Born in Burgundy, in France, Adelaide died at a convent she had founded at Seltz, in Alsace. In between, she married King Lothair of Italy and, after his death, became the second wife of Otto the Great, the first holy Roman emperor. The 20 years after Otto’s death in 973 were a period of turmoil for Adelaide, as both her son and grandson had turned against her. But her final years were peaceful. Known as a conscientious and generous empress, Adelaide was called “a marvel of beauty and goodness” in a memoir by an abbot of Cluny.
