Bertha of Swabia

Bertha of Swabia (French: Berthe de Souabe; c. 907 – after January 2, 966), a member of the Alemannic Hunfriding dynasty, was Queen consort of Upper Burgundy from 922 until 937 and Queen consort of Italy from 922 until 926, by her marriage with King Rudolph II. She again became Italian queen by her second marriage with King Hugh in 937 and ceased to be consort upon her husband's death in 948.

Life

Bertha was the daughter of Duke Burchard II of Swabia and his wife Regelinda. In 922, she was married to the Burgundian king Rudolph II. The Welf rulers of Upper Burgundy had campaigned the adjacent Swabian Thurgau region several times, and the marriage was meant as a gesture of reconciliation.

Adelaide of Italy, who became Holy Roman Empress as consort of Emperor Otto I, was their common daughter. Their son, Conrad succeeded as King of Burgundy upon his father's death in 937. Thereupon, Bertha secondly married King Hugh of Italy in what is today Colombier on 12 December 937. This marriage was not a happy one; when Hugh died in 947, Bertha probably was married a third time.

Between 950 and 960, Bertha founded Payerne Priory, where she was buried. Up to today she is venerated as "Good Queen Bertha" (La reine Berthe) in the Swiss Romandy region, mainly in Vaud, and numerous myths and legends have evolved about her life.