| Bertha of Savoy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holy Roman Empress | |
| Tenure | 1084–1087 |
| Coronation | 31 March 1084 |
| Queen consort of Germany | |
| Tenure | 1066–1087 |
| Coronation | 29 June 1066 |
| Born | 21 September 1051 March of Turin |
| Died | 27 December 1087(1087-12-27) (aged 36) Mainz,Rhenish Franconia |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue more... | |
| House | Savoy |
| Father | Otto, Count of Savoy |
| Mother | Adelaide of Susa |
Bertha of Savoy (21 September 1051 – 27 December 1087), also calledBertha of Turin, wasQueen of Germany from 1066 andHoly Roman Empress from 1084 until 1087 as the first wife ofEmperor Henry IV.
Bertha of Savoy was a daughter ofOtto, Count of Savoy (also calledEudes orOdo; c. 1023 – c. 1057/1060), and his wifeAdelaide of Susa (c. 1014/1020 – 1091) from theArduinici noble family, and as such a member of the BurgundianHouse of Savoy.[1] She was the sister ofPeter I, Count of Savoy (d. 1078);Amadeus II, Count of Savoy (d. 1080); andAdelaide (d. 1079), consort of the German anti-kingRudolf of Rheinfelden.[1]
Bertha was betrothed, at the age of four, toEmperor Henry III's son,Henry (aged five) on 25 December 1055 inZürich.[2] Bertha was raised in Germany thereafter. When she was fifteen, Bertha was crowned queen inWürzburg in June 1066 and married Henry on 13 July 1066 at theKönigspfalz ofTrebur.[3]
Although they had grown up together and Bertha was apparently a pretty young woman, the Saxon chroniclerBruno of Merseburg, an avowed opponent of Henry IV, reported on Henry's continual unfaithfulness: "He had two or threeconcubines at the same time, in addition [to his wife], yet he was not content. If he heard that someone had a young and pretty daughter or wife, he instructed that she be supplied to him by force. (...) His beautiful and noble wife Bertha (...) was in such a manner hated by him that he never saw her after the wedding any more than necessary, since he had not celebrated the wedding out of free will."[4]
Despite the insults and humiliations to which she was subjected by her husband, Bertha remained true to him. Nevertheless, in 1069, Henry attempted to repudiate her.[5] At an assembly atWorms, he "explained publicly (before theprinces), that his relationship with his wife was not good; for a long time he had deceived others, but now he did not want to do so any longer. He could not accuse her of anything that justified a divorce, but he was not capable of carrying out conjugal relations with her any longer. He asked them for the sake ofGod to remove him from the bonds of a marriage closed under bad signs ... so that the way to a luckier marriage might be opened. And nobody knowing any objection to raise, and his wife being an obstacle to a second marriage ceremony, he then swore that she was as he received her, unstained and her virginity intact."[6]
The German episcopacy dared not submit to the king's demands, and no conclusion was reached at the Worms assembly. Instead, the German bishops called onPope Alexander II for assistance and asynod was convened atFrankfurt for later in the year. During this time, Bertha retired toLorsch Abbey. Thepapal legatePeter Damian presided at the Frankfurt synod; he opposed Henry's repudiation of Bertha on the grounds of canon law, but many of the German princes were more concerned about the response of Bertha's mother Adelaide.[7] Henry IV reluctantly reconciled with his consort. Their first daughter was born in the following year (1070). On 12 February 1074 their sonConrad was born atHersfeld Abbey, where Bertha stayed while Henry was fighting against theSaxon Rebellion,[8] and was baptised in the abbey three days later.[9] After Henry's victory against the Saxons, he arranged for anImperial Diet atGoslar on Christmas Day 1075 to swear an oath recognising Conrad as his successor.[10]
During the fierceInvestiture Controversy, Bertha's husband wasexcommunicated byPope Gregory VII at the Lenten synod in Rome in 1076. In October, the German princes took the occasion and swore an oath at Trebur that they would no longer recognise Henry as king unless this excommunication was lifted. Henry thus had to cross theAlps and travel toItaly in order to meet with Gregory during the winter of 1076/77.
Bertha and their young son,Conrad, accompanied Henry on his dangerous journey.[11] While the South German princes supporting his rival Rudolf of Rheinfelden blocked his path, Henry hoped to travel through one of theAlpine passes controlled by his mother-in-law, but Adelaide extracted a high price before allowing him to do this.[12] Adelaide then accompanied Henry and Bertha on the long and dangerousWalk to Canossa, where from 25 January 1077, Henry and Bertha underwent penance barefoot for three days outside in the cold and begged Gregory VII's forgiveness. Adelaide was among those who acted as an oath-helper to secure Henry's absolution from excommunication.[13]
After the forces of Henry IV had besieged and occupiedRome, he and Bertha were crowned emperor and empress on 31 March 1084 byAntipope Clement III.[14]
Bertha was thirty-six years old when she died inMainz on 27 December 1087. She was buried in the Salian crypt atSpeyer Cathedral.[15] In 1089 Emperor Henry marriedEupraxia of Kiev but the marriage failed in 1095.
From her marriage with Henry, Bertha eventually had five children, two of whom died while still young:
Bertha of Savoy Born: 21 September 1051 Died: 27 December 1087 | ||
| Royal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Holy Roman Empress 1084–1087 | Succeeded by |
| Queen consort of Germany 1066–1087 | Succeeded by | |
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| People | |
