Theophano Skleraina

Abt 955 - 991  (36 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Theophano Skleraina
  Birth	Abt 955
  Gender	Female
  Prominent People	1001 vrouwen NL
  Death	15 Jun 991	Nijmegen, Gelderland, Nederland
  Person ID	I488278	Geneagraphie | Ahnen BvS, Voorouders HW
  Last Modified	3 May 2018

  
  

  Father	Konstantinos Skleros,   b. Abt 930   d. 11 Mar 991 (Age 61 years)
  Mother	Sophia Phokaina   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F195999	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Otto II von Sachsen,   b. 955   d. 7 Dec 983 (Age 28 years)
  Marriage	14 Apr 972	Roma, Latium, Italia
  Children	1. Sofie von Sachsen,   b. Oct 975   d. Jan 1039 (Age 63 years)   2. Adelheid von Sachsen,   b. 977   d. 1045 (Age 68 years) + 3. Mathilde von Sachsen,   b. 978   d. 4 Nov 1025, Esch (Age 47 years)   4. Otto III von Sachsen,   b. 980, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland d. 24 Jan 1002, Paterno b Viterno (Age 22 years)
  Family ID	F196000	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2010

  
  

• Event Map	Click to hide
  		Marriage - 14 Apr 972 - Roma, Latium, Italia Death - 15 Jun 991 - Nijmegen, Gelderland, Nederland  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

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• Notes

  Theophano's parents are recorded to be Konstantinos Skleros and Sophia Phokaina. She was about fifteen when she arrived in Italy to be married to the sixteen-year-old Otto, heir to the Holy Roman Emperor and already King of the Romans. Their marriage had been arranged as part of a peace treaty between the Eastern and Western Empires. Very little has been recorded about her, except that she was beautiful and loved by her husband. Although she apparently did not always get on with her mother-in-law, Theophano became a competent Empress, at times acting as Otto's representative in his absence. They managed to spend most of their lives together, indicating that their marriage had become more than just pre-arranged. Her wedding had taken place in Rome on 14 April 972 and according to tradition she was crowned by Pope John XIII. In the marriage contract, as a dowry she was given extensive properties in Italy as well as in The Netherlands. On 7 May 973 her father-in-law died and her husband became Emperor Otto II and she his empress. In 977 their first child, a daughter, was born followed by another daughter almost a year later. In 980 a son and heir, Otto, was born followed by a third daughter. She accompanied her husband in his unsuccessful campaigns against the Saracens in Southern Italy. Otto II died in Theophano's arms on 7 December 983 and was buried in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica. Many difficult and unhappy years were now to come for Theophano, deserted in a time of great need by those people once favoured by her husband. Bishop Diederik of Metz, often favoured by Otto II, became her implacable enemy and tried to damage her reputation, even after she had died. Her son Otto III was crowned king on 25 May 983 in Aachen as a first step to being acknowledged as Holy Roman Emperor. Bishop Warin of Cologne, custodian of the little boy, gave him to his great-uncle Heinrich, Duke of Bavaria. Heinrich had only just been released from prison, where he had been locked up because of his opposition to his brother Emperor Otto I and his nephew Emperor Otto II. At first Heinrich pretended that he wanted to act as regent for the three-year-old Emperor Otto III, but it soon became obvious that he wanted to become emperor himself. Next he took possession of Theophano's daughter, Adelheid, and in Quedlinburg he was accepted as King of the Romans by some of Germany's nobles. However, many more nobles had sworn to protect the young Emperor, and they forced Heinrich to promise to return the boy to his mother. Before the kidnapping of her son, Theophano had made arrangements to return to Germany and the regency, which was rightly hers. Her mother-in-law, Dowager Empress Adelaide, remained in Italy as regent of the Italian kingdom. On 29 June 984 Heinrich was forced to appear at a court at Rohr near Meiningen-im-Grabfeld, but he refused to hand over the emperor. In the afternoon of that day an unusual event took place; a bright star appeared in the sky, impressed by such a supernatural phenomenon, Heinrich returned both children to their mother. The empress widow Adelaide interceded for Heinrich and he was left unpunished, though for some time he continued his attempts to become emperor. In 985 he was forced to abandon any claims, and Theophano had forced his supporters to accept her rule. Neither Heinrich nor his supporters were punished as Theophano again refused to take revenge. With political insight, she realised that this would have only extended the unrest in the empire. Her three daughters were brought up in convents, and two would remain there to become Abbesses. Her son remained at her court where she took great care with his education. As a result Otto III became one of the best educated among the Holy Roman Emperors. Had he not died at twenty-one he would have made a much larger impact on history. As regent, Theophano was intelligent and active, achieving much more than others would have done by the sword. There were border skirmishes with Slav tribes as well as with the Frankish kings. She obtained more co-operation from the magnates than her father-in-law, Otto 'the Great'. As regent she was required to travel a great deal, and with her capacity of negotiation she ensured a peaceful period for Germany. After a visit to Italy, Theophano returned to Germany in May 990 and from there to Nijmegen, where she died on 15 June 991, probably only thirty-five years of age.