, Agnes Of Burgundy, Duchess Of Aquitaine

Agnes of Burgundy (or Agnes de Macon), Duchess of Aquitaine (died 10November 1068[1]) was a daughter of Otto-William, Count of Burgundy andErmentrude of Roucy. She was a member of the House of Ivrea.

We do not know the date of the birth of Agnes but it is probably shortlybefore the year 1000.[2] Agnes'' father was the son of Adalbert of Italy.

In 1019, she married Duke William V of Aquitaine by whom she had threechildren: William VII, Duke of Aquitaine, William VIII, Duke of Aquitaineand Agnes, Holy Roman Empress. William died on January 31, 1030, leavinghis widow and their three young children, plus the three survivingchildren from his first two marriages.

After her husband''s death, Agnes lost her influence at the court ofPoitiers since her sons were not heirs. In order for her to regain herposition and ensure a future for her children, Agnes had to remarry. Thusshe married Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou which was an attractive offerbecause his father was the powerful Fulk III, Count of Anjou.

In 1033, Geoffrey''s troops invaded Poitou with the support of Agnes.William VI, Duke of Aquitaine the new Count of Poitou, was captured inMarch. He was released only in 1036 against a large ransom and he died in1038 without children. The county then returned to his brother, Agnes''stepson Odo of Gascony, who was already Duke of Gascony. He went to waragainst Agnes, her husband and sons. Odo was killed at the battle atMauzé.

The succeeding Count of Poitou was Agnes''s son, Peter, who took the nameof William VII Aigret. Being too young, his mother governed territoriesin his place from 1039 to 1044 and indeed it even seems the governmentitself, without her husband. When she transmitted the power to William,she married and took the opportunity to give his second son, Geoffrey Guythe duchy of Gascony, by marrying an heiress. Agnes then joined Geoffreyin Anjou and although she may not have actively participated in thegovernment, certainly had some influence on him.

Agnes and Geoffrey stayed in Germany at the imperial court, so herdaughter Agnes could marry Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. They thenbonded with the imperial couple, during a trip to Italy where theyparticipated in the council of Sutri, filing and inducting two popes PopeClement II, who was quick to crown the emperor and empress. After apilgrimage to Monte Garaño, the couple went back to Poitou in 1047 wherethey founded the Abbey of Our Lady and Sacred. Between 1047 and 1049,Agnes founded the abbey of Saint Nicolas de Poitiers.

Between 1049 and 1052, Agnes and Geoffrey separated. The reasons arevaried: the most logical is the absence of children, however we must notforget that the council of Reims in 1049 condemned certain marriages asincestuous and judged them to part; in addition, Geoffrey went to waragainst the King of France who appreciated the little freedom from warthat would take his vassal to Germany (it seems that Geoffrey had toswear allegiance to the emperor and to no longer depend on the King ofFrance) and it is very possible that the King imposed on his vanquishedvassal that he should divorce his wife. Indeed, Agnes also influenced herhusband, but she came from Burgundy and had retained strong links withher homeland, so it may be that it was Agnes who wanted the divorce.

Still, Agnes returned to the court of Poitiers and her son William overwhom she had much influence. A war soon broke out between Anjou andPoitou, which saw a victory for Geoffrey in 1053. This would haveprobably never happened if Agnes had not divorced Geoffrey. In 1058William left for another war against his former stepfather Count ofAnjou, probably because Geoffrey gave the dowry of Agnes to his new wife,Adelaide. William was on the verge of winning when he died of an illnessin 1058.

He was succeeded by his brother, Geoffrey Guy, who took the dynastic nameof William VIII. The young count had remained close to Geoffrey becausehe was the only father figure he knew and he reconciled with Anjou. Butonly during Geoffrey''s lifetime, in fact, after Geoffrey''s death, Williamdid not hesitate to attack his heirs and assume control of Saintonge from1062. Agnes, despite her retirement, was still very active and did nothesitate to travel throughout Poitou to participate in donations orsimply see her son at the court of Poitiers. Agnes died on 10 November1068. She is buried at St. Nicolas de Poitiers.