Beatrice of Bar (also ''Beatrix''; c. 1020 – 18 April 1076) was the marchioness of Tuscany by marriage to

Boniface III of Tuscany Boniface III (also ''Boniface IV'' or ''Boniface of Canossa'') (c. 985 – 6 May 1052), son of Tedald of Canossa and the father of Matilda of Tuscany, was the most powerful north Italian prince of his age. By inheritance he was count (or lord) of ...

, and Regent of Tuscany from 1052 until her death, during the minority of and in co-regency with, her daughter

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...

. She was the daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Upper Lorraine,

count of Bar The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the '' pays de Barrois'' and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the House of Montbéliard from the 11th century. Part of the county, ...

, and

Matilda of Swabia Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thorou ...

. She was married first to

and later to

Godfrey of Lotharingia Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, ...

Life

Beatrice was born in what is now northeastern France around 1020. She was also known as Beatrice of Tuscany or Beatrice of Canossa. After her father Duke Frederick II of Upper Lorraine died in 1026, she and her sister

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

went to live with their mother's sister, Empress Gisela at the imperial court. c.1037/8, she became the second wife of

in a splendid ceremony. She had the following children: *Beatrice (died 17 December 1053) *

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

(died July 1055), briefly successor before imprisonment *

(1046 – 24 July 1115), successor as marchioness of Tuscany

Regency

With Boniface's death on 6 May 1052, Beatrice assumed the

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for her son Frederick. Little is else is known about her life before the murder of her husband In 1054, to give her son the protection she could not militarily provide, she married her cousin, Godfrey, former

duke of Lower Lorraine The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were k ...

. However, in 1055, the

Emperor Henry III Henry III (, 28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black () or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was rais ...

arrested Beatrice for marrying a traitor. She was brought to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

a prisoner while Frederick was summoned to Henry's court at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. He refused to go and died before any action was taken against him. The heir of Boniface was now his youngest daughter Matilda, who was imprisoned with her mother. On the death of Henry, Godfrey was reconciled with his heir, Henry IV, and exiled to Italy with his wife and stepdaughter. In January 1058, as a partisan of the newly elected

Pope Nicholas II Pope Nicholas II (; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his election, he was bish ...

, Leo de Benedicto had the gates of the

Leonine City The Leonine City (Latin: ''Civitas Leonina'') is the part of the city of Rome which, during the Middle Ages, was enclosed with the Leonine Wall, built by order of Pope Leo IV in the 9th century. This area was located on the opposite side of the T ...

thrown open for Godfrey and Beatrice. Godfrey immediately possessed the

Tiber Island The Tiber Island (, Latin: ''Insula Tiberina'') is the only river island in the part of the Tiber which runs through Rome. Tiber Island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. The island is boat-shaped, approximately long and wide, and ha ...

and attacked the

Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are names for an area of Rome, and the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their p ...

, forcing Benedict X to flee on January 24. Beatrice and Godfrey were allied with the reformers, including

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword" ...

and

Pope Alexander II Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria reform mo ...

, against the emperor. In 1062, Beatrice tried to stop the

Antipope Honorius II Honorius II ( 1010 – 1072), born Pietro Cadalo (Latin ''Petrus Cadalus''), was an antipope from 1061 to 1072. He was born in the County of Verona, and became bishop of Parma in 1045. He died at Parma in 1072. Biography Cadalo was the son o ...

from reaching

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In 1069, Godfrey died. Matilda was of age, yet Beatrice continued to exercise government in her name until the day she died. On 29 August 1071, Beatrice and her daughter, Matilda, founded the monastery Frassinoro at the Apennine pass of Foce della Radici. In 1074-1076, Beatrice was a key negotiator in the dispute between

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

and her kinsman, King Henry IV of Germany over certain rights in episcopal appointments.

Death

Beatrice died at Pisa on 18 April 1076. She was buried in the

Cathedral of Pisa Pisa Cathedral (), officially the Primatial Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a medieval Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the three st ...

, in a Late Roman sarcophagus, bearing reliefs illustrating the story of Hippolytus and

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * Phaedra (Cabanel), ''Phaedra'' (Cabanel), an 1880 painting by Alexandre Cabanel *House of Phaedra ...

. (

Nicola Pisano Nicola Pisano (also called ''Niccolò Pisano'', ''Nicola de Apulia'' or ''Nicola Pisanus''; /1225 – ) was an Italian sculpture, sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Ancient Rome, Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered ...

adapted nude figures for his pulpit in the cathedral from the sarcophagus; they can still be seen in the cathedral.) Beatrice's sarcophagus is now located in the Campo Santo in the cathedral square. The inscription around the sarcophagus, which was added in the eleventh century for Beatrice, reads: :''Quamvis peccatrix sum domna vocata Beatrix'' :''In tumulo missa iaceo quæ comitissa'' :''Quilibet ergo pater noster, det pro mea anima ter.''Bertolini
'Beatrice di Lorena'
/ref> (“Although a sinner, I was called Lady Beatrice. I, who was a countess, lie in this grave . Whoever wishes may say three Our Fathers for my soul.”)

References

Sources

''Lexikon des Mittelalters'': Beatrix von Ober-Lothringen, Markgräfin von Tuszien.
(in German) *M.G. Bertolini
''Beatrice di Lorena, marchesa e duchessa di Toscana''
in ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' 7 (1970). *A. Creber
‘‘Women at Canossa. The Role of Royal and Aristocratic Women in the Reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany,’’
in V. Eads and T. Lazzari, eds., ''Matilda 900: Remembering Matilda of Canossa Wide World'', a special edition of ''Storicamente'' 13 (2017), article no. 13, pp. 1–44 (Open Access). * *E. Goez, ''Beatrix von Canossa und Tuszien. Eine Untersuchung zur Geschichte des 11. Jahrhunderts'' (Sigmaringen, 1995). * Gregorovius, Ferdinand. ''Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. IV Part 1''. 1905. * *T. Lazzari
‘Matilda of Tuscany: New Perspectives about Her Family Ties,’
in V. Eads and T. Lazzari, eds., ''Matilda 900: Remembering Matilda of Canossa Wide World'', a special edition of ''Storicamente'' 13 (2017), article no. 28, pp. 1–26 (Open Access). * *

External links

contains several letters sent and received by Beatrice.

(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beatrice of Lorraine House of Bar Duchesses of Lorraine 1020s births Year of birth uncertain 1076 deaths 11th-century Italian nobility 11th-century Italian women Regents of Tuscany 11th-century women regents Women in war in Italy Women in 11th-century warfare Matilda of Tuscany 11th-century regents Regents in the Holy Roman Empire