Early Life
Cunigunde was one of eleven children born to Siegfried I of Luxembourg (922 – 15 August 998) and Hedwig of Nordgau (c. 935 – 992). She was a seventh-generation descendant of Charlemagne. It is said that she had long wanted to be a nun, and that her marriage to St. Henry was a spiritual one (also called a "white marriage"); that is, they married for companionship alone, and by mutual agreement did not consummate their relationship. The truth of this is debatable; while the couple were both certainly childless, it is supposed that later hagiographers mistakenly construed the fact to imply a virginal marriage - this may also be seen in the case of Edward the Confessor.
It appears that Cunigunde was active politically. As the closest adviser of her husband, she took part in Imperial councils. She is also reported to have exerted an influence on her husband in his endowments of land to the church. These included the cathedral and monastery at Bamberg.
In 1014, St. Cunigunde went with her husband to Rome and was crowned Empress, receiving together with Henry the Imperial Crown from the hands of Pope Benedict VIII. During her reign she suffered from a grave illness, and made a vow that if she were to regain her health, she would found a Benedictine nunnery at Kassel. Upon her recovery, she kept her oath and work began on the building; however, Henry died in 1024, before it was finished. Upon his death, Cunigunde was obliged to take on the role of Regent. This she did with her brother, and later handed over the Imperial insignia when Conrad II was elected to succeed her late husband on 8 September 1024.
Read more about this topic: Cunigunde Of Luxembourg
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