EMPRESS ADELHEID AND THE SALIAN QUEEN OF THE PADUAN LEGEND
Abstract
Background. The article provides interpretation of stay in Padua in 1090–1091 of Empress Adelheid, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich IV and daughter of Vsevolod, King of the Rus', based on the analysis of legend about the Queen known under the name of Berta in the Paduan stories and Chronicle of Ronaldino da Padova (13th centrury). The inhabitants of the city had honoured the memory of the legendary Queen for a long time for her donation to the Cathedral of Padua and for her support of their petition to the Emperor to grant a privilege of restoration of the symbol of Padua's military strength, the chariot (carroccio) decorated with the city's banner. According to several historical sources, the story was based on the historical fact that Emperor Heinrich IV gave Bishop Milo jurisdiction over the city of Padua on 26 June 1090. Bishop Milo commissioned a fresco portraying him and the royal couple in the Cathedral of Padua to commemorate the event. Methods. Analysis of Italian and German chronicles and imperial diplomas as well as the medieval art objects preserved in Padua is conducted in the article with the aim to reconstruct events connected with the stay in Padua of the imperial court in 1090–1091. Results. Information about role of the representatives of the Salian dynasty (Emperor Heinrich IV, King Conrad, Empress Adelheid) in the developments in the first half of the 1090s is analyzed as well as the data about commemoration of the royal couple in the Paduan urban space in the early 14th century. The hypothesis is proposed that Empress Adelheid served as the prototype for the Queen from the legend, and that the name of Adelheid was substituted with the name of Berta, the first wife of the Emperor, after defeat of Heinrich IV at the Papal Council of Piacenza in 1095. Conclusions. The study presents a reconstruction of the less researched Italian episodes in life of Empress Adelheid and outlines her duties as an Empress.
