Gisela of Burgundy

Gisela of Burgundy
Duke Henry II of Bavaria and his wife, by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1564)
Duchess of Bavaria
Reign	972–976 985–995
Predecessor	Judith, Duchess of Bavaria
Successor	Cunigunde of Luxembourg
Born	c.  955
Died	21 July 1007 Regensburg, Bavaria
Burial	Niedermünster Abbey
Spouse	Henry II, Duke of Bavaria
Issue	Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor Gisela of Hungary Bruno of Augsburg
Father	Conrad I of Burgundy
Mother	Adelaide of Bellay

Gisela of Burgundy (c.  955 – 21 July 1007), a member of the royal Elder House of Welf, was Duchess of Bavaria from about 972 to 976 and again from 985 to 995, by her marriage with Duke Henry the Wrangler. She was the mother of Emperor Henry II.

Gisela was the eldest daughter of King Conrad I of Burgundy (c. 925 – 993), presumably from his first marriage with Adelaide of Bellay. After her mother's death, King Conrad married Princess Matilda of France, a daughter of the West Frankish king Louis IV; among her half-siblings were Rudolph III, who succeeded his father as King of Arles, and Bertha, who married King Robert II of France in 996.

Gisela's father ruled over the united Burgundian Kingdom of Arles since 937, after he had been able to reject claims raised by King Hugh of Italy. The minor king was brought into safety by Otto I, then King of East Francia, who thereby scuppered Hugo's plans. In 951 Otto married Conrad's sister Adelaide of Burgundy, the widow of Hugo's son King Lothair II of Italy.

About 965 Gisela was betrothed to Otto's nephew Henry the Wrangler, who then ruled as Duke of Bavaria; the couple married some time before 972. Emperor Otto I died in 973 and was succeeded by his son Otto II. The 18-year-old had to cope with the Burgundian relations of his Bavarian cousin, forming a considerable power bloc in the southern domains of his realm.