Matilda of Swabia (October 1048 – 12 May 1060), a member of the

Salian dynasty The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the l ...

, was the daughter of Emperor Henry III from his second marriage with Agnes of Poitou. By her marriage to

Rudolf of Rheinfelden Rudolf of Rheinfelden ( – 15 October 1080) was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt an ...

, she was

Duchess of Swabia Duchess of Alamannia * Daughter of Theodo of Bavaria, wife of Duke Gotfrid * Hereswind, wife of Duke Hnabi Queen of Alamannia Carolingian dynasty, 876–882 Duchess of Swabia Hunfriding dynasty, 909–911 Ahalolfing dynasty, 915–917 *Non ...

from 1059-1060, before her early death.

Life

Matilda was the third daughter of Emperor Henry III and Empress Agnes, a daughter of the French duke

William V of Aquitaine William the Great (french: Guillaume le Grand; 969 – 31 January 1030) was duke of Aquitaine (as ) and count of Poitou (as or III) from 990 until his death. Upon the death of the emperor Henry II, he was offered the kingdom of Ital ...

. Among her older siblings were

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, who became Abbess of

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

and Gandersheim, and Gisela, who died in infancy. Her younger siblings included her brothers Henry IV, who succeeded their father as Holy Roman Emperor in 1056, and Conrad II, who also died in infancy, and a sister,

Judith of Swabia Judith of Swabia ( hu, Sváb Judit, pl, Judyta Szwabska, Judyta Salicka; Summer 1054 – 14 March ca. 1105?), a member of the Salian dynasty, was the youngest daughter of Emperor Henry III from his second marriage with Agnes of Poitou. By her t ...

, who was queen consort of Hungary from 1063 to 1074. In addition, Matilda had an older half-sister,

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

, Abbess of Quedlinburg and Gandersheim, born from her father's first marriage with Princess

Gunhilda of Denmark Gunhilda of Denmark ( 1020 – 18 July 1038), was Queen consort of Germany by her marriage with King Henry III from 1036 until her death. Biography Gunhilda was a daughter of King Cnut the Great (985/95 – 1035), ruler over the Anglo-Scandin ...

. Matilda was probably born in October 1048 in

Pöhlde Pöhlde is a village in southern Lower Saxony in Germany. It is part of the town Herzberg am Harz. It has a population of 2207 (1 October 2006). Archaeological excavation has revealed traces of settlement dating to the 2nd through 4th centuries AD. ...

, although some sources indicate that she was born before this, perhaps as early as 1045. When she was, at most, twelve years old, Matilda was betrothed to Rudolf of Rheinfelden in 1057. Their marriage took place in 1059. It is possible that Matilda was the mother of Rudolf’s son, Berthold of Rheinfelden. (The identity of Berthold’s mother is disputed, and she is sometimes said to be Rudolf’s second wife, Adelaide of Savoy.) Matilda died on 12 May 1060, probably in Goslar, and was buried at the monastery of SS Simon and Jude in Goslar.Black-Veldtrupp, ''Kaiserin Agnes'', p. 108.

Notes

References

* Hermann of Reichenau, Chronicon, ed. G.H. Pertz, MGH SS V (Hannover, 1844), pp. 74-133. *M. Black-Veldtrupp, ''Kaiserin Agnes (1043-1077). Quellenkritische Studien'' (Cologne, 1995). *D. Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln. Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten. Neue Folge Band XII, Schwaben'' * K. Schnith, ''Frauen des Mittelalters in Lebensbildern'' (Graz, 1997) *A. Zettler, ''Geschichte des Herzogtums Schwaben'' (Stuttgart, 2003) *A. Thiele, ''Genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band I, Teilband 1'' (Frankfurt am Main, 1993). *H. Frommer, ''Die Salier und das Herzogtum Schwaben'' (Karlsruhe, 1992) *E. Hlawitschka, ‘Zur Herkunft und zu den Seitenverwandten des Gegenkönigs Rudolf,’ in ''Die Salier und das Reich, vol. 1: Salier, Adel und Reichsverfassung'', ed. S. Weinfurter with H. Kluger (Sigmaringen, 1991), pp. 175-220. {{s-end 1048 births 1060 deaths Salian dynasty Duchesses of Swabia 11th-century German nobility 11th-century German women Daughters of emperors Daughters of kings