Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy

Beatrice I
suo jure Countess of Burgundy
Reign	22 January 1148 – 15 November 1184
Predecessor	Renaud III
Successor	Frederick I & Otto I
Holy Roman Empress; German Queen
Reign	9 June 1156 – 15 November 1184
Coronation	1 August 1167, Rome
Queen consort of Italy
Reign	9 June 1156 – 15 November 1184
Queen consort of Burgundy
Reign	9 June 1156 – 15 November 1184
Coronation	August 1178, Vienne
Born	1143/5
Died	15 November 1184 Jouhe, near Dôle
Burial	Speyer Cathedral
Spouse	Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Issue among others...	Frederick V, Duke of Swabia Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia Otto I, Count of Burgundy Conrad II, Duke of Swabia Philip of Swabia
House	Ivrea
Father	Renaud III
Mother	Agatha of Lorraine
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Beatrice I (1143 – 15 November 1184) was Countess of Burgundy from 1148 until her death, and was also Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Frederick Barbarossa. She was crowned empress by Antipope Paschal III in Rome on 1 August 1167, and as Queen of Burgundy at Vienne in August 1178.

Life

Beatrice was the only surviving child of Renaud III, Count of Burgundy and Agatha of Lorraine. As the only child of her father, she was the heir of the County of Burgundy. At the death of her father in 1148, she inherited the vast County of Burgundy and became countess palatine. As such, she was one of the most desired brides in France, and a marriage was suggested to Emperor Frederick I.

Wedding

Frederick I likely suggested the marriage because the County of Burgundy would give him an alternative to the Brenner Pass and a strategically valuable position against Milan, and because of the additional troops of Burgundian knights available for his war.

The wedding between Beatrice and Frederick took on 9 June 1156 at Würzburg. After the wedding, the Bishop of Trier anointed Beatrice queen.

The poem Carmen de gestis Frederici I imperatoris in Lombardia, written about 1162, describes Beatrice upon her wedding day:

"Venus did not have this virgin's beauty,

Minerva did not have her brilliant mind

And Juno did not have her wealth.

There never was another except God's mother Mary

And Beatrice is so happy she excels her."

Marriage

After their marriage, Frederick took control of the County of Burgundy by the right of his wife and became her co-ruler. Although formally co-rulers, Beatrice's name was seldom included in the charters managing the affairs of Burgundy before the year of 1166, after which more charters were issued in the name of both Beatrice and Frederick as joint rulers of Burgundy. Her actual involvement in the rule of Burgundy is unknown. Her younger son Conrad was named the heir to Burgundy, rather than her elder son.

The relationship between Beatrice and Frederick is traditionally described as happy, and there is nothing to indicate that he was ever unfaithful to her. The English chronicler Ralph of Diceto noted about their relationship, that "Although Frederick was always most constant in adversity, he was nevertheless reputed by many to be uxurious... and seeking how to please her in all things." There is no information about her dower or economy, but it is noted that the recipients of Imperial favors and all individuals who were restored to favor were required to give not only Frederick himself but also Beatrice personal gifts, many of which are recorded, as well as shares of gifts in gold and silver given to the emperor.

In 1162, Acerbus Morea said of Beatrice that she was:

"of medium height, with shining golden hair, a most beautiful face, and white, well shaped teeth; her posture was upright, her mouth small, her countenance modest, her eyes sparkled; she was bashful when charming and flattering words was addressed to her; she had most beautiful hands and a slender figure; she was completely submissive to her husband, feared him as her lord and loved him in every way as her husband; she was literate and devoted to God; and just as she was named Beatrix, so she was in fact happy ['Beata']".

Beatrice has traditionally been attributed a role as a patron of literary works and chivalric ideals. It is true that the poet Gautier d'Arras initially dedicated his epic romance Ille et Galeron to her in the 1160s, but this is all evidence of culture patronage known, and as she left Burgundy at the age of 12, she may not have had much memory of the Burgundian chivalric ideals.

Though Beatrice was rumored to be greatly loved by Frederick and thereby attributed influence over him in the sense that he had great affection for her, there is nothing to indicate that she acted as his political adviser and she is confirmed to be directly involved in a major political affair only once. During the disputed Cambrai episcopal election of 1168, Beatrice supported the election of bishop Peter of Cambrai and at his request successfully blocked the attempt of the archbishop Philip to transfer the bishopric of Cambrai from the metropolitan province of Riems to Cologne, supported by archbishop Christian of Mainz and Henry the Lion: this was reputedly the only case Beatrice took decisive action in a major political affair.

Beatrice accompanied Frederick on his travels and campaigns across his empire, and at least once played a role in warfare: during the Siege of Crema in July 1159, she was able to provide the emperor with badly needed reinforcements from her own county of Burgundy, and arrived to Crema on 20 July of that year in the company of Henry the Lion, archbishop Conrad of Augsburg and 1,200 knights, providing him with the reinforcements he needed.

She was crowned Holy Roman Empress by Antipope Paschal III in Rome on 1 August 1167.

Later years

After the Peace of Venice of 1177, she was no longer referred to as Imperatrix ('empress') in the chancery productions, as her coronation as such had been made by an anti-pope and was thus declared nullified.

On 30 July 1178, Frederick was crowned king of Burgundy in Arles in Provence. Beatrice was present, but she was not crowned with him. On 15 August 1178, however, Beatrice was crowned queen of Burgundy in Vienne. The reason as to why Beatrice was crowned in Vienne is unknown: it is speculated that this was made as a compensation because the Peace of Venice had formally nullified her coronation as empress, as it had been performed by an anti-pope, but it could also have been to signal her new role as that of resident ruling Palatine Countess of Burgundy, as she seems to have stayed to govern Burgundy from this year forward rather than continue to follow Frederick.

The event signified a change in the life of Beatrice. Frederick left Burgundy later that year, but there is no indication that Beatrice accompanied him back to Germany, or continued to follow him around the Empire. She is confirmed to have visited Germany on only three occasions after this: at feast of St Peter and Paul in 1179, and at the Pentecost courts of 1182 and 1184. Instead, Beatrice seems to have stayed in Burgundy, for the first time governing the county by herself: there are extant charters of her own before 1181, but nine between that year and her death, all of them concerning Burgundian affairs. Many of her Burgundian charters were witnessed by her younger son Conrad, who was her designated heir to her own title, Count Palatine of Burgundy, and his teacher, who was evidently there with her. This was in fact an effective separation from Frederick, a reason for the discord hinted in the fact that Beatrice, in contrast to her spouse, continued to refer to herself as empress in her charters.

Death

In 1184, Beatrice fell ill with an unknown illness at Jouhe and quickly died, aged about 40. She was buried in Speyer Cathedral, but her heart was buried in Jouhe's old Benedictine abbey.

Issue

She had the following children:

1. Beatrice (b. 1162 – d. 1174). She was betrothed to King William II of Sicily but died of tuberculosis before they could be married.
2. Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (b. Pavia, 16 July 1164 – d. 28 November 1170).
3. Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. Nijmegen, November 1165 – d. Messina, 28 September 1197).
4. Conrad (b. Modigliana, February 1167 – d. Acre, 20 January 1191), later renamed Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia after the death of his older brother.
5. Daughter (Gisela?) (b. October/November 1168 – d. 1184). She was betrothed to Richard, Count of Poitou (future King of England) but died before they could be married.
6. Otto I, Count of Burgundy (b. June/July 1170 – killed, Besançon, 13 January 1200).
7. Conrad II, Duke of Swabia and Rothenburg (b. February/Marc 1172 – killed, Durlach, 15 August 1196).
8. Renaud (b. October/November 1173 – d. in infancy).
9. William (b. June/July 1176 – d. in infancy).
10. Philip of Swabia (b. August 1177 – killed, Bamberg, 21 June 1208) King of Germany in 1198.
11. Agnes (b. 1181 – d. 8 October 1184). She was betrothed to King Emeric of Hungary but died before they could be married.

In literature

Beatrice is a character in Umberto Eco's novel Baudolino, whose (fictional) protagonist is deeply in love with her - a love never consummated except for a single kiss.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy

8. William I, Count of Burgundy 4. Stephen I, Count of Burgundy 9. Stephanie 2. Renaud III, Count of Burgundy 10. Gerard, Duke of Lorraine (=#24) 5. Beatrice of Lorraine 11. Hedwig of Namur (=#25) 1. Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy 12. Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine 6. Simon I, Duke of Lorraine 13. Hedwig of Formbach 3. Agatha of Lorraine 14. Henry III, Count of Leuven 7. Adelaide of Leuven 15. Gertrude of Flanders

External links

Media related to Beatrice of Burgundy at Wikimedia Commons

• Carson, Thomas. Barbarossa in Italy, 1994.
• Beatrix de Bourgogne