Letters and Speeches of Holy Roman Empress Adelheid, daughter of King of the Rus’, in Chronicles and Books in the late 11th - 12th Centuries

Abstract

Support for Holy Roman Empress Adelheid (Adelaida, Praxedis, Prassede, Evpraksia Vsevolodivna) at the Legatine council of Constance in April 1094 and at the Papal council of Piacenza in March 1095 was recorded in chronicles and canon law books. The article analyzes information about correspondence, speeches and contacts of Empress Adelheid during 1089-1095, recorded in the primary sources of the late 11th-12th centuries, in particular, information about her letters to the pope and to the German bishops, quotations from her phrases, summaries of her speeches at the council of Constance in 1094 and at the council of Piacenza in 1095. The role of the Empress at the imperial court and the circle of dignitaries, who supported Adelheid, are outlined in the article. It will be stated that thanks to rhetoric, logic and knowledge of foreign languages the Holy Roman Empress of Kyivan origin acted in foreign environment independently, and, as the consequence, she gained support and allies and took risks to achieve personal goals leading to the political and ecclesiastical changes in Europe.