Theophanu

Theophanu
Christ blessing Otto (left) and Theophano (right), ivory book cover, dated 982/3, Musée de Cluny, Paris.
Holy Roman Empress
Tenure7 May 973 – 7 December 983
Queen consort of Germany
Tenure14 April 972 – 7 December 983
Coronation14 April 972
Bornc. 955
Constantinople
(modern-day Istanbul, Turkey)
Died(991-06-15)15 June 991
Nijmegen
(modern-day Netherlands)
SpouseOtto II, Holy Roman Emperor
(m. 972; died 983)
Issue
more...
Adelaide I, Abbess of Quedlinburg
Sophia I, Abbess of Gandersheim
Mathilde, Countess Palatine of Lorraine
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
FatherConstantine Skleros
MotherSophia Phokaina
ReligionChalcedonian Christianity

Theophanu (German pronunciation: [te.o.fa.ˈnuː]; also Theophania, Theophana, or Theophano; Medieval Greek Θεοφανώ;[1] c. AD 955 – 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor Otto III, from 983 until her death in 991. She was the niece of the Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes. Theophanu was known to be a forceful and capable ruler, and her status in the history of the Empire was in many ways exceptional. According to Wilson, "She became the only consort to receive the title 'co-empress' (coimperatrix augusta), and it was envisaged she would succeed as sole ruler if Otto II died without a son."[2]

  1. ^ Θεοφανώ is a Greek diminutive of Θεοφάνεια "Theophany". G. S. Henrich, "Theophanu oder Theophano? Zur Geschichte eines 'gespaltenen' griechischen Frauennamensuffixes' in: Euw and Schreiner (eds.), Kaiserin Theophanu II (1991), 88–99.
  2. ^ Wilson, Peter H. (28 January 2016). The Holy Roman Empire: A Thousand Years of Europe's History. Penguin Books Limited. p. PR17. ISBN 978-0-14-195691-6. Retrieved 6 July 2022.