Italy. The union produced one child: Emma of Italy (948 – after 987), queen of France and wife of Lothair of France In 951, Adelaide was married to King Otto I, the future Holy Roman Emperor. The union produced four children: Henry (952 – 7 April 954) Bruno (953 – 8 September 957) Matilda (early 955 – † 6 February 999), the first Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg Otto II (end 955 – 7 December 983), later Holy Roman Emperor. Historiography and cultural depictions Historiography Adelaide was one of the most important and powerful medieval female rulers. Historically, as empress and saint, she has been described as powerful, with both male attributes (like strength, justness and prudence) and female attributes (piety, self denying). Modern German historiography tends to focus on her contributions to the Ottonian dynasty and the development of the Holy Roman Empire. Depictions in art Adelaide is usually represented in the garb of an empress, with sceptre and crown. Since the 14th century, she is also given as an attribute a model church or a ship (with which it is said to have escaped from captivity). The most famous representation of Adelaide in German art belongs to a group of sandstone figures in the choir of Meissen Cathedral, which was created around 1260. She is shown here with her husband, who was not canonized, since he founded the diocese of Meissen with her. Operas: Adelaide of Burgundy is the main character of the opera l'Adelaide (1672) by Antonio Sartorio. Adelaide is the subject of a 1723 opera by Nicola Porpora, where she was played by the great castrato Farinelli en travesti. Lotario is a 1729 opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It is a fictionalisation of some events in the life of Adeläide. Adelaide is the heroine of Adelaide di Borgogna, an opera with two acts (1817) by Gioachino Rossini (music) and Giovanni Schmidt (libretto). Adelaide is the heroine of William Bernard McCabe's 1856 novel Adelaide, Queen of Italy, or The Iron Crown. Books and novels: Adelheid, Mutter der Königreiche (Adelaide, Mother of Kingdoms) published in 1936 by Gertrud Bäumer. Die fremde Königin (The Foreign Queen), published in 2017, Adelaide is one of the central characters in Rebecca Gablé's novel. Empress Adelheid and Countess Matilda: medieval female rulership and the foundations of European society by Penelope Nash (2017). Imperial ladies of the Ottonian Dynasty: women and rule