Short Remarks on the Murder of Queen Gertrude (1213)

Absztrakt

The assassination of Gertrude, daughter of Berthold IV, Duke of Merania, and the first wife of Andrew II, in September 1213 is one of those events that captured the attention of contemporaries, so mentions of her murder can be found in a number of medieval chronicles. The assassination has, of course, also been the subject of scholarly analyses and recently several studies have been devoted to this issue, but the possibilities for understanding the circumstances of Gertrude’s murder have not been completely exhausted. Taking several barons into consideration, the author of this paper points out that they clearly had motives for conflict with the queen. In 1212 and 1213, they lost important court honours and the fact that they saw Queen Gertrude as the culprit indicates a specific dimension of her power – her impact on the choice of persons who would hold crucial offices at the court. Too much focus on her possible preference of Germans, in accordance with the chronicles, has shifted the focus away from the fact that the queen may have also had her favourites among the “local” nobility.