Adalbert

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• Reference Number: 37132

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• Name: Henry the Black
• Reference Number: 37122

Notes:

Henry was the second son of Welf I, Duke of Bavaria and Judith of Flanders. As a young man, he administered the family's property south of the Alps. Through his marriage to Wulfhild, daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony, he acquired part of the Billung property in Saxony.

In 1116, he joined Emperor Henry V's Italian campaign. He succeeded his brother Welf II, Duke of Bavaria, when the latter died childless in 1120.

In the royal election of 1125, he supported his son-in-law Frederick II, Duke of Swabia, but switched his allegiance to Lothair, Duke of Saxony, after Lothair promised that Gertrud, his only daughter and heir, would marry Henry's son Henry.

After Lothair won the election and banned Frederick, in 1126 Henry abdicated as duke of Bavaria and retired to the family foundation of Weingarten Abbey so that he did not have to take part in the prosecution of his son-in-law. Henry died shortly thereafter and was buried in Weingarten.

IX — Wulfhild. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 37123

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• Reference Number: 37133

Notes:

Welf was the son of Azzo II of Este and his wife Chuniza of Altdorf. When Welf's maternal uncle, Welf, Duke of Carinthia (also known as Welf III), died childless, Welf inherited his property. Welf married Ethelinde, daughter of Otto II, Duke of Bavaria.

Although the Marquis of Este, guided by his cousin Matilda, continued firm in the Pope's interests, his son Welf, who had succeeded to the Bavarian states, and whose views were more immediately directed to Germany, supported the emperor. For his fidelity he was rewarded with the duchy of Bavaria, which had been forfeited by Otto, his father-in-law. When Duke Otto had become an enemy of King Henry IV, Welf divorced Ethelinde, and soon thereafter (in 1070) was appointed duke of Bavaria in Otto's stead. This event took place at Goslar in 1070, when the states of Bavaria submitted quietly to the new made duke, who was the representative of one of the most ancient families in the province; and although, in compliance with the commands of the emperor, he afterwards repudiated his duchess, the daughter of Otho, we do toot find that his influence was at all affected by such an act, which savored somewhat of injustice.

During the Investiture Controversy, Welf sided with Pope Gregory VII, and in March 1077 supported the election of Rudolf of Rheinfelden as anti-king. They were reconciled in 1076, but the following year saw them again engaged in active hostilities. Henry, in consequence of these repeated acts of rebellion, deprived him of his newly-acquired sovereignty; but, supported by his faithful Bavarians, and aided by his father in Italy, he was able to maintain his place, and to set the ban of the empire at defiance in May 1077.

Welf joined the discontented princes who supported the standard of Rudolph, when all were put without the pale of the church who refused to obey the mandate of that Pope; and in that age of ignorance and superstition, many were obliged to comply with a Pope's mandate, who otherwise would have supported the sovereign of their own choice. Fortunately for the peace of Germany, Gregory died in 1085, and Welf, though he still adhered to the party of the church, began to relax in his exertions to maintain the usurper. In 1089, Welf's son Welf married Matilda of Tuscany, thus strengthening relationships with the pope. After the younger Welf divorced Matilda in 1095, Welf made amends with King Henry IV and was reappointed as duke of Bavaria.

On the divorce of his first wife, Welf married Judith of Flanders, daughter of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders, and the widow of Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria.

After the death of his father Azzo in 1097, Welf tried to acquire his father's property south of the Alps, but did not succeed against his younger half-brother Fulco.

In 1099, Welf joined the Crusade of 1101. He died while returning from the crusade in Cyprus in 1101 and was buried in Weingarten Abbey. He was succeeded as duke of Bavaria by his son Welf.

I — Judith of Flanders. Judith (daughter of Baldwin IV of Flanders and Eleanor of Normandy) was born 1033; died 5 Mar 1094. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 37134

Notes:

Judith was born in 1033 in Bruges, the only child of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders by his second wife, Eleanor of Normandy, who was herself, the daughter of Richard II of Normandy and Judith of Brittany. Judith had an older half-brother, Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, who succeeded their father upon his death which had occurred when Judith was about two years old. Judith's niece was Matilda of Flanders who married William, the first Norman king of England, known to history as "William the Conqueror". King William was Judith's first cousin, being the son of her maternal uncle, Robert of Normandy.

First Marriage:

On an unknown date before September 1051, she married her first husband, Tostig Godwinson, brother of King Harold II of England. In September 1051, Judith was forced to flee England for Bruges, along with her husband and in-laws after Tostig joined his father's armed rebellion against King Edward the Confessor; however, they returned home the following year.

He was created Earl of Northumbria in 1055, making Judith the Countess of Northumbria, from that date onwards. His distinguished marriage to Judith had helped Tostig secure the earldom.

Together they had children whose names and numbers are not recorded. They were described in the Vita Edwardi Regis as "unweaned" at the time of their father's death. Tostig had at least three illegitimate sons by unknown mistresses.

Judith was described as having been a "pious and inquisitive woman"; her piety was expressed in the many gifts and donations she made to the Church of St. Cuthbert in Durham, which included landed estates and an ornate crucifix. The latter allegedly was a present to appease the saint after she challenged St. Cuthbert's ruling that forbade women to enter the cathedral which housed his relics. Judith, angered that women were not permitted to set foot inside the church and wishing to worship at his tomb, had decided to put Cuthbert's prohibition to the test by ordering her serving woman to go inside to see what repercussions would follow for breaking the holy decree (Judith had planned to go herself upon the latter's safe return); when the woman was about to enter the churchyard, she was stricken by a sudden, violent force of wind that left her infirm and eventually killed her. Judith, as a result of superstitious fear, had the crucifix especially made for St. Cuthbert's shrine. Throughout her life, she collected and commissioned many books and illuminated manuscripts, some of which are extant, including the Gospels of Countess Judith, which are currently housed in Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City. These were written and illuminated by English scribes and artists to record for posterity, Judith's generosity to the Church.

In October 1065, Northumbria rose in rebellion against the rule of Tostig. After his brother Harold persuaded King Edward to accept the demands made by the rebels, there was an acrimonious confrontation between the two brothers, with Tostig accusing Harold of fomenting the rebellion. In November, Tostig was outlawed by King Edward, and Judith, along with Tostig and her children, was compelled to seek refuge with her half-brother in Flanders the following month. Count Baldwin appointed Tostig as castellan of Saint-Omer. In May 1066 following the succession of Harold to the English throne in January, he returned to England with a fleet provided by Baldwin to seek revenge on his brother. He formed an alliance with King Harold III of Norway, but they were both killed on 25 September 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge by the forces of King Harold.

After her husband's death at Stamford Bridge, Judith moved to Denmark. It is presumed that she brought her "unweaned" children with her to Denmark; however, nothing is known of their subsequent fates. Less than a month after Tostig's death, Judith's brother-in-law was killed at the Battle of Hastings by the Norman army led by her cousin, William the Conqueror, who would thereafter reign as William I of England.

Second marriage:

In 1071, when she was 38 years of age, she married her second husband, Welf I, Duke of Bavaria, who had divorced his childless wife, Etherinde von Northeim in 1070. Upon her marriage, she became Duchess of Bavaria; however in 1077, her husband was deprived of his title, and did not regain it until 1096, two years after her death.

They made their principal home at the castle of Ravensburg and together had two sons, and one daughter:
Welf II, Duke of Bavaria (1073 - 24 September 1120), married Matilda of Tuscany, but the marriage did not produce issue.
Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria (1074 - 13 December 1126), married Wulfhild of Saxony, by whom he had seven children.
Kunizza of Bavaria (died 6 March 1120), married Frederich Rocho, Count of Diesen

Death:

Judith died on 5 March 1094 and was buried at St. Martin Monastery, the Benedictine abbey which had been built by Duke Welf on the Martinsberg in Weingarten, and had received Judith's patronage. She also had bequeathed her magnificent library and a relic of Christ's Blood to the abbey.

The Chronicon of Bernold recorded the death "1094 1V Non Mar of Iuditha uxor ducis Welfonis Baioariae" and her subsequent burial. Her husband Duke Welf died in 1101 in Cyprus while returning home from the First Crusade.

In fiction:

Judith appears as a character in Jean Plaidy's historical romance The Bastard King; however, she is incorrectly portrayed as Matilda of Flanders' sister.

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37146

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• Reference Number: 37137

Albert — Cuniza. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 37138

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• Reference Number: 37144

Notes:

Baldwin IV of Flanders (980 - May 30, 1035) known as the Bearded, was Count of Flanders from 988 until his death. He was the son of Arnulf II, Count of Flanders. His mother was Rozala of Lombardy.

History:

In contrast to his predecessors Baldwin turned his attention to the east and north, leaving the southern part of his territory in the hands of his vassals the counts of Guînes, Hesdin, and St. Pol.

To the north of the county Baldwin was given Zeeland as a fief by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, while on the right bank of the Scheldt river he received Valenciennes (1013) and parts of the Cambresis and Hainaut.

In the French territories of the count of Flanders, the supremacy of the Baldwin remained unchallenged. They organized a great deal of colonization of marshland along the coastline of Flanders and enlarged the harbour and city of Brugge.

Family:

Baldwin first married Ogive of Luxembourg, daughter of Frederick of Luxembourg, by whom he had a son and heir Baldwin V.

He later married Eleanor of Normandy, daughter of Richard II of Normandy, by whom he had at least one daughter Judith who married Tostig Godwinson and Welf I, Duke of Bavaria.

His granddaughter, Matilda of Flanders, would go on to marry William the Conqueror, therefore starting the line of Anglo-Norman Kings of England.

Baldwin — Eleanor of Normandy. Eleanor (daughter of Richard II of Normandy and Judith of Brittany) was born Abt 1011; died Aft 1071, Flanders, Belgium. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37145