Judith of Bavaria, Duchess of Swabia (19 May 1100 – 27 Aug 1130) was a duchess of

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

by marriage to

Frederick II, Duke of Swabia Frederick II (1090 – 6 April 1147), called the One-Eyed, was Duke of Swabia from 1105 until his death, the second from the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His younger brother Conrad was elected King of the Romans in 1138. Life Early career Frederic ...

. She was the mother of

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

, known to history as "Barbarossa".

Life

Judith was born 19 May 1100, the eldest daughter of

Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria Henry IX (107513 December 1126), called the Black, a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Bavaria from 1120 to 1126. Life and reign Henry was the second son of Duke Welf I of Bavaria (died 1101) from his marriage with Judith, daughter of C ...

and

Wulfhilde of Saxony Wulfhilde Billung of Saxony (1072 – 29 December 1126 in Weingarten Abbey) was the eldest daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony and his wife, Sophia of Hungary. She married Duke Henry IX of Bavaria. As a result of this marriage, part of the ...

, daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony and Sophia of Hungary, and thereby a member of the powerful

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

House of Welf. She had three brothers,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, Conrad and

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...

; and three sisters, Sophia, Matilda and Wulfhild. The ''

Historia Welforum The ''Historia Welforum'' is an anonymous Latin prose chronicle of the House of Welf written around 1170. The original covers the period –1167, but continuations bring it down to 1208. Because two manuscript copies originate in Weingarten (Al ...

'' names in order ''Iuditham, Mahtildem, Sophium and Wulfildem'' as the four daughters of ''Henricus dux ex Wulfilde''. This is evidence that Judith was the eldest daughter. She had, in addition to her seven legitimate siblings, one half-brother, Adalbert, born of her father's relationship with an unnamed mistress.

Duchess of Swabia

On an unknown date between 1119 and 1121, she married as his first wife, Frederick II, Duke of Swabia (1090 – 6 April 1147); this dynastic marriage united the House of Welf and the

House of 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 dynast ...

, the two most powerful and influential families in Germany. The ''Historia Welforum'' specified that Judith married ''Friderico Suevorum duci'', but did not mention the date. In 1125, her father initially supported the candidacy of her husband to succeed

Emperor Henry V Henry V (german: Heinrich V.; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125, in Utrecht) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-ru ...

as King of Germany; however, he eventually switched his support to

Lothar III, Holy Roman Emperor Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before b ...

. The defection of Judith's father created an enmity between the Welfs and the Swabians that would have far-reaching consequences in Germany which would last throughout the 12th century. It is not known how this affected relations between Judith and her husband. It is curious to note that no further children were born to the couple after the birth of their daughter

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

in 1123. She died on 27 August 1130 and was buried at Waldburg in Heiligen Forst,

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. Shortly after Judith's death Frederick married, as his second wife, Agnes of Saarbrücken.

Issue

She had two children: *

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

, Holy Roman Emperor (1122 – 10 June 1190), married on 9 June 1156

Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy Beatrice I (1143 – 15 November 1184) was Countess of Burgundy from 1148 until her death, and was also Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Frederick Barbarossa. She was crowned empress by Antipope Paschal III in Rome on 1 August 1167, and ...

, by whom he had 12 children. *

(also called Judith) of Swabia (1123 – 18 October 1194/25 March 1195), married in 1138

Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine Matthias I (1119 – 13 May 1176) was the duke of Lorraine from 1138 to his death as the eldest son and successor of Simon I and Adelaide. Like his forefathers going back to Theodoric II and even to Adalbert, he was a stern supporter of the kin ...

, by whom she had seven children.

Ancestry

References

* Charles Cawley, ''Medieval Lands, Bavaria, Dukes'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Judith of Bavaria, Duchess of Swabia 1100 births 1131 deaths Women of medieval Bavaria House of Welf Duchesses of Swabia Bavarian princesses 12th-century German nobility 12th-century German women