Adelaide of Italy


Adelaide of Italy
Born931
Orbe, Upper Burgundy
Died16 December 999 (aged 68)
Seltz, Alsace
Venerated inCatholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
Canonized1097 by Pope Urban II (Catholicism)
Feast16 December
Attributesdispensing alms and food to the poor, often beside a ship
Personal details
Holy Roman Empress
Tenure2 February 962 – 7 May 973
Queen consort of Italy
Tenurebefore 27 June 947/947 — 950
Spouse
(m. 947, died 950)

(m. 951, died 973)
Issue
HouseElder House of Welf
FatherRudolph II of Burgundy
MotherBertha of Swabia

Adelaide of Italy (German: Adelheid; 931 – 16 December 999 AD), also called Adelaide of Burgundy, was Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Emperor Otto the Great. She was crowned with him by Pope John XII in Rome on 2 February 962. She was the first empress designated consors regni, denoting a "co-bearer of royalty" who shared power with her husband. She was essential as a model for future consorts regarding both status and political influence. She was regent of the Holy Roman Empire as the guardian of her grandson in 991–995.