Adelaide of Susa was the Marchioness of Turin from 1034 to her death. She moved the seat of the march from Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 to Susa

Susa, Italy

Susa is a city and comune in Piedmont, Italy. It is situated on at the confluence of the Cenischia with the Dora Riparia, a tributary of the Po River, at the foot of the Cottian Alps, 51 km west of Turin.-History:...

 and settled the itinerant court there. She was the last of the Arduinici

Arduinici

The Arduinici were a noble Frankish family that immigrated to Italy in the early tenth century, possibly from Neustria. They were descended from and take their name after one Arduin ....

.

Biography

Born in Turin to Ulric Manfred II

Ulric Manfred II of Turin

Ulric Manfred II was the Margrave of Turin and Susa in the early 11th century.- Biography:...

 and Bertha, daughter of Oberto II around 1014/1020, Adelaide's early life is not well known. Her only brother predeceased her father in 1034, though she had two younger sisters, Immilla and Bertha. Thus, on Ulric's death, the great margraviate was divided between his three daughters, though the greatest part by far went to Adelaide. She received the counties of Ivrea

Ivrea

Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...

, Auriate

Auriate

Auriate was a county in medieval Italy on the eastern slopes of the Western Alps lying between Cuneo and Saluzzo. The county existed from the late ninth century to the middle of the tenth...

, Aosta

Aosta

Aosta is the principal city of the bilingual Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel, at the confluence of the Buthier and the Dora Baltea, and at the junction of the Great and Little St. Bernard routes...

, and Turin. The margravial title, however, had primarily a military purpose at the time and, thus, was not considered suitable for a woman.

Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor

Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor

Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...

, therefore arranged a marriage between Adelaide and Herman IV, Duke of Swabia

Herman IV, Duke of Swabia

Herman IV was the Duke of Swabia . He was the second son of Ernest I and Gisela of Swabia. He was one of the Babenberg dukes of Swabia.Herman became duke in 1030 following the death of his older brother Ernest II...

, to serve as margrave of Turin after Ulric's death (1034). The two were married in January 1037, but Herman died of the plague while fighting at Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

 in July 1038.

Adelaide remarried in order to secure her vast march to Henry of Montferrat (1041), but he died in 1045 and left her a widow for the second time. Immediately, a third marriage was undertaken, this time to Otto of Savoy

Otto of Savoy

Otto was Count of Savoy from 1051 until his death. He was son of Humbert I, the first Count of Savoy, and his wife Ancilla, and ascended the throne after the death of his elder brother, Amadeus I of Savoy.Otto substantially enlarged his lands through his marriage with Adelaide of Susa,...

 (1046). With Otto she had three sons, Peter I

Peter I of Savoy

Peter I was count of Savoy and margrave of Turin jointly with his brother Amadeus II of Savoy from c. 1060 to 1078. He ruled only nominally, as true power was in the hands of his mother, Adelaide of Susa....

, Amadeus II

Amadeus II of Savoy

Amadeus II was the Count of Savoy from 1078 to 1080. His life is obscure and few documents mention him. During his reign he was overshadowed by his mother, but he had good relations with the Papacy and, for a time, the Holy Roman Emperor.-Before his countship:The second son of Otto, Count of...

, and Otto. She also had two daughters, Bertha and Adelaide. Bertha, the countess of Maurienne

Maurienne

Maurienne is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.-Location:...

, married the Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...

, while Adelaide married Rudolf of Rheinfeld

Rudolf of Rheinfeld

Rudolf of Rheinfelden was Duke of Swabia and German antiking . He was the son of Count Kuno of Rheinfelden and eventually became the alternative king or antiking for the politically oriented anti-Henry German aristocrats, whose rebellion became known as the Great Saxon Revolt...

, who opposed Henry as King of Germany.

After 1060, Adelaide acted as regent for her sons. In 1068, Henry tried to divorce Bertha and consequently drove Adelaide to an intense hatred of him and his family. However, through the intervention of Bertha, Henry received Adelaide's support when he came to Italy to submit to Pope Gregory VII

Pope Gregory VII

Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...

 and Matilda of Tuscany

Matilda of Tuscany

Matilda of Tuscany was an Italian noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy. She is one of the few medieval women to be remembered for her military accomplishments...

 at Canossa

Canossa

Canossa is a comune and castle town in Emilia-Romagna, famous as the site where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077, standing three days bare-headed in the snow, in order to reverse his excommunication by Pope Gregory VII...

. Adelaide and Amadeus accompanied the humiliated emperor to Canossa. In gratitude for her mediation, Henry donated Bugey

Bugey

The Bugey is a historical region in the département of Ain , France. It is located in a loop of the Rhône River in the southeast of the département...

 to Adelaide and her family and took back Bertha as his wife, returning to Germany.

Adelaide later played the mediator between her two royal sons-in-law, Henry and the aforementioned Rudolf during the wars of the 1080s in Germany. She was an opponent of the Gregorian reform

Gregorian Reform

The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, circa 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy...

, though she honoured the papacy, and defender of the autonomy of abbacies.

In 1091, Adelaide died, to the general mourning of her people, and was buried in the parochial church of Canischio

Canischio

Canischio is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 35 km north of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 289 and an area of 11.7 km²....

 (Canisculum), a small village on the Cuorgnè

Cuorgnè

Cuorgnè is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 35 km north of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 10,084 and an area of 19.4 km²....

 in the Valle dell'Orco, to which she had retired in her later years. In the cathedral of Susa

Susa Cathedral

Susa Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Susa, Piedmont, in northern Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Susa and is dedicated to Saint Justus of Novalesa ....

, in a niche in the wall, there is a statue of walnut wood, beneath a bronze veneer, representing Adelaide, genuflecting in prayer. Above it can be read the inscription: Questa è Adelaide, cui l'istessa Roma Cole, e primo d'Ausonia onor la noma.

Personality

Adelaide had passed her childhood amongst the retainers of her father and had even learned the martial arts when young, bearing her own arms and armour. She was reputed to be beautiful and virtuous. She was pious, putting eternal things ahead of temporal. Strong in temperament, she did not hesitate to punish even the bishops and grandees of her realm. She patronised the minstrels and always received them at her court, urging them to compose songs emphasising religious values. She was a founder of cloisters and monasteries that transmitted the history of the region. One failure of Adelaide's career was the loss of the County of Albon.

Family

Adelaide and Herman IV, Duke of Swabia

Herman IV, Duke of Swabia

Herman IV was the Duke of Swabia . He was the second son of Ernest I and Gisela of Swabia. He was one of the Babenberg dukes of Swabia.Herman became duke in 1030 following the death of his older brother Ernest II...

 had at least three children:

• Gebhard I, Count of Sulzbach
• Adalbert I, Count of Windberg
• Adelaide, married Hermann von Peugen

Adelaide and Otto of Savoy

Otto of Savoy

Otto was Count of Savoy from 1051 until his death. He was son of Humbert I, the first Count of Savoy, and his wife Ancilla, and ascended the throne after the death of his elder brother, Amadeus I of Savoy.Otto substantially enlarged his lands through his marriage with Adelaide of Susa,...

 had five children:

• Peter I of Savoy
  Peter I of Savoy
  Peter I was count of Savoy and margrave of Turin jointly with his brother Amadeus II of Savoy from c. 1060 to 1078. He ruled only nominally, as true power was in the hands of his mother, Adelaide of Susa....
  
  
• Amedeus II of Savoy
• Otto, Bishop of Asti
• Bertha of Savoy
  Bertha of Savoy
  Bertha of Savoy , also called Bertha of Turin, was the first wife of Emperor Henry IV, and was German Queen and Holy Roman Empress. She is buried in the cathedral of Speyer.-Life:...
  
  , married Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
  Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
  Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
  
  
• Adelaide (died 1080), married Rudolf von Rheinfeld

External links

• Women's Biography: Adelaide of Turin and Susa, letters to and from Adelaide.