Gunhilda of Denmark

Gunhilda
Spouse	Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor
Issue
Beatrix I, Abbess of Quedlinburg
Father	Canute the Great
Mother	Emma of Normandy
Born	c. 1020
Died	18 July 1038

Gunhilda of Denmark (c. 1020 – 18 July 1038) was the first spouse of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor.

Biography

Gunhilda was a daughter of Canute the Great and Emma of Normandy. Her maternal grandparents were Richard I of Normandy and his second wife Gunnora, Duchess of Normandy.

She was a sister of Harthacanute. She was a paternal half-sister of Svein of Norway and Harold Harefoot. She was also a maternal half-sister of Alfred Aetheling and Edward the Confessor.

In 1036, Gunhilda married Henry III, King of Germany. He was the son and heir of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor and Gisela of Swabia. Upon her wedding, she took the name Kunigunde. They only had one daughter, Beatrix I (1037 – 13 July 1061), Abbess of Quedlinburg and Gandersheim Abbeys.

Her marriage was part of a pact between her father Canute and Conrad II over peaceful borders in the area of Kiel. The agreement had occurred prior to the death of Canute in 1035.^[1] She had by the time of her marriage lived at the German court since 1025.

According to the chronicles of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines and William of Malmesbury, Gunhilda was accused of adultery and defended in trial by combat, but after her champion's victory she disdained the success and became a nun.^[2][3] However, it seems that Gunhilda and her husband reconciled shortly afterwards.

In 1038, Conrad II was asked to intervene in a territorial dispute between Guaimar IV of Salerno and Pandulf IV of Capua. He campaigned in the Mezzogiorno in support of Guaimar. Their victory found most of the Mezzogiorno loyal to the Holy Roman Empire. Both Henry III and Gunhilda followed Conrad in his campaign.

During the return journey to Germany, an epidemic broke out among the Imperial troops. Gunhilda was among the casualties.^[4]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Harold Harefoot

16. Gorm the Old

8. Harald I of Denmark

17. Thyra

4. Sweyn Forkbeard

18. Olof II Björnsson

9. Gyrid Olafsdottir

19. Ingeborg Thrandsdotter

2. Cnut the Great

20. Siemomysł

10. Mieszko I of Poland

21. Gorka?

5. Sigrid the Haughty

22. Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia

11. Dubrawka of Bohemia

23. Biagota

1. Gunhilda of Denmark

24. Rollo

12. William I, Duke of Normandy

25. Poppa

6. Richard I, Duke of Normandy

13. Sprota

3. Emma of Normandy

7. Gunnora, Duchess of Normandy

Notes

1. ^ M. K. Lawson, Cnut: England's Viking King (2004), p. 104.
2. ^ Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium 1041, MGH SS XXIII, p. 787.
3. ^ Malmesbury II, 188, p. 179.
4. ^ Fuhrmann, H., trans. Reuter, T. (1995) Germany in the high middle ages c.1050-1200 (Cambridge University Press), p. 40.

Sources

• This page is a translation of its German equivalent.

Preceded by Gisela of Swabia

Queen consort of Germany 1036 – 18 July 1038

Succeeded by Agnes of Poitou

Persondata
Name	Gunhilda Of Denmark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	18 July 1038
Place of death