Agnes of Hohenstaufen
| Agnes of Hohenstaufen | |
|---|---|
| Countess of the Palatinate | |
| Spouse(s) | Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine |
| Noble family | Hohenstaufen |
| Father | Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine |
| Mother | Irmengard of Henneberg |
| Born | c. 1176 |
| Died | 7 or 9 May 1204 Stade, Saxony |
Agnes of Hohenstaufen (1176 – 7 or 9 May 1204) was the daughter and heiress of the Hohenstaufen count palatine Conrad of the Rhine. She was Countess of the Palatinate herself from 1195 until her death, as the wife of the Welf count palatine Henry V.
Agnes' father Conrad of Hohenstaufen was a younger half-brother of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who had enfoffed him with the Electoral Palatinate in 1156. A cautious and thoughtful politician, he aimed for peace and reconciliation in the Empire. Even before 1180, he had betrothed his daughter to Henry V, the eldest son of the rebellious Saxon duke Henry the Lion, in order to defuse the re-emerging conflict between the Hohenstaufen and Welf dynasties.
In 1193, however, Barbarossa's son and successor, Emperor Henry VI, wanted to create a political alliance with King Philip II of France and planned to marry his cousin Agnes to Philip II. When the young Welf scion Henry V heard of this plan, he contacted Agnes' parents. Her father avoided definitive statements on her bethrothal, as he preferred a marriage with the French king, but also did not want to offend Henry V, whom Agnes revered fanatically.
Agnes' mother Irmengard (d. 1197), daughter of Count Berthold I of Henneberg, continued to advocate her daughter's marriage with the Welf prince. A little later she took advantage of the absence of her husband, who stayed at Henry VI's court, to thwart the Emperor's plan. She invited the young Welf to Stahleck Castle, where he and Agnes were married in January or February 1194.
Furious Emperor Henry VI felt betrayed and demanded that Conrad immediately annul the marriage. Conrad, however, dropped his initial resistance to the marriage and, seeing as it had already been blessed in Church, chose to convince his nephew Henry VI of the domestic political benefits of this marriage. Conrad's sons had died young and Henry VI could assure the succession in the Electoral Palatinate by enfeoffing Henry the Welf. Additionally, Conrad and Agnes on the occasion of the marital union convinced the emperor to pardon Henry the Lion, who had been deposed and outlawed by Frederick Barbarossa in 1180.
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