The 10th-century German queens set their mark on politics in different ways. The last Ottonian queen, Kunigunde, primarily played the role of dynastic bridgebuilder.

When Heinrich II, after the death of the childless Otto III in Italy, entered the race to gain the throne, his success was not a foregone conclusion. Other contenders vied for the position of overlord, and it took more than a year before his position was secure.

In the endgame, Kunigunde and her crowning in Paderborn in August 1002 nevertheless played a significant role.

Kunigunde was the daughter of a prominent Lotharingian nobleman, Count Siegfried, later remembered as the founder of the Luxembourg dynasty. When Heinrich married her between 995-1000, her family represented an advantageous liaison for the Duke of Bavaria, who was never expected to be king at that time. Otto III was young, on the brink of marriage with the Byzantine Emperor’s sister or another royal princess, and was supported by large numbers of aristocrats – counts, margraves, dukes, and bishops.

However, after Otto’s death, Heinrich began to scheme to gain the throne; Kunigunde may have been considered an impediment at first. At a price, though, her wider family backed the couple up, and in July 1002, this resulted in the anointment and coronation of Heinrich in Metz, followed by Kunigunde’s crowning in Paderborn in August. Following these events, her brother was appointed Duke of Bavaria, a position the new King had initially promised the Margrave of Schweinfurt. This entanglement led to the so-called Schweinfurter Feud, which had long repercussions in the King’s dealings with Poland and its ruler.

However, the Bavarian dukedom was not handed over without reservations, and Heinrich II’s relationship with his Lotharingian in-laws plummeted, reaching a frosty state after their machinations to bolster their situation took off in the early years of the reign. In 1005, one of her many brothers was installed as the new bishop in Metz, and the clan worked to try and get yet another brother appointed bishop in Trier. In 1008, however, her brother was deprived of his dukedom in Bavaria.

As Simon McLean has shown, we can discern her position in the King’s orbit by measuring her participation in his administration. Out of 509 charters, she figures as an intercessor in 149 instances. However, it is only in the very early charters she is mentioned as “Consor Regnis”. Thus, when Bamberg – her Morning Gift – was swept into the new Bishopric in 1007, she was not mentioned “in the prayer clauses of the key documents”, as MacLean writes.

Later, though, she seemed to have regained some of her influence. In 1012 and 16, she was responsible for organising military affairs when Heinrich was engaged elsewhere. And in 1017. Her brother was once again appointed duke. At the same time, she was active in founding a monastery in Kaufungen on land that had been granted as part of the transactions at Bamberg. In the pertinent documents from this period, though

The Coronation in Paderborn

Central to the understanding of Heinrich’s God-given role as anointed and semi-clerical ruler was the staging of his coronation in Mainz. In the same manner, Kunigunde’s coronation was performed in Paderborn as a blessing (Benedictio Reginae). We know of the liturgy from a text, the Ordo III, which Simon McLean argued was construed to organise the event in 1002. This text consisted of four prayers likening her to prominent Old Testament women. Thus, she was expected to be a “Strong Queen” as Judith. Foremost, though, she was expected to be fertile and produce heirs such as Sarah, Rebecca, Lia, and Rachel. Finally, she was likened to Esther, called “consors regni” in the Vulgate translation of The Old Testament. During the ceremony, she was anointed and finally crowned. This text (1) has, together with the contemporary second vita of Mathilda, been characterised as a mirror for a queen – expecting her to be forceful, fecund and fully recognised as part of the regal governance. At Paderborn, she was appointed Heinrich’s co-ruler, as claimed in a dedication in Heinrich’s Book of Pericopes.

In the end, though, she had to retreat from dynastic bridgebuilder and co-ruler to a more conventional position as “Femina sive coniunx”, and finally closest friend, ally, and bedmate – “contuberalias coniunx”.

Death and Aftermath

After Heinrich died in 1024, Kunigunde had the royal and imperial insignia in hand and was responsible for handing them over to the new King, Conrad II, who was elected in September 1024. The following year, she retired to Kaufungen Abbey, which she had founded near Kassel. She died in 1033 and was likely buried there until she – after her canonisation – was re-interred in Bamberg in 1201.

NOTES:

(1) The texts to the prayers are published and translated in Maclean (2017) in the footnotes to chapter eight.

PHOTO:

Kunigunde. Detail from: The Baseler Antepedium. Photo: www.muensterschatz.ch

SOURCES:

Ottonian Queenship.
By Simon MacLean.
Oxford University Press 2017

Kunigunde – Consors Regni.
Ed by: S. Dick, J, Jarnut, and M. Wemhoff
Munich 2004

Imperial Ladies of the Ottonian Dynasty: Women and Rule in Tenth-Century Germany 
by Phyllis G. Jestice
Palgrave MacMillan 2018