Gertrude of Merania
Encyclopedia
Gertrude of Merania was the first wife of King Andrew II of Hungary
and thereby Queen consort of Hungary from 1205 until her assassination.
Count Berthold IV of Andechs
, who had been elevated to a Duke of Merania by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
, and his wife Agnes
from the Saxon House of Wettin. Gertrude's elder sister was Agnes of Merania
, a famous beauty, who married King Philip II of France
. Her younger sister was St. Hedwig of Silesia, wife of the Piast
duke Henry I the Bearded
, the later High Duke of Poland. Their brother was Otto
, who succeeded his father as Duke of Merania.
Gertrude's mother, Agnes of Wettin was a granddaughter of Margrave Conrad of Meissen
and a great-great granddaughter of the Hohenstaufen duke Frederick I of Swabia
and his wife Agnes of Germany
., herself a daughter of Emperor Henry IV
and Bertha of Savoy
.
Gertude's paternal grandparents were Count Berthold III of Andechs
, Margrave of Istria
and his wife Hedwig from the House of Wittelsbach at Scheyern
, a descendant of King Béla I of Hungary, through his daughter, Sophia of Hungary.
prince Andrew II
, younger son of late King Béla III of Hungary
, before 1203. Andrew thereby took sides in the conflict over the German throne, joining his father-in-law in his support of Duke Philip of Swabia
, while his elder brother King Emeric of Hungary backed King Otto IV of Germany
. The couple had five children:
Ambitious Gertrude exerted much political influence over her husband. It was probably her who persuaded Andrew to conspire against his brother again, but when King Emeric
, who had realised that Andrew's troops outnumbered his armies, went unarmed, wearing only the crown and the sceptre, to Andrew's camp near Varasd, Andrew surrendered voluntarily on the spur of the scene. The king had his brother arrested, but Andrew managed to escape shortly afterwards. During this time, Gertrude was sent back to her father. Things improved for her, when Prince Andrew took over the government of the Hungarian kingdom upon the death of King Emeric in 1204, officially as regent for his minor nephew Ladislaus III
, who nevertheless died driven in exile one year later.
s), who were jealous over the advancement of her German relatives at court. The terms Nobilissimus (most noble) and nobilissima familia (most noble family)
have been used since the 11th century for the King of Hungary and his family, but it were then only a few, among them also Gertrude, which were mentioned in official documents as such. While the king was in battle, Gertrude gave out Hungarian land as "gifts" to her favorites. According to medieval chroniclers, one third of the country was given away but the magnates got it back after the queen's death. Thus, Hungary did not prosper and during the frequent absence of her husband the queen, as Dietrich von Apolda states, conducted the affairs of the kingdom like a man. In 1206 her younger brother Berthold was installed as Archbishop of Kalocsa
, in 1212 he was also appointed Voivode of Transylvania
.
While King Andrew was campaigning Galicia, the Hungarian nobles decided to get rid of the queen and in 1213 on a hunt with Berthold and their guest Duke Leopold VI of Austria
in the Pilis Mountains
, she was killed. Gertrude's body was torn to pieces, her brother and Duke Leopold narrowly escaped with their lives. Due to the current political situation most of her murderers remained unpunished during the rule of Andrew II. Only Gertrude's son King Béla IV took revenge after his accession to the throne.
Gertrude's tomb was of a Gothic
style. Her tomb was excavated between 1967 and 1980.
On Yolanda's death, Andrew married Beatrice d'Este.
. It is based on a true fact: Lord Bánk, a nobleman went to battle with the king. His young wife stayed at home. Gertrude's brother fell in love with the young woman but she was afraid of him. Gertude encouraged her brother. When Lord Bánk heard of this, he was very angry and he was leader of the group of men that killed the queen. Her brother fled for his life.
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
and thereby Queen consort of Hungary from 1205 until her assassination.
Family
She was the daughter of the BavarianDuchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria was the only one of the stem duchies from the earliest days of East Francia and the Kingdom of Germany to preserve both its name and most of its territorial extent....
Count Berthold IV of Andechs
Berthold IV, Duke of Merania
Berthold IV was the Count of Andechs and first Duke of Merania , that is, the seacoast of Dalmatia and Istria of the House of Andechs...
, who had been elevated to a Duke of Merania by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
, and his wife Agnes
Agnes of Rochlitz
Agnes of Rochlitz came from the Wettin family and was daughter of Dedi V, Count of Wettin and his wife, Matilda of Heinsburg. She is also known as Agnes of Wettin. Agnes married Berthold IV, Duke of Merania...
from the Saxon House of Wettin. Gertrude's elder sister was Agnes of Merania
Agnes of Merania
Agnes Maria of Andechs-Merania , queen of France, was the daughter of Bertold IV , who was Count of Andechs, a castle and territory near Ammersee, Bavaria and from 1183 duke of Merania . Her mother was Agnes of Rochlitz...
, a famous beauty, who married King Philip II of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
. Her younger sister was St. Hedwig of Silesia, wife of the Piast
Silesian Piasts
The Silesian Piasts were the oldest line of the Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile, son of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland...
duke Henry I the Bearded
Henry I the Bearded
Henry I the Bearded , of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201 and Duke of Kraków and thus High Duke of all Poland - internally divided - from 1232 until his death.-Heir of Wroclaw:...
, the later High Duke of Poland. Their brother was Otto
Otto I, Duke of Merania
Otto I was Duke of Andechs and Merania and was born, in 1180, to Berthold IV von Dießen, Duke of Andechs and Merania, and Agnes of Rochlitz. He was also Otto II, Count Palatine of Burgundy by his marriage to Beatrice II of Burgundy....
, who succeeded his father as Duke of Merania.
Gertrude's mother, Agnes of Wettin was a granddaughter of Margrave Conrad of Meissen
Conrad, Margrave of Meissen
Conrad the Great was the Margrave of Meissen from 1123 until his retirement in 1156. He was the son of Thimo, Count of Brehna, of the House of Wettin and Ida, daughter of Otto of Nordheim. He was also Count of Wettin, Brehna, and Camburg from before 1116.In 1123, he became Count of Eilenburg...
and a great-great granddaughter of the Hohenstaufen duke Frederick I of Swabia
Frederick I, Duke of Swabia
Frederick I von Staufen was Duke of Swabia from 1079 to his death. He was the first ruler of Swabia from the House of Hohenstaufen, and was the builder of dynasty's ancestral Hohenstaufen Castle near Göppingen.-Parents:...
and his wife Agnes of Germany
Agnes of Germany
Agnes of Germany was the daughter of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Bertha of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Otto, Count of Savoy, Aosta and Moriana and Adelaide, Marchioness of Turin and Susa....
., herself a daughter of Emperor Henry IV
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...
and 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:...
.
Gertude's paternal grandparents were Count Berthold III of Andechs
Berthold I of Istria
Berthold III, Count of Andechs was the Margrave of Istria as Berthold I from 1173 until 1188. He was the son of Berthold III, Count of Diessen, Plassenberg and Stein and his first wife Sophie of Istria....
, Margrave of Istria
March of Istria
The Margravate of Istria was originally a Carolingian frontier march covering the Istrian peninsula and surrounding territory conquered by Charlemagne's son Pepin of Italy in 789...
and his wife Hedwig from the House of Wittelsbach at Scheyern
Scheyern
Scheyern is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen in Bavaria in Germany.The House of Wittelsbach derives from here....
, a descendant of King Béla I of Hungary, through his daughter, Sophia of Hungary.
Marriage
Her parents wanted their daughters to all make important political marriages, which would create alliances for Duke Berthold IV. Gertrude married the ÁrpádÁrpád dynasty
The Árpáds or Arpads was the ruling dynasty of the federation of the Hungarian tribes and of the Kingdom of Hungary . The dynasty was named after Grand Prince Árpád who was the head of the tribal federation when the Magyars occupied the Carpathian Basin, circa 895...
prince Andrew II
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
, younger son of late King Béla III of Hungary
Béla III of Hungary
Béla III was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...
, before 1203. Andrew thereby took sides in the conflict over the German throne, joining his father-in-law in his support of Duke Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV.-Biography:Philip was the fifth and youngest son of Emperor Frederick I and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, daughter of Renaud III, count of Burgundy, and brother of the emperor Henry VI...
, while his elder brother King Emeric of Hungary backed King Otto IV of Germany
Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto IV of Brunswick was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and emperor from 1209 on. The only king of the Welf dynasty, he incurred the wrath of Pope Innocent III and was excommunicated in 1215.-Early life:Otto was the third son of Henry the...
. The couple had five children:
- Anna Maria of HungaryAnna Maria of HungaryAnna Maria of Hungary was a daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania. She was sister of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary....
(c. 1204 – 1237), wife of Tzar Ivan Asen II of BulgariaIvan Asen II of Bulgaria-Early rule:He was a son of Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria and Elena . Elena, who survived until after 1235, is sometimes alleged to be a daughter of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia, but this relationship is questionable and would have caused various canonical impediments to marriages between various descendants... - King Béla IV of HungaryBéla IV of HungaryBéla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the...
(1206 – 3 May 1270) - Saint Elisabeth of HungaryElisabeth of HungaryElizabeth of Hungary, T.O.S.F., was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary, Countess of Thuringia, Germany and a greatly-venerated Catholic saint. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. She then became one of the first members of the newly-founded Third Order of St. Francis,...
(1207 – 10 November 1231), wife of Landgraf Louis IV of Thuringia - King Coloman of Galicia-Lodomeria (1208 – June 1241)
- Prince Andrew II of Halych (c. 1210 – 1234)
Ambitious Gertrude exerted much political influence over her husband. It was probably her who persuaded Andrew to conspire against his brother again, but when King Emeric
Emeric of Hungary
Emeric I , , King of Hungary and Croatia . He was crowned during his father's lifetime, but after his father's death he had to fight against his brother, Andrew, who forced Emeric to assign the government of Croatia and Dalmatia to him...
, who had realised that Andrew's troops outnumbered his armies, went unarmed, wearing only the crown and the sceptre, to Andrew's camp near Varasd, Andrew surrendered voluntarily on the spur of the scene. The king had his brother arrested, but Andrew managed to escape shortly afterwards. During this time, Gertrude was sent back to her father. Things improved for her, when Prince Andrew took over the government of the Hungarian kingdom upon the death of King Emeric in 1204, officially as regent for his minor nephew Ladislaus III
Ladislaus III of Hungary
Ladislaus III was King of Hungary. and Croatia .He was the only son of King Emeric, King of Hungary and his queen, Infanta Constance of Aragon....
, who nevertheless died driven in exile one year later.
Murder
Gertrude was killed in 1213, by Hungarian noblemen (magnateMagnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
s), who were jealous over the advancement of her German relatives at court. The terms Nobilissimus (most noble) and nobilissima familia (most noble family)
Nobilissima familia (Hungary)
The terms Nobilissimus and nobilissima familia have been used since the 11th century for the King of Hungary and his family...
have been used since the 11th century for the King of Hungary and his family, but it were then only a few, among them also Gertrude, which were mentioned in official documents as such. While the king was in battle, Gertrude gave out Hungarian land as "gifts" to her favorites. According to medieval chroniclers, one third of the country was given away but the magnates got it back after the queen's death. Thus, Hungary did not prosper and during the frequent absence of her husband the queen, as Dietrich von Apolda states, conducted the affairs of the kingdom like a man. In 1206 her younger brother Berthold was installed as Archbishop of Kalocsa
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kalocsa-Kecskemét
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kalocsa–Kecskemét is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary. Since 1993, its official name is Archdiocese of Kalocsa-Kecskemét. The diocese is the metropolitan of the Diocese of Pécs and the Diocese of Szeged-Csanád. The patron...
, in 1212 he was also appointed Voivode of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
.
While King Andrew was campaigning Galicia, the Hungarian nobles decided to get rid of the queen and in 1213 on a hunt with Berthold and their guest Duke Leopold VI of Austria
Leopold VI, Duke of Austria
Leopold VI , called the Glorious, from the House of Babenberg, was Duke of Austria from 1198 to 1230 and of Styria from 1194 to 1230....
in the Pilis Mountains
Pilis Mountains
The Pilis Mountains is a mountainous region in the Transdanubian Mountains with a beautiful landscape. Its highest peak is the Pilis with . It is a popular vacation destination in Hungary.-References:...
, she was killed. Gertrude's body was torn to pieces, her brother and Duke Leopold narrowly escaped with their lives. Due to the current political situation most of her murderers remained unpunished during the rule of Andrew II. Only Gertrude's son King Béla IV took revenge after his accession to the throne.
Gertrude's tomb was of a Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
style. Her tomb was excavated between 1967 and 1980.
On Yolanda's death, Andrew married Beatrice d'Este.
In Media
She is the main character in Ferenc Erkel's opera, Bánk bánBánk bán
Bánk bán is an opera in 3 Acts by composer Ferenc Erkel. The work uses a Hungarian language libretto by Béni Egressy which is based on a stage play of the same name by József Katona. The main storyline is based on the assassination of Queen Gertrúd, wife of Andrew II in 1213...
. It is based on a true fact: Lord Bánk, a nobleman went to battle with the king. His young wife stayed at home. Gertrude's brother fell in love with the young woman but she was afraid of him. Gertude encouraged her brother. When Lord Bánk heard of this, he was very angry and he was leader of the group of men that killed the queen. Her brother fled for his life.