Adelaide of Turin - Soldierly ladyAdelaide of Turin (fl. 1036 - d.1091) was a contemporary of Matild

Adelaide of Turin - Soldierly ladyAdelaide of Turin (fl. 1036 - d.1091) was a contemporary of Matilda of Tuscany. Even if they were in opposite camps, the two are often compared since they were powerful rulers and military leaders.Adelaide inherited the mark of Turin from her father Olderic Manfredi. Her family shared close ties with the German emperors. She married three times and outlived all her husbands. After the death of her third husband, Otto of Savoy, Adelaide also ruled the county of Savoy. She thus governed a vast territory, at time through regencies, during decades. Her contemporaries praised her military abilities. Her confessor Peter Damian celebrated her “masculine strength” and wrote to her: “like Deborah, without male help, you supported the whole weight of the state”. Similarly, the chronicler Arnulf of Milan wrote about :”the wisdom of the countess Adelaide, very much a soldierly mistress”. William of Chiusa also emphasized her control of the Alpine passes stating that: “in a sense, she held the keys to the kingdom, the entrance of Lombardy”. Indeed, Adelaide was so powerful that the German emperor Henry IV couldn’t dare deny her requests. Adelaide reportedly donned armor to defend her lands. In 1070, she attacked and burned Asti in order to impose a bishop of her choice. This action resulted in the imposition of a penance. In 1091, nine months before her death, she again captured and burned Asti.Tensions between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV resulted in the later’s excommunication. Adelaide mediated actively between them. When Henry travelled to Canossa  castle in order to meet and hopefully reconcile with the pope, it was Adelaide and her son who escorted him. It’s also important to note that Henry was married to Adelaide’s daughter. Though Adelaide had male relatives, she personally negotiated the terms of the escort and conducted talks with Matilda of Tuscany. This clearly shows that she out-ranked the men in her life.Henry turned to her again in 1082 to negotiate with Matilda. After 1082, Adelaide gathered her followers and personally campaigned on Henry’s behalf. In 1084, she accompanied him on one of his attacks on Rome and secured the release of an abbot who had been captured. This is why a monk of Cluny wrote about her that she was “a woman very devoted to the things of God, most constant in the administration of things, from whose death our fatherland sighs for the great pillage committed”.Adelaide’s children were all dead by 1080. Her death, thus left a power vacuum and triggered a war of succession as various cities rebelled.Bibliography:“Adelaide of Turin and Susa”, EpistolaeAllaire Gloria, “Adelaide of Turin”, in:Higham Robin, Pennington Reina (ed.), Amazons to fighter pilots, biographical dictionary of military women, vol.1Creber Alison,  “The Princely Woman and the Emperor: Imagery of Female Rule in Benzo of Alba’s Ad Heinricum IV”Creber Alison, “Women at Canossa. The role of royal and aristocratic women in the reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany”Eads Valerie, “Means, Motive, Opportunity: Medieval Women and the Recourse to Arms” -- source link

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