Gisela of Burgundy

Gisela of Burgundy (c.  955 – 21 July 1007), a member of the royal Elder House of Welf, was Duchess of Bavaria from about 972 to 976 and again from 985 to 995, by her marriage with Duke Henry the Wrangler. She was the mother of Emperor Henry II. Life Gisela was the eldest daughter of King Conrad I of Burgundy (c. 925 – 993), presumably from his first marriage with Adelaide of Bellay. After her mother's death, King Conrad married Matilda, a daughter of the West Frankish king Louis IV; among her half-siblings were Rudolph III, who succeeded his father as King of Arles (Bourgogne Transjurane in French or 'King of Burgundy') and Bertha, who married King Robert II of France in 996. Gisela's father ruled over the united Kingdom of Burgundy since 937, after he had been able to reject claims raised by King Hugh of Italy. The minor king was brought into safety by Otto I, then King of East Francia, who thereby scuppered Hugo's plans. In 951 Otto married Conrad's sister Saint Adelaide of Burgundy, the widow of Hugo's son King Lothair II of Italy. About 965 Gisela was betrothed to Otto's nephew Henry the Wrangler, who then ruled as Duke of Bavaria; the couple married some time before 972. Emperor Otto I died in 973 and was succeeded by his son Otto II. The 18-year-old had to cope with the Burgundian relations of his Bavarian cousin, forming a considerable power bloc in the southern domains of his realm.