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Immilla (also Emilia, Immula, Ermengard, or Irmgard) (born c. 1020; died January 1078) was a duchess consort of Swabia by marriage to Otto III, Duke of Swabia, and a margravine of Meissen by marriage to Ekbert I of Meissen. She was regent of Meissen during the minority of her son, Ekbert II.

Life

Immilla was the daughter of Ulric Manfred II of Turin and Bertha of Milan and thereby a member of the Arduinici dynasty. Her older sister was Adelaide of Susa.

Her first husband was Otto III, Duke of Swabia, whom she married c. 1036. After Otto's death in September 1057, Immilla married again (c.1058). Her second husband was Ekbert I of Meissen.

In 1067, shortly before his death, Ekbert I attempted to repudiate Immilla in order to marry Adela of Louvain, daughter of Lambert II, Count of Louvain and the widow of Otto I, Margrave of Meissen. After Ekbert's death in 1068, Immilla spent some time at the imperial court with her niece Bertha, before returning to Italy. It is possible that she acted as regent for her young son, Ekbert II, at this time.

Immilla died in Turin on January 10, 1078. She is sometimes said to have become a nun before her death.

Marriages and children

With her first husband, Otto, Immilla had five daughters:

• Bertha (or Alberada) (died 1 April 1103), married firstly Herman II, Count of Kastl, and married secondly Frederick, Count of Kastl
• Gisela, inherited Kulmbach and Plassenburg, married Arnold IV, Count of Andechs
• Judith (died 1104), married firstly Conrad I, Duke of Bavaria, and secondly Botho, Count of Pottenstein
• Eilika, abbess of Niedermünster
• Beatrice (1040–1140), inherited Schweinfurt, married Henry II, Count of Hildrizhausen and Margrave of the Nordgau

With her second husband, Ekbert I, Immilla had the following children:

• Ekbert II
• Gertrude

References

• H. Bresslau, Jahrbücher des Deutschen Reichs unter Konrad II., 2 vols. (1884), accessible online at: archive.org
• C.W. Previté-Orton, The Early History of the House of Savoy (1000-1233) (Cambridge, 1912), accessible online at: archive.org
• S. Hellmann, Die Grafen von Savoyen und das Reich: bis zum Ende der staufischen Periode (Innsbruck, 1900), accessible online (but without page numbers) at: Genealogie Mittelalter
• L. Fenske, Adelsopposition und kirchliche Reformbewegung im östlichen Sachsen. Entstehung und Wirkung des sächsischen Widerstandes gegen das salische Königtum während des Investiturstreites (1977).

External links

• Epistolae: Medieval Women's Latin Letters: Immilla of Turin Archived 2016-12-21 at the Wayback Machine (brief biography and English translation of a legal document issued by Immilla)
• Irmgard von Turin, Gräfin von Braunschweig, Markgräfin von Schweinfurt (in German)

Notes

1. Bresslau, Jahrbücher, I, p. 378 (birthdate); Previté-Orton, Early History, p. 232 (deathdate)
2. Previté-Orton, Early History, p. 217
3. Hellmann, Grafen, p. 21
4. Hellmann, Grafen, p. 21; Previté-Orton, Early History, p. 231
5. Bresslau, Jahrbücher, I, p. 378; Creber, Alison (2019-04-22). "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Dissolving Royal and Noble Marriages in Eleventh-Century Germany". German History. 37 (2): 149–171. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghy108. ISSN 0266-3554.
6. Bresslau, Jahrbücher, I, p. 378
7. Fenske, Adelsopposition, pp. 35,74
8. Previté-Orton, Early History, p. 232

• Nobility from Turin
• 11th-century women regents
• 11th-century Italian nobility
• 11th-century German nobility
• 11th-century German women
• Margravines of Germany
• Margravines of Meissen
• Duchesses in Germany
• Duchesses of Swabia
• 11th-century Italian women
• 1078 deaths
• Remarried royal consorts
• 11th-century Italian nuns
• 11th-century Christian nuns
• 11th-century regents