Maria of Swabia (1199/1200 – 29 March 1235) was a member of the powerful

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

dynasty of German kings.

Family

Maria of Hohenstaufen was born in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

around 1199/1200. She was the second daughter of

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208) was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of his older brother Emperor Henry VI in 1197 meant that the Hohenstaufen rule (whi ...

and

Irene Angelina Irene Angelina ( el, ; c. 1181 – 27 August 1208) was a Byzantine princess and member of the Angelos dynasty and by her two marriages Queen of Sicily in 1193 and Queen of Germany from 1198 to 1208. Life Irene was born in Constantinople, the s ...

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

. In 1208, at the age of seven, Maria was left an orphan by the unexpected deaths of her parents. On 21 June, her father was murdered by Otto of Wittelsbach, and two months later her mother died after giving birth to a daughter, who did not live beyond early infancy.

Marriage and issue

Sometime before 22 August 1215, she married Henry II, heir to the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...

(present-day

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

) and Lothier. They had: *

Matilda of Brabant Matilda of Brabant (14 June 1224 – 29 September 1288) was the eldest daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and his first wife Marie of Hohenstaufen. Marriages and children On 14 June 1237, which was her 13th birthday, Matilda married her f ...

(14 June 1224 – 29 September 1288), married firstly,

Robert I of Artois Robert I (25 September 1216 – 8 February 1250), called the Good, was the first Count of Artois. He was the fifth (and second surviving) son of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. Life He received Artois as an appanage, in accordan ...

, by whom she had two children,

Robert II of Artois Robert II (September 1250 – 11 July 1302) was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant. He was a nephew of Louis IX of France. He died at the Battle of the Golden Spurs. Life An experienced soldier, ...

and

Blanche of Artois Blanche of Artois ( eu, Blanka; 1248 – 2 May 1302) was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne and Brie during her marriage to Henry I of Navarre. After his death she became regent in the name of their infant daughter, Joan I. She passed o ...

; she married secondly

Guy III, Count of Saint-Pol Guy III of Châtillon, Count of Saint-Pol (died 1289) was a French nobleman, and was a younger son of Hugh I, Count of Blois, and Mary, Countess of Blois. While his elder brother John I of Châtillon succeeded to their mother's County of Blois, G ...

, by whom she had six children. * Beatrix of Brabant (1225 – 11 November 1288), married firstly

Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia Henry Raspe (; – 16 February 1247) was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1231 until 1239 and again from 1241 until his death. In 1246, with the support of the Papacy, he was elected King of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV, but his contest ...

, and secondly

William III of Dampierre William III (1224 – 6 June 1251) was the lord of Dampierre from 1231 and count of Flanders from 1247 until his death. He was the son of William II of Dampierre and Margaret II of Flanders. Margaret inherited Flanders and Hainault in 1244 ...

. She died childless. * Maria of Brabant (c. 1226 – 18 January 1256), married

Louis II, Duke of Bavaria Louis the Strict (german: Ludwig der Strenge) (13 April 1229 – 2 February 1294) was Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. He is known as Louis II or Louis VI following an alternative numbering. Born in Heidelberg, h ...

. She was beheaded by her husband on suspicion of infidelity. *Margaret of Brabant (died 14 March 1277), Abbess of Herzogenthal. *

Henry III, Duke of Brabant Henry III of Brabant ( 1230 – February 28, 1261, Leuven) was Duke of Brabant between 1248 and his death. He was the son of Henry II of Brabant and Marie of Hohenstaufen. He was also a trouvère. The disputed territory of Lothier, the forme ...

(c. 1230 – 28 February 1261), married Adelaide of Burgundy (c. 1233 – 23 October 1273), daughter of

Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy Hugh IV of Burgundy (9 March 1213 – 27 or 30 October 1272) was Duke of Burgundy between 1218 and 1272 and from 1266 until his death was titular King of Thessalonica. Hugh was the son of Odo III, Duke of Burgundy and Alice de Vergy. Issue Hugh m ...

, by whom he had issue *Philip of Brabant, died young.

Death

Maria of Hohenstaufen died on 29 March 1235 in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

, Brabant, five days before her thirty-fourth birthday. Less than six months later, her husband succeeded his father as Duke of Brabant and Lothier.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Of Hohenstaufen 1201 births 1235 deaths People from Arezzo Hohenstaufen 13th-century German women Daughters of kings