- Clementia of Zähringen
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Clementia of Zähringen Duchess of Bavaria and Saxony
Countess of SavoyTomb of Clementia of Zähringen Spouse Henry the Lion
Umberto III, Count of SavoyIssue Henry of Saxony
Gertrude, Queen of Denmark
Richenza of Saxony
Sophia, Lady of Ferrara
Alicia of SavoyHouse House of Zähringen Father Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen Mother Clementia of Namur Died 1175 Clementia of Zähringen (unknown–1175), was a daughter of Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen and his wife Clementia of Namur. By her first marriage, Clementia was Duchess consort of Bavaria and Saxony. By her second marriage she was Countess Consort of Savoy.
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Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria
Clementia was the youngest of six children, her family owned territory in Swabia. She was a great-granddaughter of Conrad I, Count of Luxembourg and his wife Clementia of Aquitaine, herself daughter of William VII, Duke of Aquitaine.
Clementia was firstly married in 1147 to Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, he later inherited Bavaria. The marriage was arranged to confirm her father's alliance with the Welf party in Southern Germany.[1] She was heiress of Badenweiler, although her husband sold these Swabian estates to Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1158, receiving in exchange Herzberg, Scharzfels and Pöhlde south of the Harz.[2]
Clementia and Henry had three children:
- Henry, died young [3]
- Gertrude (1155–1197), married first Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia, and then King Canute VI of Denmark
- Richenza (c. 1157 – 1167), died young
Henry repudiated Clementia because of the growing difficulties between her brother Duke Berthold IV and Emperor Frederick, the latter with whom Duke Henry was by then in close alliance with.[4] Frederick did not cherish Guelphish possessions in his home area and offered Henry several fortresses in Saxony in exchange. The couple were officially divorced at Constance on 23 November 1162.
Countess of Savoy
Clementia remained unwed for two years before she married her second husband, Umberto III, Count of Savoy, she was his third wife. Umberto's first two marriages were not successful, his first wife died young; his second marriage ended in divorce. Umberto gave up and became a Carthusian monk. However, the nobles and common people of Savoy begged him to marry yet again, which he reluctantly did to Clementia.
Clementia and Humbert had two daughters:
- Sophia (1165–1202), married Azzo VI of Este
- Alicia (1166–1178), betrothed to John of England
Clementia died in 1175, predecessing both her husbands and three of her four daughters. After her death, Umberto attempted to return to the monastic life yet again but was forced to remarry a forth and final time to Beatrice of Viennois who bore him the long-awaited son and heir, Thomas.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Clementia of Zähringen 16. Bezzelin von Villingen 8. Berthold II, Duke of Carinthia 17. Luitgard 4. Berthold II, Duke of Swabia 9. Richwara 2. Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen 20. Kuno of Rheinfelden 10. Rudolf of Rheinfelden 5. Agnes of Rheinfelden 22. Otto I, Count of Savoy 11. Adelaide of Savoy 23. Adelaide of Susa 1. Clementia of Zähringen 24. Albert II, Count of Namur 12. Albert III, Count of Namur 25. Regilinda of Lower Lorraine 6. Godfrey I, Count of Namur 26. Bernard II, Duke of Saxony 13. Ida of Saxony 27. Eilika of Schweinfurt 3. Clementia of Namur 28. Giselbert of Luxembourg 14. Conrad I, Count of Luxembourg 7. Ermesinde of Luxembourg 30. William VII, Duke of Aquitaine 15. Clementia of Aquitaine 31. Ermesinde References
- ^ Haverkamp (1988), p. 146
- ^ Jordan (1986), pp. 65 and 95.
- ^ SAXONY DUKES, Medieval Lands
- ^ Haverkamp (1988), p. 223.
Vacant Title last held bySophie of WinzenburgDuchess of Saxony
1147–1162Vacant Title next held byMatilda of EnglandPreceded by
Theodora KomneneDuchess of Bavaria
1156–1162Vacant Title last held byGertrude of FlandersCountess of Savoy
1162–1164Vacant Title next held byBeatrice of ViennoisCategories:- 12th-century births
- 1186 deaths
- Duchesses of Saxony
- Duchesses of Bavaria
- Countesses of Savoy
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