Bertha von Sulzbach ( German: Bertha von Sulzbach ; 1110 , Sulzbach - 1159 , Constantinople ) - the Byzantine Empress, the first wife of Emperor Manuel I Komnin .
Content
- 1 Origin
- 2 Marriage
- 3 notes
- 4 References
Origin
Berta Sulzbach was the daughter of Berengar II, Count of Sulzbach (d. December 3, 1125), and his second wife, Adelheid Wolfrathausen. She was the sister of Gerhard Sulzbach II and Gertrude von Sulzbach , who married the German emperor Conrad III.
Marriage
The ambassadors of Byzantine emperor John II Comnenus arrived in Germany, seeking alliance in the struggle against the Norman king of Sicily Roger II . To consolidate the union, the ambassadors asked Conrad III to give the princess from his family to marry the son of the emperor, Manuel. Conrad chose to marry his sister-in-law Bert, sending her to Greece, accompanied by Emich von Leiningen, Bishop of Würzburg.
By the time Berta arrived in Byzantium, Emperor John had already died, and Manuel became reigning emperor. Manuel postponed the wedding with Berta for three years and married shortly after the Epiphany Day in 1146, after which she became empress under the name Irina (the “standard” name given to princesses born abroad).
Byzantine historians noted the empress’s modesty and piety and her lack of desire for luxury.
In marriage, the Empress gave birth to Manuel two daughters: Mary (1152-1182), who married Rainier of Monferrat , and Anna (1154-1158), who died at the age of four.
She died in 1159, after which Manuel married Maria of Antioch in 1161.