Adelheid of Kiev

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Adelheid (* 1067 / 70 , † 20 July 1109 in Kiev ) (. Or even eigentl Jewpraksija, Eupraxia, Praxedis) was after the death of her first husband, Count Heinrich I. von Stade, since 1089 the second wife Emperor Henry IV . the daughter of Grand Duke was Vsevolod I. of Kiev. The marriage with Heinrich was divorced in 1095.

Life

Jewspraksija was after 1067 as the daughter of Grand Prince Vsevolod I of Kiev and his second wife Anna, the daughter of Chan the Polovtsian born. For her first wedding with Count Heinrich von Stade from the noble family of Udones , she is said to have come to Saxony in a magnificent camel caravan, with rich clothes, valuables and innumerable treasures in her luggage.

After Count Heinrich's death in 1087, Emperor Heinrich IV fell in love with the unusually attractive woman and courted widow, according to the sources. The engagement took place in 1088, their wedding on August 14, 1089 in Cologne, which was immediately followed by the coronation of Adelheid, as she called herself after converting to Catholicism.

This marriage was not a lucky star and completely failed. Heinrich accused his wife of being unfaithful (allegedly she even seduced her stepson Konrad ) and kept her under surveillance in Verona. From there, however, she was able to flee to Mathilde von Tuszien at the beginning of 1094 and from then on stood out from her married life with “dirty details”.

As recently as 1094, a synod in Constance dealt with the allegations before Adelheid appeared in person at the Synod of Piacenza in 1095 and in front of Pope Urban II and the assembly the unheard-of sexual debauchery that her husband had asked of her, vividly and verbally depicted. The truth of these allegations will probably no longer be proven. It can be assumed, however, that these reports were primarily welcomed by the papal side as propaganda material, because as such they were subsequently exploited at every possible opportunity.

Althoff assumes that the marriage of Adelheid / Praxedis with Heinrich IV. Should possibly confirm a peace agreement between Emperor Heinrich and his enemies, the Saxons. Her role as a wife would thus be seen as analogous to the role of hostages, as they were regularly asked to reinforce and secure alliances during this period. According to the sources, the emperor is said to have ordered that the queen be raped. Althoff suggests interpreting this rape as a dishonor analogous to punishing or even killing a hostage after breach of loyalty.

After the Pope freed her from the penance that should have been imposed on her, Adelheid left the stage of world history. She returned to Kiev via Hungary, where she became a nun in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and died there in 1109. The marriage with Heinrich was divorced in 1095.

literature


predecessor Office Successor
Bertha of Savoy Roman-German Empress
1089 to 1095 		Matilda (England)
personal data
SURNAME Adelheid of Kiev
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Yevspraksiya; Eupraxia; Praxedis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION second wife of Henry IV, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire
DATE OF BIRTH between 1067 and 1070
DATE OF DEATH July 20, 1109
Place of death Kiev