Beatrice of Bar (alsoBeatrix; c. 1020 – 18 April 1076) was themarchioness of Tuscany by marriage toBoniface III of Tuscany, and Regent of Tuscany from 1052 until her death, during the minority of and in co-regency with, her daughterMatilda. She was the daughter ofFrederick II, Duke of Upper Lorraine,count of Bar, andMatilda of Swabia. She was married first toBoniface III of Tuscany and later toGodfrey of Lotharingia.

Beatrice was born in what is now northeastern France around 1020.^[1] She was also known as Beatrice of Tuscany or Beatrice of Canossa.^[2]

After her father Duke Frederick II of Upper Lorraine died in 1026, she and her sisterSophie went to live with their mother's sister,Empress Gisela at the imperial court.^[3]

c.1037/8, she became the second wife ofBoniface III of Tuscany in a splendid ceremony.^[4] She had the following children:^[5]

• Beatrice (died 17 December 1053)^[6]
• Frederick (died July 1055), briefly successor before imprisonment
• Matilda (1046 – 24 July 1115),^[7] successor as marchioness of Tuscany

With Boniface's death on 6 May 1052, Beatrice assumed theregency for her son Frederick.^[8] Little is else is known about her life before the murder of her husband In 1054, to give her son the protection she could not militarily provide, she married her cousin,Godfrey, formerduke of Lower Lorraine.^[9] However, in 1055, theEmperor Henry III arrested Beatrice for marrying a traitor. She was brought toGermany a prisoner while Frederick was summoned to Henry's court atFlorence. He refused to go and died before any action was taken against him. The heir of Boniface was now his youngest daughter Matilda, who was imprisoned with her mother.^[7]

On the death of Henry, Godfrey was reconciled with his heir,Henry IV, and exiled to Italy with his wife and stepdaughter. In January 1058, as a partisan of the newly electedPope Nicholas II,Leo de Benedicto had the gates of theLeonine City thrown open for Godfrey and Beatrice. Godfrey immediately possessed theTiber Island and attacked theLateran, forcingBenedict X to flee on January 24. Beatrice and Godfrey were allied with the reformers, includingHildebrand andPope Alexander II, against the emperor. In 1062, Beatrice tried to stop theAntipope Honorius II from reachingRome.^[10]

In 1069, Godfrey died.^[10] Matilda was of age, yet Beatrice continued to exercise government in her name until the day she died.

On 29 August 1071, Beatrice and her daughter, Matilda, founded the monasteryFrassinoro at theApennine pass ofFoce della Radici.^[11] In 1074–1076, Beatrice was a key negotiator in the dispute betweenPope Gregory VII and her kinsman,King Henry IV of Germany over certain rights in episcopal appointments.^[12]

Beatrice died at Pisa on 18 April 1076.^[13] She was buried in theCathedral of Pisa, in aLate Roman sarcophagus, bearing reliefs illustrating the story ofHippolytus andPhaedra.^[14] (Nicola Pisano adapted nude figures for his pulpit in the cathedral from the sarcophagus; they can still be seen in the cathedral.) Beatrice's sarcophagus is now located in theCampo Santo in the cathedral square. The inscription around the sarcophagus, which was added in the eleventh century for Beatrice, reads:

Quamvis peccatrix sum domna vocata Beatrix

In tumulo missa iaceo quæ comitissa

Quilibet ergo pater noster, det pro mea anima ter.^[15]

("Although a sinner, I was called Lady Beatrice. I, who was a countess, lie in this grave . Whoever wishes may say threeOur Fathers for my soul.")

• Lexikon des Mittelalters: Beatrix von Ober-Lothringen, Markgräfin von Tuszien. (in German)
• M.G. Bertolini,Beatrice di Lorena, marchesa e duchessa di Toscana inDizionario Biografico degli Italiani 7 (1970).
• A. Creber,"Women at Canossa. The Role of Royal and Aristocratic Women in the Reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany", in V. Eads and T. Lazzari, eds.,Matilda 900: Remembering Matilda of Canossa Wide World, a special edition ofStoricamente 13 (2017), article no. 13, pp. 1–44 (Open Access).
• Cowdrey, H. E. J. (1998).Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085. Clarendon Press.
• P. Golinelli, Matilde di Canossa Una donna protagonista del suo tempo un mito intramontabile, Roma, Salerno Editrice,2021.
• E. Goez,Beatrix von Canossa und Tuszien. Eine Untersuchung zur Geschichte des 11. Jahrhunderts (Sigmaringen, 1995).
• Gregorovius, Ferdinand.Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. IV Part 1. 1905.
• Kagay & Villalon (2003).Crusaders, Condottieri, and Cannon: Medieval Warfare in Societies around the Mediterranean. Koninklijke Brill NV.
• T. Lazzari,"Matilda of Tuscany: New Perspectives about Her Family Ties", in V. Eads and T. Lazzari, eds.,Matilda 900: Remembering Matilda of Canossa Wide World, a special edition ofStoricamente 13 (2017), article no. 28, pp. 1–26 (Open Access).
• Nash, Penelope (2017).Empress Adelheid and Countess Matilda: Medieval Female Rulership and the Foundations of European Society. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Whitney, J.P. (1968). "The Reform of the Church". In Tanner, J.R.; Previte-Orton, C.W.; Brooke, Z.N. (eds.).The Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. V. Cambridge University Press.

• Women's Biography: Beatrice of Lorraine, duke of Tuscany, contains several letters sent and received by Beatrice.
• Beatrix von Oberlothringen, Markgräfin von Tuszien (in German)

• House of Bar
• Duchesses of Lorraine
• 1020s births
• 1076 deaths
• 11th-century Italian nobility
• 11th-century Italian women
• Regents of Tuscany
• 11th-century women regents
• Women in war in Italy
• Women in 11th-century warfare
• Matilda of Tuscany
• 11th-century regents
• Regents in the Holy Roman Empire

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Year of birth uncertain