Agnes of Hohenstaufen

Agnes of Hohenstaufen(1176 – 7 or 9 May 1204) was the daughter and heiress of theHohenstaufencount palatineConrad of the Rhine.She wasCountess of the Palatinateherself from 1195 until her death, as the wife of theWelfcount palatineHenry V.

Agnes of Hohenstaufen
Countess of the Palatinate
Born	c. 1176
Died	7 or 9 May 1204 Stade,Saxony
Noble family	Hohenstaufen
Spouse(s)	Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine
Issue	Henry VI Irmengard Agnes
Father	Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine
Mother	Irmingard of Henneberg

Life

Agnes' father Conrad of Hohenstaufen was a younger half-brother of EmperorFrederick Barbarossa,who hadenfeoffedhim with theElectoral Palatinatein 1156. A cautious and thoughtful politician, he aimed for peace and reconciliation in theEmpire.Even before 1180, he had betrothed his daughter to Henry V, the eldest son of the rebelliousSaxondukeHenry the Lion,in order to defuse the re-emerging conflict between the Hohenstaufen and Welf dynasties.

In 1193, however, Barbarossa's son and successor, EmperorHenry VI,wanted to create a political alliance with KingPhilip II of Franceand planned to marry his cousin Agnes to Philip II. When the young Welf scion Henry V heard of this plan, he contacted Agnes' parents. Her father avoided definitive statements on her betrothal, as he preferred a marriage with the French king, but also did not want to offend Henry V, whom Agnes revered fanatically.

Agnes' mother Irmengard (d. 1197), daughter of Count Berthold I ofHenneberg,continued to advocate her daughter's marriage with the Welf prince. A little later she took advantage of the absence of her husband, who stayed at Henry VI's court, to thwart the Emperor's plan. She invited the young Welf toStahleck Castle,where he and Agnes were married in January or February 1194.

Furious Emperor Henry VI felt betrayed and demanded that Conrad immediatelyannulthe marriage. Conrad, however, dropped his initial resistance to the marriage and, seeing as it had already been blessed in Church, chose to convince his nephew Henry VI of the domestic political benefits of this marriage. Conrad's sons had died young and Henry VI could assure the succession in the Electoral Palatinate by enfeoffing Henry the Welf. Additionally, Conrad and Agnes on the occasion of the marital union convinced the emperor to pardon Henry the Lion, who had been deposed and outlawed by Frederick Barbarossa in 1180.

The reconciliation between Emperor Henry VI and Duke Henry the Lion was solemnly held in March 1194 at the Imperial Palace ofTilleda.Agnes and her husband Henry V had done their bit to prepare for this major domestic event with their unscheduled marriage at Stahleck Castle. Moreover, Emperor Henry VI had to settle the conflict with theHouse of Welf,to ensure peace in the Holy Roman Empire while enforcing his claims on theKingdom of Sicilyafter the death of KingTancredon 20 February 1194.

Issue

Agnes and Henry had a son and two daughters:

• Henry,was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1212 to 1214
• Irmengard(1200–1260), marriedHerman V, Margrave of Baden-Baden
• Agnes(1201–1267), married DukeOtto IIof Bavaria. Agnes and Otto became the ancestors of theHouse of Wittelsbachin Bavaria and the Palatinate. Her daughterElisabethwas the mother ofConradin.Her sonLouiswas the father of EmperorLouis IV.

Legacy

During theRomanticismperiod in the 19th century, the historic picture of Agnes of Hohenstaufen was blissfully idealised. InChristian Dietrich Grabbe's drama entitledHenry VI,published in 1830, she is depicted as a carefree but resolute girl, who even addresses theImperial Dietto assert her marriage with the man she loves. Fighting for the love and happiness of her reluctant fiancé, she brings about the ultimate reconciliation of the Welf and Hohenstaufen families on the deathbed of her father-in-law, Henry the Lion, who called her "a rose blossoming between to rocks". In fact, it was Agnes' mother Irmengard who had arranged the marriage.

The operaAgnes von Hohenstaufenby the Italian composerGaspare Spontini,based on the libretto byErnst Raupach,had its premiere on 12 June 1829 at theRoyal Opera Berlin.

References

• Paul Barz:Heinrich der Löwe und seine Zeit,dtv, Munich, 2008,ISBN978-3-423-24676-7,p. 367.
• Friedemann Bedürftig:Taschenlexikon Staufer,Piper, Munich, 2000,ISBN3-492-23032-6,p. 11.
• Johannes Lehmann:Die Staufer. Glanz und Elend eines deutschen Kaisergeschlechts,Gondrom, Bindlach, 1991,ISBN3-8112-0903-5,S. 201.

External links

• Collection of materials on Agnes of Staufen at medieval genealogie.de