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Birth:          ABT  987 of Bourgogne
Death:          10 Nov 1068 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_of_Burgundy,_Duchess_of_Aquitaine
Agnes of Burgundy (or Agnes de Macon), Duchess of Aquitaine (died 10 November 
1068) was a duchess consort of Aquitaine by marriage to William V, Duke of Aquitaine 
and a countess consort of Anjou by marriage to Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou. She 
served as regent of the Duchy of Aquitaine during the minority of her son from 1039 
until 1044. She was a daughter of Otto-William, Count of Burgundy[1] and Ermentrude 
de Roucy and a member of the House of Ivrea.
Life[edit]

First Marriage: Duchess of Aquitaine[edit]

In 1019, she married Duke William V of Aquitaine[1] by whom she had three children: 
William VII, Duke of Aquitaine, William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine and Agnes, Holy 
Roman Empress. William died on January 31, 1030, leaving his widow and their three 
young children, plus the three surviving children from his first two marriages. While 
married to William, Agnes gave many gifts to the abbey of Cluny.[1]

Second Marriage: Countess of Anjou[edit]

After her husband's death, Agnes lost her influence at the court of Poitiers since her 
sons were not heirs. In order for her to regain her position and ensure a future for her 
children, Agnes had to remarry. Thus she married Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou in 1032,
[2] which was an attractive offer because his father was the powerful Fulk III, Count 
of Anjou.

In 1033, Geoffrey's troops invaded Poitou with the support of Agnes. William VI, Duke 
of Aquitaine the new Count of Poitou, was captured in March. He was released only in 
1036 against a large ransom and he died in 1038 without children. The county then 
returned to his brother, Agnes' stepson Odo of Gascony, who was already Duke of 
Gascony. He went to war against Agnes, her husband and sons. Odo was killed at the 
battle at Mauzé.

Regency[edit]

The succeeding Count of Poitou was Agnes's son, Peter, who took the name of 
William VII Aigret. Being too young, his mother governed territories in his place from 
1039 to 1044 and indeed it even seems the government itself, without her husband. 
When she transmitted the power to William, she married and took the opportunity to 
give his second son, Geoffrey Guy the duchy of Gascony, by marrying an heiress. 
Agnes then joined Geoffrey in Anjou and although she may not have actively 
participated in the government, certainly had some influence on him.

Agnes and Geoffrey stayed in Germany at the imperial court, so her daughter Agnes 
could marry Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. They then bonded with the imperial 
couple, during a trip to Italy where they participated in the council of Sutri, filing and 
inducting two popes Pope Clement II, who was quick to crown the emperor and 
empress. After a pilgrimage to Monte Garaño, the couple went back to Poitou in 1047 
where they founded Sainte-Marie-des-Dames.[3] Between 1047 and 1049, Agnes 
founded the abbey of Saint Nicolas de Poitou.

Separation from Geoffrey[edit]

Between 1049 and 1052, Agnes and Geoffrey separated. The reasons are varied: the 
most logical is the absence of children, however we must not forget that the council of 
Reims in 1049 condemned certain marriages as incestuous and judged them to part; in 
addition, Geoffrey went to war against the King of France who appreciated the little 
freedom from war that would take his vassal to Germany (it seems that Geoffrey had to 
swear allegiance to the emperor and to no longer depend on the King of France) and it 
is very possible that the King imposed on his vanquished vassal that he should 
divorce his wife. Indeed, Agnes also influenced her husband, but she came from 
Burgundy and had retained strong links with her homeland, so it may be that it was 
Agnes who wanted the divorce.

Later life[edit]

Still, Agnes returned to the court of Poitiers and her son William over whom she had 
much influence. A war soon broke out between Anjou and Poitou, which saw a victory 
for Geoffrey in 1053. This would have probably never happened if Agnes had not 
divorced Geoffrey. In 1058 William left for another war against his former stepfather 
Count of Anjou, probably because Geoffrey gave the dowry of Agnes to his new wife, 
Adelaide. William was on the verge of winning when he died of an illness in 1058.

He was succeeded by his brother, Geoffrey Guy, who took the dynastic name of 
William VIII. The young count had remained close to Geoffrey because he was the 
only father figure he knew and he reconciled with Anjou. But only during Geoffrey's 
lifetime, in fact, after Geoffrey's death, William did not hesitate to attack his heirs and 
assume control of Saintonge from 1062. Agnes, despite her retirement, was still very 
active and did not hesitate to travel throughout Poitou to participate in donations or 
simply see her son at the court of Poitiers. In 1062, Agnes with her daughter, Empress 
Agnes, petitioned Pope Alexander II to place St. Nicholaus of Poitou under apostolic 
protection.[4] Agnes died on 10 November 1068. She is buried at St. Nicolas de 
Poitiers.


Parents
____ Otto William (Otton I) (ABT  958 - 21 Sep 1026)
DE ROUCY Ermentrude ( 958 - 5 May 1005)

Siblings
____ Mathilda (ABT  979 - 13 Nov 1005)
OF MACON Gerberge (ABT  985 - ABT 1022)
____ Renaud (Raymond) I ( 986 - 3 Sep 1057)
OF BURGUNDY (DE MACON) Agnes (ABT  987 - 10 Nov 1068)

Marriage To DE POITOU William (Guillaume) V (III) "The Grand" (ABT  969 - 31 Jan 1030)
    m. 1019 his 3d

Notes

Parents
____ William (Guillaume) IV (II) "Fier-a-bras" (ABT  937 - 3 Feb  994)
OF BLOIS Emma (ABT  954 - AFT 27 Dec 1003)

Children by DE POITOU William (Guillaume) V (III) "The Grand" ABT  969 - 31 Jan 1030
DE POITOU Beatrix (ABT 1020 - )
DE POITOU Agnes (ABT 1025 - 14 Dec 1077)
DE POITOU William (Guillaume) VI (VIII) (ABT 1026 - 25 Sep 1086)

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