Maria of Brabant (1226–1256) was a daughter of

Henry II, Duke of Brabant Henry II of Brabant (, ; 1207 – February 1, 1248) was Duke of Brabant and Duke of Lothier, Lothier after the death of his father Henry I, Duke of Brabant, Henry I in 1235. His mother was Matilda of Boulogne, Duchess of Brabant, Matilda of Bo ...

, and Maria of Swabia. She married

Louis II, Duke of Bavaria Louis the Strict () (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, he was a son of Otto II W ...

, being the first of three wives.

Background

Maria was the daughter of Duke Henry II of Brabant and

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

from his first marriage to Maria of Swabia, daughter of

King Philip King Philip may refer to * Philip I of Macedon (fl. c. 593 BC) * Philip II of Macedon (380–336 BC), Greek conqueror and father of Alexander the Great * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960) * Ee-mat-la (died 1839) war leader of the Seminole in the Seco ...

Swabia Swabia ; , 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 Swabia, one of ...

. The younger Maria's siblings included

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 for ...

and

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 ...

. After her mother's death her father married

Sophie of Thuringia Sophie of Thuringia (20 March 1224 – 29 May 1275) was the second wife and only Duchess consort of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Lothier. She was the heiress of Hesse which she passed on to her son, Henry upon her retention of the territory fo ...

; from this marriage she gained two half-siblings, including

Henry I of Hesse Henry I of Hesse "the Child" ( German: ''Heinrich das Kind'') (24 June 1244 – 21 December 1308) was the first Landgrave of Hesse. He was the son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Sophie of Thuringia. Life In 1247, as Heinrich Raspe, La ...

Betrothals and marriage

On 2 August 1254, Maria married

. The couple were married for only two years, during which time they had no children.

Execution

Maria was executed by beheading in

Donauwörth Donauwörth (; ) is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "R ...

in 1256 after having been accused of adultery by her husband. It was later determined that Louis had not proven his case, and in fact had not presented any valid evidence of adultery; as

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

, he founded the Cistercian friary

Fürstenfeld Abbey Fürstenfeld Abbey (, ) is a former Cistercian monastery in Fürstenfeldbruck (formerly known simply as Bruck), Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 25 km north-west of Munich. The abbey was one of the household monasteries of the Wittelsba ...

(Fürstenfeldbruck) near Munich. Different sources give varying accounts. According to the chronicle of Esiah Wilpacher, Louis was at war with the

Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg The Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg () was one of the Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, and belonged to the Swabian Circle. It should not be confused with the larger diocese of Augsburg, over which the prince-bishop exercised only spirit ...

. Maria's confessor, allegedly in league with the bishop, persuaded her to write her husband requesting he end the siege and return home. When this failed, she then wrote to one of his vassals, who being away from camp, Louis received the letter. Recognizing the handwriting, he read it and construed it as indicating she was having an affair."Review of 'The Danube' by J. R. Planché", ''The Literary Gazette'', Vol. 20, p. 516
/ref> Over time a great many tales of folklore sprang up around Louis' deed, most of them written long after his death: Ballad-mongers embellished the tale into a murderous frenzy during which Louis allegedly not only killed his wife after having ridden home for five days and nights, but also stabbed the messenger who brought him the wrong letter; then upon entering his castle, stabbed his own castellan and a court lady and threw his wife's maid from the battlements, before he massacred his wife either by stabbing her or cutting off her head. More restrained chronicles support the account of Marie's execution on 18 January 1256 at Mangoldstein Castle in Donauwörth by ducal decree for alleged adultery, but nothing beyond that. Maria is said to be the basis for the legendary

Genevieve of Brabant Genevieve (also Genoveva or Genoveffa) of Brabant is a heroine of medieval legend. The story is told in the " Golden Legend" and concerns a virtuous wife falsely accused of infidelity. Legend Her story is a typical example of the widespread t ...

in Dutch folklore.

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control 1226 births 1256 deaths Women of medieval Bavaria Executed royalty People from the Duchy of Brabant

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

Executed German women People executed for adultery 13th-century executions People executed in the Holy Roman Empire by decapitation People executed by Bavaria 13th-century German women 13th-century German nobility Daughters of dukes