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St. Adelaide, Abbess of Vilich
Latin ADELHEIDIS; English ALICE
X/XI Centuries
Born c. 931 in Burgandy, St. Adelaide married, at 15 or 16, Lothair of
Italy to whom her father had engaged her when she was two. When Lothair
died three years later, his successor and usurper Berengar of Ivrea
imprisoned Adelaide and attempted to force her to marry his son. Legends
tell of Adelaide's escape to Canossa, where she appealed to Otto of
Germany for help. He conquered Italy and married her in 951. John XII
crowned the pair rulers of the Holy Roman Empire the following year. After
Otto's death in 973, Adelaide quarrelled with Otto II, possibly at the
instigation of her daughter-in-law, Theophano, and lived with her brother
in Burgandy. She established many monasteries and churches; she also
became interested in evangelism. She and her son reconciled before his
death in 983, and she became regent for her grandson, Otto III. Adelaide
died in 999 at the convert at Seltz, which she had founded. Cluny became
the center of her cult, and she was canonized in 1097.
Karen Rae Keck
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