaine and Emma of Blois) was born 969; died 31 Jan 1029/30, Maillezais, Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet]

1. Agnes of Poitou was born Abt 1025; died 14 Dec 1077, Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy; was buried Vatican City, Rome, Italy.
2. William, VIII Duke of Aquitaine was born Abt 1025; died 25 Sep 1086.

Notes:

Otto-William (962 - 21 September 1026) was a son of Adalbert, King of Italy, and Gerberga of Mâcon.

His mother gave him what would later be the Free County of Burgundy around Dôle in 982. Otto also inherited the duchy of Burgundy on the other side of the Saône in 1002 from his stepfather Eudes Henry the Great. The duchy then corresponded to the diocese of Besançon in the Holy Roman Empire. He was also Count of Mâcon in France.

Burgundy was annexed to the crown of France by King Robert II in 1004. Determined to be sovereign ruler of his own lands, Otto revolted against the Emperor Henry II in 1016. This was after Rudolph III of Burgundy, the last king of that realm, had done homage to Henry at Strasbourg making him his guard and heir. On Otto's death, the Free County fell under the suzerainty of the German emperors.

Marriage and issue

His first wife was Ermentrude, daughter of Renaud of Roucy.

They had two sons and three daughters:

Guy had been associated as count of Mâcon from 995, he died young in 1006
Matilda, married Landri of Nevers
Gerberga, married Guilhem II of Provence
Renaud I, Count of Burgundy
Agnes, married firstly William V of Aquitaine, secondly Geoffrey II of Anjou

Otto married the four-times widowed Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou late in life and they had no known children

Otto-William — Ermentrude of Reims and Roucy. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

He married Ermengarda of Tuscany, daughter of Adalbert, County of Tuscany. He succeeded to the title of King Adalbert of Italy in 950. He was deposed as King of Italy in 963.

Adalbert (ca. 932 - ca. 975) was the king of Italy from 950 to 963. He was the son of the Margrave Berengar of Ivrea and Willa.

On 15 December 950, both he and his father were crowned kings of Italy after the death of Lothair II. His father tried to force Adelaide, widow of Lothair, to marry Adalbert and cement their claim to the kingship. When she refused and fled, she was tracked down and imprisoned for four months at Como.

In 951, King Otto I of Germany invaded Italy and rescued Adelaide, marrying her himself. He forced Berengar and Adalbert to do homage to him for their kingdom in 952. In 953, Adalbert began besieging Count Adalbert Azzo of Canossa, in his Canossan castle, where Adelaide had taken refuge two years prior. In 957, Liudolf, Duke of Swabia, invaded Lombardy and caused Berenagar to flee, though Adalbert gathered a large force at Verona. He was defeated, but Liudolf died prematurely and his army left.

In 960, he joined his father in attacking the pope, John XII. Otto came down at the pope's call and defeated the two co-kings and was crowned Emperor. Adalbert fled to Fraxinet, then under the Saracens. From there he fled to Corsica. When he returned, he tried to take Pavia, the Italian capital, but was defeated by another invading Swabian army, this time under Burchard III. Only the interference of his brothers Conrad and Guy, who died fighting, saved him to fight another day, which he never did. His negotiations with the Byzantine Empire fell through and he retired with his wife Gerberga to Burgundy, where he died at Autun sometime between 971 and 975. His widow married Henry I, Duke of Burgundy, and his son, Otto-William, inherited through his stepfather the county of Burgundy and is thus the forefather of the Free Counts and the Hohenstaufen emperors.

Adalbert — Gerberga of Mâcon. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Renaud or Ragenold, Count of Roucy (b: abt 920 or 931 - d: 10 May 967). Known as a Viking who became the military chief of Reims after the restoration of Artald of Reims. He'd built a fort at Roucy between late 940s and early 950s and supported young King Lothair of France in the expedition at Aquitaine and the siege of Poitiers. Renaud became the Count of Roucy around or before 955 by King Lothair.

He married Alberade of Lorraine, daughter of Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine around 945 and had four children:

Ermentrude (married firstly to Aubry II of Mâcon, secondly to Otto-William, Count of Burgundy)
Giselbert (Gilbert of Roucy) who succeeded his father as Count of Roucy in May 967.
Unknown daughter who may have married to Fromond II of Sens.
Bruno, the Bishop of Langres.

Renaud could have a brother named Dodo according to Flodoard, but it could be a name of place where Renaud's brother was located at. Their parents are not known or recorded.

Renaud died in 10 May 967 and was buried at the Abbey of Saint-Remi.

Renaud married Alberade of Lorraine Abt 945. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Berengar II d'Ivrea, King of Italy was born circa 900. He was the son of Abelbreta d'Ivrea and Gisella. He married Willa di Toscana, daughter of Boson di Toscana, Marchese di Toscana and Willa II di Borgogna, before 936.

He gained the title of King Berengar II of Italy in 950. He was deposed as King of Italy in 963.

Berengar married Willa di Toscana Bef 936. Willa (daughter of Boson di Toscana, Marchese di Toscana and Willa di Borgogna, II) was born Bef 926; died Aft 06 Aug 966. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

She was the daughter of Boson di Toscana, Marchese di Toscana and Willa II di Borgogna. She married Berengar II d'Ivrea, King of Italy, son of Abelbreta d'Ivrea and Gisella (?), before 936.

Notes:

Gilbert (or Giselbert) (c. 890 - 2 October 939) was the duke of Lotharingia (or Lorraine) until 939.

The beginning of the reign of Gilbert is not clear. A dux Lotharingiae is mentioned in 910 and this may have been Gilbert. Lotharingia sided with Charles III in 911, who was deposed in West Francia in 922 by Robert but remained king in Lotharingia, from where he tried to reconquer West Francia until being imprisoned in 923.

In 925, Gilbert swore fealty to King Henry the Fowler of Germany as duke of Lotharingia. Gilbert married Henry's daughter Gerberga of Saxony by 930. For whatever reason, Gilbert rebelled when Henry died in 936 and changed allegiance to Louis IV of France, where the king had less authority. Gilbert managed to be practically independent for three years until he was defeated by the army of king Otto I of Germany in 939 at the Battle of Andernach. Gilbert was made prisoner, and succeeded in fleeing but drowned while trying to cross the Rhine. Lorraine was given to Henry I, Duke of Bavaria.

Gilbert married Gerberga of Saxony Bef 931. Gerberga (daughter of Henry, I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim) was born Abt 913; died 05 May 984, Rheims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Birth: Abt 919
• Name:

Notes:

Gerberga of Saxony (c. 913-5 May 984) was a daughter of Henry the Fowler, King of Germany, and Matilda of Ringelheim.

Marriages

She married first Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine. They had four children:

Alberade of Lorraine b. about 929. Married Renaud (originally as Ragenold), a Viking chieftain who became the Count of Roucy [1]
Henry, Duke of Lorraine b. about 932
Gerberge of Lorraine b. about 935. Married Adalbert I of Vermandois.
Wiltrude, b. about 937.

She married secondly Louis IV of France in 939. They were parents to eight children:

Lothair of France (941-986)
Matilda b. about 943; married Conrad of Burgundy
Hildegarde b. about 944
Carloman b. about 945
Louis b. about 948
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine (953-993)
Alberade b. before 953
Henry b. about 953

Education and later life

Contemporary sources describe her as a highly educated, intelligent and forceful player in the political game of the time.

Louis IV died on 10 September 954. As a widow, Gerberga became a nun and served as the abbess of Notre Dame in Laon. She died in Reims, Champagne.