'Gesta Chuonradi II imperatoris' and the family of Gisela of Burgundy
The...@aol.com
Dear Rosie, Chris, Cris, Kay, Douglas, et al.,
Given the relative paucity of medieval source material for continental
medieval genealogy (outside of France), I was pleased to come across the site
for <bibliotheca Augustana> , the URL and other details of which are provided
below. The work which I found the most relevant is <Gesta Chuonradi II
imperatoris>, the author of which was one Wipo. As a chaplain, and
apparently self-appointed imperial historian, he evidently had a great deal
of
direct knowledge and contact with the imperial court of Conrad II and Henry
III
until his death (1046 or later).
In particular, many of the references made in the <Gesta Chuonradi II
imperatoris> bear out many relationships based on AR 7, but for which I had
not seen any contemporaneous evidence. The descent of Gisela, wife/empress
of Conrad II and mother of Henry III, from the latter Carolingians, and her
relations in/through the House of Burgundy, are well supported by the
<Gesta>,
as follows.
Louis IV of France = Gerberga of
I Saxony
___________________I___________
I I
Matilda = Conrad III of Lothar IV
I Burgundy d. 993 of France
I <1>
________________________I________________________
I I I I
Henry II = Gisela Rudolf III Bertha = 1) Eudes Gerberga
of I of Burgundy I of Blois = Hermann
Bavaria I <2> I 2) Robert of Swabia
_I________ ________________I of France <1>
I I I ________________I__
I I I I I
Henry II I Eudes II Matilda Gisela
Holy Roman Emp. I C of Blois = Frederick = Conrad II
1002-1024 I 1004-1037 D of Upper Holy Roman
<3> I <2> <4> Lorraine Emperor
St. Bruno 1027-1039
Bishop of Augsburg <1>
d. 1029
<3>
<1> Concerning Gisela, empress and wife of Conrad II, Wipo wrote
of her immediate parentage and Carolingian ancestry in
connection with the coronation of her husband:
' Super hos omnes dilecta regis coniunx Gisela prudentia et
consilio viguit. Cui pater erat Herimannus dux Alamanniae,
mater eius Kerbirga filia Chuonradi regis de Burgundia fuit,
cuius parentes de Caroli Magni stirpe processerant. Unde
quidam de nostris in libello quem Tetralogum nominavit et
postea regi Heinrico tertio, cum natalem Domini in Argentina
civitate celebraret, praesentavit, inter alios duos versus
edidit hoc modo:
Quando post decimam numeratur linea quarta,
De Carolo Magno procedit Gisela prudens. ' Capitulum IV
<2> Rudolf III, King of Burgundy (d. 1032) is identified as
uncle of Emperor Henry II, and of Gisela, empress and wife of
Conrad II:
' Iste Ruodolfus rex Burgundiae dum in senectute sua regnum
molliter tractaret, maximam invidiam apud principes regni
sui comparans secundum Heinricum imperatorem, filium
sororis suae,...' Capitulum VIII
Again, as uncle of both the empress Gisela, and of Eudes
[Odo, or 'Uodo'] of Blois:
' Anno Domini MXXXII. Ruodolfus rex Burgundiae, avunculus
Giselae imperatricis, obiit in pace, cuius regnum comes
Uodo Francigena, filius sororis suae,...' Capitulum XXIX
<3> Gisela of Burgundy, daughter of Conrad and sister of Rudolf
III, was m. to Henry II of Bavaria, and thereby mother of
the Emperor Henry II (d. 1024) and his brother St. Bruno,
Bishop of Augsburg (d. 1029). She was identified as sister
of Rudolf of Burgundy, and mother of Emperor Henry II, as
noted in <2> above. Bruno was identified as
' episcopus Bruno, frater Heinrici imperatoris', Capitulum I
Further, Bruno of Ausburg was identified at his death as
the son of the maternal aunt <matertera> of Gisela,
empress (wife of Conrad II):
' Ibi Bruno episcopus Augustensis defunctus est, cuius
corpus imperatrix prosecuta cum filio Heinrico rege ad
Augustam sedem suam honorifice sepeliri fecerunt.
Nobilis enim valde fuit ipse episcopus Bruno. Nam dum
esset frater Heinrici imperatoris, filius erat
materterae Giselae imperatricis.' Capitulum XXIV
<4> Eudes (or Odo) II, count of Blois, Chartres & c., was
identified as the son of a sister of the mother of Gisela,
empress:
' Qui assumpto Wezelone milite suo cum aliis paucis
perrexit in Franciam Latinam ad Uodonem comitem
propinquum suum. Nam mater Uodonis et mater Giselae
imperatricis fuerant sorores.' Capitulum XXVII
Hope this is helpful.
John *
NOTE:
The URL for Bibliotheca Augustana is:
http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost11/Wipo/wip_vit0.html
* John P. Ravilious
John Ravilious
Nathaniel Taylor
the...@aol.com (John Ravilious) wrote:
>Monday, 28 April, 2003
>
>
>Dear Rosie, Chris, Cris, Kay, Douglas, et al.,
>
> Given the relative paucity of medieval source material for continental
> medieval genealogy (outside of France), I was pleased to come across the site
> for <bibliotheca Augustana> , the URL and other details of which are provided
> below. The work which I found the most relevant is <Gesta Chuonradi II
> imperatoris>, the author of which was one Wipo.
For what it's worth, there's a good annotated English translation of
Wipo's _Gesta Chuonradi_ in _Imperial Lives & Letters of the Eleventh
Century_, ed. Theodor Mommsen & Karl F. Morrison (Columbia UP: Records
of Civilization Series, 1962).
Nat Taylor
John Ravilious
Dear Nat,
Thanks for your post re: a translated version of the Gesta.
Meanwhile, I was advised offlist that a correction to my original chart is
in order. Based upon the birthdate assigned to the Emperor Henry II (973),
his mother Gisela could not be the daughter of Conrad 'the Pacific' by his
Carolingian wife Matilda, but was the daughter of a previous marriage to
one 'Adelania'. This evidently is the existing presentation in Europaische
Stammtafeln.
I find that Pierre Riche assigns to Conrad a young marriage to Adelaide,
daughter of Hugh of Arles, King of Provence (and later Italy), d. 947. This
could not be a daughter by his marriage to Bertha of Swabia, but could be the
daughter of an earlier marriage: a convenient marriage of Hugh's daughter to
Bertha's son (Conrad 'the Pacific'). Further, if Gisela (mother of Henry II)
was the daughter of Adelaide daughter of Hugh, this would provide a
Carolingian line to the Emperor Lothar (d. 855).
The modified chart would then appear as follows:
Louis IV of France = Gerberga of
I Saxony
________________I___________
I I
1) Adelaide = Conrad III = 2) Matilda Lothar IV
or I of Burgundy I of France
'Adelania' I I
I ___I_______________________________
I I I I
Henry II = Gisela Rudolf III Bertha = 1) Eudes Gerberga
of I of Burgundy I of Blois = Hermann
Bavaria I I 2) Robert of Swabia
_I________ ________________I of France I
I I I ________________I__
I I I I I
Henry II I Eudes II Matilda Gisela
Holy Roman Emp. I C of Blois = Frederick = Conrad II
1002-1024 I 1004-1037 D of Upper Holy Roman
I Lorraine Emperor
St. Bruno 1027-1039
Bishop of Augsburg
d. 1029
If anyone has information (ES or elsewhere) that confirms or disproves the
connection set forth above, please advise.
Good luck, and good hunting.
John
Nathaniel Taylor <nta...@post.harvard.edu> wrote in message news:<ntaylor-FD2947...@nnrp05.earthlink.net>...
Brenda...@xtra.co.nz
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Medieval Civilation page 388 has the
following
Henry II, St.(972-1024) HRE 1002-24, Son of Duke Henry of Bavaria, who
had intended him for an ecclesiastical career.In 995 however he became
duke of Bavaria and was one of the closest associates of his cousin,
Emperor Otto III. After Otto's death he was ellected emperor and
reverted to the policy of his g-grandfather Otto I.
His main interest was German affairs and he sought toimpose peace with
the support of the church. In 1005 he signed a peace treaty with
Boleslaw I of Poland which secured peace on the eastern frontiers of
the empire. Henry went to Italy 3 times 1004,1014,& 1021-22 attempting
toimpose his authority on the country and to reform the papacy.
Researching: Lowther of Lowther,Westmoreland:Clifford Yks:Brennan,Ballyhack,Wexford:Fitzgibbon,of French Park Rosscommon:Prendergast Waterford:Rowsell & Gregory, Yeovill Som:Wilson,Stockholm:Peters,Hamburg