In Germany, new studies and exhibitions on Gisela, once almost forgotten together with her husband and their family, have arisen together with the recent interest in the Salians as well as imperial women Gisela is often depicted as an ambitious, intelligent and strong-minded woman who nevertheless, was also a loyal partner to her husband, with whom she formed a harmonious team, instead of pursuing "one's own politics". Gisela's intercession shows the central role of herself as well as imperial consorts in general in the government. Among 191 (out of 248 diplomata, thus representing 78 percent) in which intercessors appeared, she intervened in 155 cases (85 percent), many of which together with her son, the future Henry III. Gisela was the sole intercessor in 33 diplomata. Of these, 12 of the last 14 times (issued after the couple's stay in
Verona) were for Italian recipients. Huschner opines that although she never had the chance to bear sole responsibility for the highest decisions in the government, Gisela had a significant share in royal-imperial rule and greatly contributed to the consolidation of central government, thus shaping the new dynasty. As
imperatrix augusta and
consors regni, she was considered co-ruler by her contemporaries (although in documents, the latter title was only used sporadically, and almost exclusively in diplomata granted to Italians—the reason for this rare use was that the previous empress,
Cunigunde of Luxembourg, had failed to assert herself in the Chancellery of her husband,
Henry II. Zey comments that this also shows how this title is a useful measure for gauging the influence of a queen in the government).
Depictions in arts Contemporary arts See also: '''' In 1880, a treasure of golden jewellery of 25 pieces was discovered by building workers. In 1913, Otto von Falke published this discovery and attributed it to Gisela. Since then, it has often been called "Gisela's jewels" or "Gisela's treasure". According to the
Frankfurter Rundschau, the treasure is considered "the most important testimony of medieval gold jewellery". There are a lot of debates about the dates, the true origin place of the treasure and the owner though. It is generally agreed that the pieces come from different eras. In a 2017 exhibition
Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, it was argued that the jewels were found in a field near
Wiesbaden, with some pieces being nineteenth-century forgeries created to persuade Emperor
Wilhelm II to buy them for an excessive price. Mechthild Schulze-Dörrlamm refutes these theories, claiming that the treasure is genuine and the place where they were found is Mainz, but opines that the treasure, with most of the pieces created in the eleventh century, should be associated with
Agnes of Poitou, Gisela's daughter-in-law. Charles T. Little from the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, relying on the date identified as late tenth century by Hiltrud Westermann-Angerhausen and Hermann Fillitz as well as Byzantine influence, linked the treasure to
Theophanu. Peter Lasko suggests a date of
Late Carolingian. The most notable piece was the
fibula with the eagle (or peacock) shape. Its authenticity has never been doubted, but the latest investigations have also failed to establish a clear date. Birgit Heide opines that the date was either much earlier than the assumed date of the second half of the ninth century (thus Late Carolingian), or between 975 and 1025. The
Golden Gospels of Henry III, commissioned by Henry III, honours himself as well as his mother. An image showing Gisela and Conrad before Christ (fol. 2v) is noted. The couple is depicted as ruling partners, both with crowns, receiving divine blessings and associated with divine figures through adornment, and the colours of their clothing matched (these characteristics are also applied in
the portrayal of Henry III and Agnes of Poitou. The tears of Conrad are shown, reminding of a previous argument between father and son, in which Conrad is said to have wept and collapsed (Henry III considered his behaviour justified, and this image seems to show this too).
Later depictions Sculpture • In Speyer, there are a group of statues representing the Salians (Gisela, Conrad II, Henry III,
Henry IV,
Henry V and secondary figures, created around 1930–1940 by
Ludwig Cauer (sculptor, born 1866 in
Bad Kreuznach, died 1947 in Bad Kreuznach) and commissioned by
Wilhelm Frick, Reich Minister of the Interior. There are also statues of Conrad, Gisela, Henry III, Henry IV and
Bertha in the Kaiser-Halle of the cathedral, erected in the nineteenth century.
Prose • Gottlob Heinrich Heinse (1766–1853) wrote the two-volume
Ida von Schwaben. Enkelin der Kaiserin Gisela about Ida von Elsdorf, here Ernest II's daughter. Ida was a possible granddaughter to Gisela through Ernest or through
Liudolf, Margrave of Frisia. •
Die Herrin der Kathedrale is a 2013 novel by Claudia and Nadja Beinert about Uta von Naumburg, who was educated in the Gernrode convent before becoming a
lady-in-waiting to Empress Gisela, who became her role model as a strong woman. She had to leave the imperial couple to marry Ekkehard von Meißen, whom she did not love. Despite this, she found consolation in a platonic relationship with her brother-in-law Hermann and their common project to build a cathedral in Naumburg.
Theater (MeisterDrucke-467217) • In 1818,
August von Kotzebue wrote the four-act
Gisela. The main characters included Gisela, her husband Conrad the Older, and
Conrad the Younger. • The 1818
trauerspiel Ernst, Herzog von Schwaben, written by
Ludwig Uhland is the first work exploring Gisela's inner conflict between motherly love towards Ernest and her roles as Conrad's wife and ruler. • In 1867,
Albert Dulk published the six-act
Konrad der Zweite, which describes the story of Conrad, Gisela, her sons Ernest and Henry, Ernest's wife Agnes.
Commemoration Gisela is one of the five empresses (together with
Adelaide of Italy,
Theophanu,
Cunigunde of Luxembourg and
Agnes of Poitou), presented as
Säulen der Macht (pillars of power), commemorated by the city of
Ingelheim am Rhein. There are six stelae at the Heidesheim Gate (
Heidesheimer Tor) displaying their lives and work. All five empresses once stayed at the
Kaiserpfalz (imperial residence) in Ingelheim. == References ==