Agnes of Austria (1150s–1182)

Agnes of Austria
Agnes of Austria
Queen consort of Hungary
Tenure	1168 – 4 March 1172
Duchess consort of Carinthia
Tenure	1173 – 4 October 1181
Born	c. 1154; Austria
Died	13 January 1182; Austria
Burial	Schottenstift, Vienna
Spouse	Stephen III of Hungary; Herman, Duke of Carinthia
Issue	Ulrich II, Duke of Carinthia; Bernhard von Spanheim
House	Babenberg
Father	Henry II, Duke of Austria
Mother	Theodora Komnene

Agnes of Austria (c. 1151/54 – 13 January 1182), a member of the House of Babenberg, was Queen of Hungary from 1168 until 1172 by her first marriage with King Stephen III of Hungary and Duchess of Carinthia by her second marriage with Duke Herman of Carinthia from 1173 until 1181.

Life

Agnes was the eldest child of the Babenberg duke Henry II of Austria and his second wife, the Byzantine princess Theodora Komnene.

Queen

In 1166, Duke Henry II, who was mediating a peace between King Stephen III of Hungary and Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, proposed a marriage between his daughter, Agnes and the young king. However, the King decided to marry Princess Yaroslavna of Halych (1167); nevertheless, this marriage ended soon: the princess was repudiated and sent back to her father in 1168. The negotiations with Austria were renewed and Agnes was married to King Stephen III in the same year.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Later life

Just after her husband's funeral, the widowed Agnes left for the Duchy of Austria with her father. One year later (1173) she was married again, to the Sponheim duke Herman of Carinthia. They had two sons: Ulrich II (born in 1176) and Bernhard II (born in 1180) who were later Dukes of Carinthia.^[4]

Duke Herman died in 1181. Agnes survived him only one year. She was buried in the Crypt of the Schottenstift in Vienna, next to her parents.^[4]

References

^ "Henry gave his daughter [Agnes] in marriage to the king of Hungary [Stephen III]." Otto, Rahewin, Charles Christopher Mierow, Medieval Academy of America, Richard Emery: The deeds of Frederick Barbarossa. University of Toronto Press, in association with the Medieval Academy of America, 1995, ISBN 0-8020-7574-6
^ "Stephen III - king of Hungary". Retrieved 18 January 2017.
^ Comyn, Sir Robert Buckley (1 January 1851). "The history of the Western empire: from its restoration by Charlemagne to the accession of Charles V." W. H. Allen.
^ ^a ^b Mielke 2021, p. 87.

Sources

Mielke, Christopher (2021). The Archaeology and Material Culture of Queenship in Medieval Hungary, 1000–1395. Palgrave Macmillan.

Royal titles
Agnes of Austria (1150s–1182) House of Babenberg Born: c. 1151/54 Died: 1182
Preceded by Yaroslavna of Halych	Queen consort of Hungary 1168–1172	Succeeded by Maria Komnene
Preceded by Maria of Bohemia (?)	Duchess consort of Carinthia 1173–1181	Succeeded by Judith of Bohemia (from 1202)

[1] "Henry gave his daughter [Agnes] in marriage to the king of Hungary [Stephen III]." Otto, Rahewin, Charles Christopher Mierow, Medieval Academy of America, Richard Emery: The deeds of Frederick Barbarossa. University of Toronto Press, in association with the Medieval Academy of America, 1995, ISBN 0-8020-7574-6

[2] "Stephen III - king of Hungary". Retrieved 18 January 2017.

[3] Comyn, Sir Robert Buckley (1 January 1851). "The history of the Western empire: from its restoration by Charlemagne to the accession of Charles V." W. H. Allen.

[FOOTNOTEMielke202187-4] Mielke 2021, p. 87.

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