Agnes of Poitou ( – 14 December 1077) was the queen of Germany from 1043 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1046 until 1056 as the wife of Emperor Henry III. From 1056 to 1061, she ruled the Holy Roman Empire as regent during the minority of their son Henry IV.

After the death of her husband, she proved an inexperienced regent unable to effectively assert her power and secure loyal allies. In Germany, she is still remembered as a sympathetic historical figure, even if a flawed politician.

Early life

Agnes was the daughter of the Ramnulfid Duke William V of Aquitaine (d. 1030) and Agnes of Burgundy and as such a member of the Ramnulfid family.

Empress

Agnes married King Henry III of Germany in November 1043 at the Imperial Palace Ingelheim. She was his second wife This marriage helped to solidify the Empire's relationships with the princely houses in the west. Henry III had secured the election of his son as King of the Romans on his deathbed. Aided by Abbott Hugh of Cluny and Pope Victor II, also bishop of Eichstätt, Agnes tried to continue her husband's politics and to strengthen the rule of the Salian dynasty. However, despite being related to kings of Italy and Burgundy, she gained little respect as a leader. The loss of some of her family's ancestral lands later weakened her son's position tremendously.

To win allies, she gave away three German duchies: and to replace him by the bishop of Florence, Nicholas II. Thereafter, on Easter 1059 Nicholas issued the momentous papal bull In nomine Domini establishing the cardinals as the sole electors of the pope, denying this power to the emperor and all temporal rulers, including Agnes herself.

When Pope Alexander II was elected on 30 September 1061, Empress Agnes refused to acknowledge him and had Honorius II elected. This schism did not end until Pentecost 1064. The empress' candidate could not prevail against the Roman Curia; in consequence, Agnes retired from politics, leaving the regency to her confidant Bishop Henry II of Augsburg.

thumb|Kaiserswerth Pfalz ruins

Bishop Henry did not receive wide acceptance due to his awkward and haughty manners, as well as scandalous rumours about his relationship with the empress, as recorded by Lambert of Hersfeld. Moreover, the fact that the heir to the throne was raised by common ministeriales provoked anger among the princes. In 1062, young Henry IV was abducted by a group including Archbishop Anno II of Cologne and Otto of Nordheim, in a conspiracy to remove Agnes from the throne, referred to as the Coup of Kaiserswerth. Henry was brought to Cologne, and despite jumping overboard to escape, he was recaptured. From this point, the power shifted to Rome, as the pope elected the emperor.

Legacy

Agnes is a featured figure on Judy Chicago's installation piece The Dinner Party, being represented as one of the 999 names on the Heritage Floor.

Issue

Agnes and Henry's children were:

  • Adelaide II (1045, Goslar – 11 January 1096), abbess of Gandersheim from 1061 and Quedlinburg from 1063
  • Gisela (1047, Ravenna – 6 May 1053)
  • Matilda (October 1048 – 12 May 1060, Pöhlde), married 1059 Rudolf of Rheinfelden, duke of Swabia and anti-king (1077)
  • Henry, his successor