Blessed Richeza of Lotharingia | |
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Portrait by Jan Matejko.
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Queen consort of Poland, of the Ezzonian dynasty | |
Born | c. 995/1000 |
Died | 21 March 1063 Saalfeld, Germany |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Major shrine | Cologne, Germany |
Feast | 21 March |
Richeza of Lotharingia | |
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Portrait by Wojciech Gerson, 1891.
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Queen consort of Poland | |
Tenure | 1025–1034 |
Born | c. 995/1000 |
Died | 21 March 1063 Saalfeld, Germany |
Burial | Köln Cathedral, prev. Church of St. Maria ad Gradus, Köln |
Spouse | Mieszko II Lambert |
Issue |
Casimir I, Duke of Poland NN, Queen of Hungary Gertrude, Grand Princess of Kiev |
House |
Ezzonen (by birth) Piast (by marriage) |
Father | Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia |
Mother | Matilda of Germany |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Richeza of Lotharingia (also called Richenza, Rixa, Ryksa; born about 995/1000 – 21 March 1063) was a German noblewoman by birth, a member of the Ezzonen dynasty. She married Mieszko II Lambert, King of Poland, becoming Queen consort of Poland. She returned to Germany following the deposition of her husband in 1031, later becoming a nun, and today is revered as Blessed Richeza of Lotharingia.
Richeza had three known children: Casimir I the Restorer, Ryksa, Queen of Hungary, and Gertruda, Grand Princess of Kiev. She was also noted in 2009 as the putative mother of Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile and mother of Margaret of Wessex. From her descended the eastern rulers of the Piast, Rurikid, and Árpád dynasties. Four of her Árpád descendants were canonized: Elizabeth, Landgravine of Thuringia, Kinga, Duchess of Kraków, and Margaret and Irene of Hungary. She was beatified with another one of her descendants, Yolanda, Duchess of Greater Poland.
She was the eldest daughter of Ezzo (also called Ehrenfried), Count Palatine of Lotharingia by his wife, Matilda, daughter of Emperor Otto II and Theophanu. She could be even the eldest child of Ezzo and Matilda. Through her mother, Richeza was a niece of Emperor Otto III (who was instrumental to her betrothal), Adelheid I, Abbess of Quedlinburg and Sophia I, Abbess of Gandersheim.