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- Title
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Dissolving Royal and Noble Marriages in Eleventh-Century Germany.
- Authors
Creber, Alison
- Abstract
Around 1069 four elite German men—Henry IV of Germany, Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Eckbert of Brunswick and Welf IV of Bavaria—tried to dissolve their marriages to their respective wives: Bertha of Savoy, Adelaide of Savoy, Immilla of Turin and Ethelinde of Northeim. This article argues that these men reinforced each other's decision to do so. It further argues that a key, but previously overlooked, aspect of these cases is that three of these women (Bertha, Adelaide and Immilla) were closely related to one another. The first section focuses narrowly on Henry IV's attempt to repudiate his wife, Bertha, and the rich documentation this produced. Then Henry's actions are compared and contrasted with the contemporaneous attempts of Rudolf, Eckbert, and Welf to end their own marriages. When viewed together, the attempted repudiations of Bertha, Adelaide and Immilla point to the declining significance of these kinswomen's natal dynasty, led by Adelaide of Turin, and to the shifting political interests of Henry IV and other German nobles. Yet, partly due to the actions of Adelaide of Turin, it was hard for these men to 'break up' with their wives. In contrast to Ethelinde's kin, who failed to prevent Welf from ending their marriage, Adelaide had sufficient political power to ensure that her daughters' marriages were not dissolved.
- Subjects
GERMANY; MARRIAGES of royalty &; nobility; HENRY IV, Holy Roman Emperor, 1050-1106; BERTHA, of Savoy, Holy Roman Empress, 1051-1087; RUDOLF, of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia, 1030-1080; SPOUSES' legal relationship; NOBILITY (Social class)
- Publication
German History, 2019, Vol 37, Issue 2, p149
- ISSN
0266-3554
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/gerhis/ghy108