, Agnes Of Germany

Agnes of Germany (1072/3 – 24 September 1143), also known as Agnes ofWaiblingen, was a member of the Salian imperial family. Through her firstmarriage, she was a Duchess consort of Swabia; through her secondmarriage, she was a Margravine consort of Austria.

She was the daughter of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Bertha ofSavoy.[1] Her maternal grandparents were Otto, Count of Savoy, andAdelaide of Susa. Her brother was Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor.

In 1079, aged seven, Agnes was betrothed to Frederick, a member of theHohenstaufen dynasty; at the same time, Henry IV invested Frederick asthe new duke of Swabia.[2] The couple married in 1086, when Agnes wasfourteen. They had eleven children, named in a document found in theabbey of Lorsch:
Hedwig-Eilike (1088–1110), married Friedrich, Count of Legenfeld
Bertha-Bertrade (1089–1120), married Adalbert, Count of Elchingen
Frederick II of Swabia
Hildegard
Conrad III of Germany
Gisihild-Gisela
Heinrich (1096–1105)
Beatrix (1098–1130), became an abbess
Kunigunde-Cuniza (1100–1120/1126), wife of Henry X, Duke of Bavaria(1108–1139)[3]
Sophia, married a count Adalbert
Fides-Gertrude, married Hermann III, Count Palatine of the Rhine

Following Frederick''s death in 1105,[4] Agnes married Leopold III(1073-1136), the Margrave of Austria (1095-1136).[5] According to alegend, a veil lost by Agnes and found by Leopold years later whilehunting was the instigation for him to found the KlosterneuburgMonastery.

Their children were:[6]
Leopold IV
Henry II of Austria
Berta, married Heinrich of Regensburg
Agnes, "one of the most famous beauties of her time", married WladyslawII of Poland
Ernst
Uta, wife of Liutpold von Plain
Otto of Freising, bishop and biographer
Conrad, Bishop of Passau, and Archbishop of Salzburg
Elizabeth, married Hermann, Count of Winzenburg
Judith, m. c. 1133 William V of Montferrat. Their children formed animportant Crusading dynasty.
Gertrude, married Vladislav II of Bohemia
According to the Continuation of the Chronicles of Klosterneuburg, theremay have been up to seven other children (possibly from multiple births)stillborn or who died in infancy.

In 1125, Agnes'' brother, Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, died childless,leaving Agnes and her children as heirs to the Salian dynasty''s immenseallodial estates, including Waiblingen.

In 1127, Agnes'' eldest surviving son, Konrad III, was elected as therival King of Germany by those opposed to the Saxon party''s Lothar III.When Lothar died in 1137, Konrad was elected to the position.