Bertha of Savoy (1051–1087)
Bertha of Savoy (1051–1087)
Holy Roman empress. Born on September 21, 1051; died on December 27, 1087, in Mainz, Germany; daughter of Otto, count of Savoy, andAdelaide of Turin ; married Henry IV (1050–1106), king of Germany and Holy Roman emperor (r. 1056–1106), in 1066; children: Conrad (d. 1101), king of Germany (r. 1087) and Holy Roman emperor (r. 1093–1101); Henry V (1081–1125), king of Germany and Holy Roman emperor (r. 1106–1125); Agnes of Germany (1074–1143).
Wife of the Salian emperor Henry IV of Germany, Bertha of Savoy had three children: Conrad, king of Germany (1087) and Italy (1093) who died in 1101; Henry who married Matilda of England (1102–1167) in 1114, and was crowned Henry V, king of Germany, in 1106, and Agnes of Germany , who married Frederick, duke of Swabia. Bertha was with her husband Henry in 1076, when, threatened with excommunication, he made his famous midwinter dash across the Alps to meet with Matilda of Tuscany and Pope Gregory VII at Canossa (see Matilda of Tuscany entry for more information on the "incident at Canossa"). Her husband's last years were also marred by the rebellion of their sons. Following Bertha's death, Henry married Adelaide of Kiev .