Richardis of Bavaria

Richardis of Bavaria (1173 – 7 December 1231) was a German noblewoman. She was a daughter of Count Palatine Otto I of Bavaria, who later became the first Wittelsbach Duke of Bavaria, and his wife Agnes of Loon.[1]

Richardis of Bavaria
Early 13th century coat of arms of the House of Wittelsbach
Abbess of Roermond
Reign1222 – 1231
SuccessorElisabeth of Guelders
Born1173
Kelheim, Bavaria
Died(1231-12-07)7 December 1231
Roermond, Duchy of Guelders
BuriedChurch of Our Lady in Roermond
Noble familyHouse of Wittelsbach
Spouse(s)Otto I, Count of Guelders
Issue
Detail
FatherOtto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria
MotherAgnes of Loon

Richardis married Otto I of Guelders, and after his death became the first abbess of the Cistercian Abbey of Roermond. She died in 1231 and was buried in the Church of Our Lady, today the only surviving part of the abbey.

Life

Richardis was an influential person in Gelderland politics. Her family carried the same lion in their coat of arms as the counts of Guelders.[2] In 1186, she married Otto I, Count of Guelders.[1][3] They had many children together, including three sons, as specified by the Genealogia Ottonis II Ducis Bavariæ. Their known children are: Henry, who died young, shortly after his engagement to Aleidis (born c. 1186), daughter of Dirk VII of Holland;[4][5] Gerard, the Count of Guelders and Zutphen;[6] Otto, who is recorded as Otto I's brother in one document[7] and was Provost of Xanten before becoming Bishop of Utrecht at a very young age; Irmgard, Margaret, Matilda, and Adelaide, who married William I of Holland.[8] Another son, Ludwig, is mentioned in two documents.

Richardis was deeply religious. After Otto I died in 1207, she had a house built on the Elberg near the hermitage Bethlehem near Doetinchem, where she stayed from time to time.[9][10] There she devoted herself to God and supported the monastic community.[11]

The Munsterkerk of the former Munsterabdij in Roermond, in which Richardis was buried

The Gelderland counts had close ties with the Cistercian order, in particular with the Kamp Abbey. Together with her husband, Richardis was a member of the Altenberg Abbey prayer community. At the end of the 12th century, Otto I had a plan to found a Cistercian monastery himself, but had not implemented it. Ten years after her husband's death, Richardis wanted to join this order. Because Guelders did not have a Cistercian monastery, in 1218 her son Count Gerard III founded in Roermond the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwenmunster, the Cistercian Abbey of Roermond, of which today only the Munsterkerk survives. Richardis became the first abbess of this women's abbey. The abbot of Kamp Abbey was appointed as a visitator.[12]

In 1228 she founded the monastery Mariënhorst near Deventer.[13] Richardis survived her son Gerard III Count of Guelders who died in 1229. Her grandson Otto II Count of Guelders and Zutphen granted Harderwijk city rights in 1231. These rights were probably transferred from the Roermond rights on behalf of Richardis.[11]

She died in Roermond on 21 September 1231, and was buried in the Church of Our Lady.

Marriage and children

In 1186, she married Otto I, Count of Guelders. Together, they had the following children:

Ancestry

References
  1. Lyon, Jonathan R. (2013). Princely Brothers and Sisters: The Sibling Bond in German Politics, 1100-1250. Cornell University Press. p. 248.
  2. Volkert, Wilhelm (1980). Die Bilder in den Wappen der Wittelsbacher (in German). Munich, Zürich.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. Dek, Adriaan Willem Eliza (1969). Genealogie der graven van Holland (in Dutch). Europese Bibliotheek. p. 5.
  4. de Bek, Johannes. Chronologia Johannes de Bek, cap. 59a. p. 131.
  5. Monumenta Germanica Historica, tomus XVI, Annales Egmundani. 1197. p. 473.
  6. "Oorkondenboek der Graafschappen Gelre en Zutfen tot op den Slag van Woeringen". 5 June 1288. pp. 413–414. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  7. Johannes de Beke Chronologia 64, p. 159.
  8. Guilelmus (Procurator); Gumbert-Hepp, Marijke; Gumbert, J. P. (2001). Kroniek. Verloren. ISBN 9789065506627. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  9. de Beukelaer, Hans (1995). Uit Bethlehem geboren. Aalten: Fagus Aalten.
  10. Bouwmeester, Willem Laurens (1903). Het klooster Bethlehem bij Doetinchem. Doetinchem: Misset.
  11. Harenberg, E. (1987). "Twee dertiende-eeuwse oorkonden opnieuw bekeken. Een getuigenverklaring uit 1299 van gravin-weduwe Richarda voor het klooster Bethlehem en het Harderwijkse stadsrecht van 11 juni 1231". Gelre (78).
  12. Dillo, Martien (1988). "De stichting en wijding van de Munsterabdij te Roermond, 1228-1220, en de vermeende wijding in 1124". De Maasgouw (in Dutch). Koninklijk LGOG (99): 10–16.
  13. Nijhoff, Isaak A. (1862). Gedenkwaardigheden uit de geschiedenis van Gelderland, part 1, charter 301.
  14. Johannes de Beke Chronologia 61, p. 141.
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