Matilda of Swabia (german: Mathilde von Schwaben; – 29 July 1032), a member of the
Conradine dynasty, was
Duchess of Carinthia by her first marriage with Duke
Conrad I and
Duchess of Upper Lorraine by her second marriage to Duke
Frederick II. She played an active role in promoting her son, Duke
Conrad the Younger
Conrad I (; c. 881 – 23 December 918), called the Younger, was the king of East Francia from 911 to 918. He was the first king not of the Carolingian dynasty, the first to be elected by the nobility and the first to be anointed. He was chosen a ...
, as a candidate for the German throne in 1024 and to this end corresponded with King
Mieszko II Lambert of Poland.
Family
Matilda was the daughter of Duke
Herman II of Swabia (d. 1003) and his wife
Gerberga (c.965/966–1019), a daughter of King
Conrad I of Burgundy
Conrad I, called the Peaceful (french: Conrad le Pacifique; german: Konrad der Friedfertige; – 19 October 993), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was King of Burgundy from 937 until his death.
Life
He was the son of King Rudolph II, the fi ...
. She had many illustrious relatives. Through her father, Matilda was descended from the
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...
king
Henry the Fowler; through her mother from King
Louis IV of France
Louis IV (September 920 / September 921 – 10 September 954), called ''d'Outremer'' or ''Transmarinus'' (both meaning "from overseas"), reigned as King of West Francia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the only son of ...
and
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
.
After the death of Emperor
Otto III in 1002, Matilda's father, Duke Herman, opposed the election of her cousin Duke
Henry IV of Bavaria as German king, and promoted himself as a rival candidate for the throne. Herman and Henry both claimed descent from Henry the Fowler, progenitor of the Ottonian dynasty.
Life
About 1001/02 Matilda married
Conrad of Carinthia, son of Duke
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...
, a member of the Salian dynasty. Conrad supported her father's bid for the German throne in 1002. Their marriage was possibly
consanguineous
Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor).
Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fro ...
and therefore was condemned by Henry II (her father's rival who was now crowned German king) at the Synod of
Thionville
Thionville (; ; german: Diedenhofen ) is a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.
History
Thionville was settled as early as the time of th ...
in January 1003. A heated debate broke out; nevertheless, the couple remained together until Conrad's death in 1011.
After Duke Conrad died, his minor son with Matilda,
Conrad the Younger
Conrad I (; c. 881 – 23 December 918), called the Younger, was the king of East Francia from 911 to 918. He was the first king not of the Carolingian dynasty, the first to be elected by the nobility and the first to be anointed. He was chosen a ...
, was passed over in the succession for the Carinthian duchy. Instead King Henry II ceded the duchy to Count
Adalbero of Eppenstein, who was married to Matilda's sister, Beatrice. Matilda had Conrad the Younger placed in the care of one of his Salian relative
Conrad the Elder (the future king Conrad II Germany). A few years later (c.1016/7), Matilda's sister
Gisela of Swabia
Gisela of Swabia ( 990 – 15 February 1043), was queen of Germany from 1024 to 1039 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 to 1039 by her third marriage with Emperor Conrad II. She was the mother of Emperor Henry III. She was regent of ...
married Conrad the Elder. Matilda maintained good relations with the couple. In 1019, her brother-in-law supported her son, Conrad the Younger, when he tried to reclaim Carinthia from Duke Adalbero. However, the attempt was unsuccessful and possibly caused Conrad the Elder to go into exile.
About 1012/13, Matilda herself had married her second husband, Count
Frederick of Bar, the son of Duke
Theodoric I of Upper Lorraine. This marriage was also
consanguineous
Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor).
Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fro ...
. Frederick succeeded his father in 1019; he is usually said to have died c. 1026, although it is possible that he lived until 1033.
The Salian unity came to an end, when in 1024 Emperor Henry II died without heirs: both Matilda's brother-in-law Conrad the Elder and her son Conrad the Younger promoted themselves as candidates for the throne as descendants of Henry the Fowler. Conrad the Elder was elected
King of the Romans (as Conrad II) at an assembly at Kamba (near
Oppenheim) in
Rhenish Franconia
Rhenish Franconia (german: Rheinfranken) or Western Franconia () denotes the western half of the central Kingdom of Germany, German stem duchy of Franconia in the 10th and 11th century, with its residence at the city of Worms, Germany, Worms. The ...
on 4 September 1024. Conrad the Younger refused to accept the new king and his mother Matilda, with her second husband Frederick and his
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
entourage, left the site in protest. Duke Frederick continued to support Conrad the Younger, as did Conrad's cousin, Duke
Ernest II of Swabia.
Matilda herself remained active on her son's behalf. Between 1025 and 1027 she opened negotiations with the new
Polish king
Mieszko II Lambert
Mieszko II Lambert (; c. 990 – 10/11 May 1034) was King of Poland from 1025 to 1031, and Duke from 1032 until his death.
He was the second son of Bolesław I the Brave, but the eldest born from his third wife Emnilda of Lusatia. He was pro ...
, who was also at odds with Conrad the Elder (King Conrad II), as he refused to recognise Mieszko as king and even demanded the Polish
regalia
Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereig ...
from him. While Mieszko's rule was not only questioned by Conrad but also by his own
Piast
The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great.
Branche ...
relatives, Matilda presented him with a valuable liturgical manuscript (the ''Liber de Officiis divinis''). The dedicatory page of the book contained a letter from Matilda to Mieszko (''Epistola ad Mathildis Suevae Misegonem II Poloniae Regem'') in which she named him a distinguished king, praised him for his building of new churches, and knowledge of Latin, and wished him strength against his enemies. The dedicatory page also contained a miniature depicting Matilda giving the book to Mieszko, who is shown wearing a crown and seated on a throne.
Matilda's gift had the desired effect, and Mieszko promised to take military action. Several clashes of arms followed; by 1028, however, Emperor Conrad II had defeated all his opponents. By 1030 Matilda seems to have been on good terms with Conrad II again. She joined him and her sister, Empress Gisela, at the imperial court at
Ingelheim
Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein ( en, Ingelheim upon Rhine), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's west bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat ...
in Easter 1030. In 1035, Emperor Conrad II finally deprived Adalbero of Carinthia, for rebelling against him, and restored Conrad the Younger to the duchy.
Following an entry in the ''
Annalista Saxo'', Matilda is sometimes said to have married a third time, c.1026, to Count
Esico of Ballenstedt. She thereby would be the progenitor of the Saxon
House of Ascania
The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.
The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schlo ...
; nevertheless, this is not possible if her first husband Frederick lived until 1033.
Death
Matilda died sometime after Easter 1030 (when she was at the imperial court) and before January 1034, when Emperor Conrad II issued a diploma at the intervention of his wife Gisela, commemorating her death. She is often said to have died on 29 July 1032. She was buried in
Worms Cathedral. After Matilda's death, her young daughters (Beatrice and Sophie) from her second marriage to Frederick were adopted by her sister, Empress Gisela.
Issue
With her first husband,
Conrad, Matilda had three children:
*
Conrad II, Duke of Carinthia
*
Bishop Bruno of Würzburg
* Gisela (?), who married Count Gerhard of
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
, whose brother was Bruno of Toul (later
Pope Gregory V).
With her second husband,
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederick ...
, Matilda had three children:
[Goez, ''Beatrix'', p. 11]
*
Frederick III, Duke of Upper Lorraine
*
Beatrice of Bar
*
Sophie, Countess of Bar.
If she was married to
Esico of Ballenstedt, Matilda had two further children:
*
Adalbert II, Count of Ballenstedt
*Adelaide of Ballenstadt, wife of Thiemo of Schraplau.
Notes
References
*E. Freise
Mathilde von Schwabenin ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' 16 (1990), pp. 375f. (in German)
*H. Wolfram, ''Kaiser Konrad II, 990-1039. Kaiser dreier Reiche'' (Munich, 2000).
*F-R. Erkens, ''Konrad II. (um 990-1039). Herrschaft und Reich des ersten Salierkaisers'' (1998).
* H. Keller, ‘Schwäbische Herzöge als Thronbewerber: Hermann II. (1002), Rudolf von Rheinfelden (1077), Friedrich von Staufen (1125), Zur Entwicklung von Reichsidee und Fürstenverantwortung, Wahlverständnis und Wahlverfahren im 11. und 12. Jahrhundert,’ ''Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins'' 131 (1983), 123–162
* P. Corbet, ''Autour de Burchard de Worms. L'église allemande et les interdits de parenté (IXème-XIIème siècle)'' (Frankfurt am Main, 2001).
*E. Boshoff, ''Die Salier'' (Stuttgart, 2008).
*''Annalista Saxo'', in ''Die Reichschronik des Annalista Saxo'', ed. K. Nass, MGH SS 37 (Munich, 2006), accessible online at
*Die Urkunden Konrads II, ed. H. Bresslau, MGH Diplomata 4 (Hannover and Leipzig, 1909), accessible online at
*B. Kürbis, "Die Epistola Mathildis Suevae an Mieszko II, in neuer Sicht, Ein Forschungsbericht," ''Frühmittelalterliche Studien'', 23 (1989), 318-343.
*E. Goez, ''Beatrix von Canossa und Tuszien. Eine Untersuchung zur Geschichte des 11. Jahrhunderts'' (Sigmaringen, 1995).
*W. Mohr, ''Geschichte des Herzogtums Lothringen'', vol. 1 (1974).
*A. Wolf, 'Königskandidatur und Königsverwandtschaft. Hermann von Schwaben als Prüfstein für das "Prinzip der freien Wahl", ''Deutsches Archiv'' 47 (1991), 45-118.
External links
(Brief biography of Matilda, and an English translation of a letter written by her to
Mieszko II of Poland
Mieszko II Lambert (; c. 990 – 10/11 May 1034) was King of Poland from 1025 to 1031, and Duke from 1032 until his death.
He was the second son of Bolesław I the Brave, but the eldest born from his third wife Emnilda of Lusatia. He was proba ...
)
Medieval Lands Project(in German)
{{Authority control
10th-century births
11th-century deaths
11th-century German women
Conradines
Salian dynasty
House of Bar
Burials at Worms Cathedral