Judith of Babenberg

Judith (or Jutta, sometimes called Julitta or Ita in Latin sources; c. 1115/1120 – after 1168), a member of the House of Babenberg, was Marchioness of Montferrat from 1135 until her death, by her marriage with Marquess William V.

Judith of Babenberg
Marchioness of Montferrat
An imaginary portrait of Judith of Babenberg, painted by Hans Part in 1490, as part of the Genealogy of the Babenberg Ladies at Klosterneuburg Abbey, founded by her parents. The inscription misnames her husband as "Renier".
Born	c. late 1110s/1120
Died	After 1168
Noble family	House of Babenberg
Spouse(s)	William V of Montferrat
Issue	William of Montferrat, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon Conrad of Montferrat Boniface of Montferrat Frederick of Montferrat, Bishop of Alba Renier of Montferrat Agnes, Countess of Modigliana Azalaïs, Marchioness of Saluzzo
Father	Leopold III, Margrave of Austria
Mother	Agnes of Germany

Life

Judith was a daughter of Margrave Leopold III of Austria (1073–1136) and his second wife, Agnes (1072–1143),^[1] the only daughter of the Salian emperor Henry IV.

During 1133, Judith married the Aleramici marquess William V of Montferrat.^[1] The Aleramici were among the leading dynasties in the Crusades; William accompanied his nephew King Louis VII of France on the Second Crusade of 1147.

Marriage and issue

Judith and William had:

• William Longsword (d. 1177), Count of Jaffa and Ascalon; father of Baldwin V of Jerusalem^[2]
• Conrad of Montferrat (d. 1192),^[1] King of Jerusalem
• Boniface of Montferrat (d. 1207);^[3] his successor to Montferrat and founder of the Kingdom of Thessalonica.
• Frederick of Montferrat, Bishop of Alba
• Renier of Montferrat (d. 1183); married into the Byzantine imperial family.

The marriage also produced three daughters:

• Agnes of Montferrat (1202); married Count Guido Guerra III Guidi of Modigliana.^[4] The marriage was annulled on grounds of childlessness before 1180, when Guido remarried, and Agnes entered the convent of Santa Maria di Rocca delle Donne.
• Adelasia (Azalaïs) of Montferrat (d. 1232); married Manfred II, Marquess of Saluzzo, c. 1182, and was regent for her grandson, Manfred III.
• An unidentified daughter, who married Albert, Marquess of Malaspina.

Judith was still living in 1168, but seems to have died before her husband went to the Kingdom of Jerusalem after their grandson Baldwin's coronation as King of Jerusalem in the 1180s.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Judith of Babenberg

16. Adalbert, Margrave of Austria 8. Ernest the Brave 17. Frozza Orseolo 4. Leopold II, Margrave of Austria 18. Dedi I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark 9. Adelaide of Eilenburg 19. Oda of Lusatia 2. Leopold III, Margrave of Austria 10. Rapoto IV of Cham 5. Ida of Formbach-Ratelnberg 1. Judith of Babenberg 24. Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor 12. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor 25. Gisela of Swabia 6. Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor 26. William V, Duke of Aquitaine 13. Agnes of Poitou 27. Agnes of Burgundy 3. Agnes of Germany 28. Humbert I, Count of Savoy 14. Otto of Savoy (also called Eudes and Odo) 29. Ancilla 7. Bertha of Savoy 30. Ulric Manfred II 15. Adelaide of Susa 31. Bertha of Milan

References

1. Freed 2016, p. xiv.
2. McDougall 2017, p. xiii.
3. Theotokis 2019, p. 140.
4. Marco Bicchierai, Tegrimo Guidi, in Dizionario biografico degli Italiani, 61 (2004).

Sources

• Freed, John (2016). Frederick Barbarossa: The Prince and the Myth. Yale University Press.
• McDougall, Sara (2017). Royal Bastards: The Birth of Illegitimacy, 800-1230. Oxford University Press.
• Theotokis, George (2019). Twenty Battles That Shaped Medieval Europe. Crowood.