Matilda of Brandenburg (, ; c. 1270 – bef. 1 June 1298), was a German princess member of

House of Ascania The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Principality of Anhalt, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ' ...

and by marriage

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

and High Duchess of Poland. She was the second daughter of Otto V the Long,

Margrave of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the time when Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the Holy Roman Emp ...

Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; ) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the Ger ...

, by his wife Judith of Henneberg, daughter of Count

Herman I, Count of Henneberg Herman I, Count of Henneberg (1224 – 18 December 1290) was the son of Count Poppo VII of Henneberg and his wife, Jutta of Thuringia (born: 1184; died: 6 August 1235 in Schleusingen), the eldest daughter of Landgrave Herman I of Thuringia. Thi ...

and heiress of

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

and

Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popul ...

Life

Family

Matilda had six siblings, three brothers and three sisters. Two of her brothers, Albert and Otto, died young and the eldest, Herman, inherited the whole paternal domains. Matilda's older sister Beatrice married

Bolko I the Strict Bolko (Bolesław) I the Strict, also known as Bolko (Bolesław) of Jawor ( or ''Srogi'' or ''Jaworski''; 1252/56 – 9 November 1301), was a Duke of Lwówek Śląski, Lwówek 1278–81 (with his brother as co-ruler) and Duchy of Jawor, Jawor after ...

, Duke of

Świdnica Świdnica (; ; ) is a city on the Bystrzyca (Oder), Bystrzyca River in south-western Poland in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As of 2021, it has a population of 55,413 inhabitants. It is the seat of Świdnica County, and also of the smaller dis ...

in 1284. The other two sisters are Kunigunde, who died unmarried, and

Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...

, who married Rudolph I, Duke of Saxe-Wittemberg in 1303. The marriage of Matilda's sister into the Silesian branch of the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

probably was instrumental to her own future wedding.

Marriage

By 1287/1288 Matilda married

Henry IV Probus Henry Probus (Latin for the Righteous; or ''Prawy''; ; – 23 June 1290) was a member of the Silesian branch of the royal Polish Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1266 as well as the ruler of the Seniorate Province ...

, Duke of

and

High Duke of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and became his second wife. Henry IV's previous marriage with the daughter of Duke Władysław of Opole (perhaps named

Constance Constance may refer to: Places * Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community * Mount Constance, Washington State, United States * Lake Constance (disambiguat ...

) ended either with her death or her repudiation and exile to her homeland. According to other sources, the real reason around the disputed dismissal of the Opole princess was because Henry IV maintained an affair with Matilda and wanted to marry her.Ewa Maleczyńska, ''Wrocławskie panie piastowskie i ich partnerzy'', Wrocław 1966, p. 79. As the couple were relatives, they needed a

Papal dispensation In the jurisprudence of the canon law of the Catholic Church, a dispensation is the exemption from the immediate obligation of the law in certain cases.The Law of Christ Vol. I, pg. 284 Its object is to modify the hardship often caused by rigor ...

, which probably was given shortly after the wedding. They had no children. On 23 June 1290 Henry IV died unexpectedly, probably poisoned. Soon after, Matilda returned to

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, where she died before 1 June 1298 and was buried in a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

Kloster Lehnin Kloster Lehnin, or just Lehnin, is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Germany, German state of Brandenburg. It lies about west-south-west of Potsdam. Overview Kloster Lehnin was established on 1 April 2002 by the merger of 14 villag ...

References

Bibliography

*K. Jasinski, ''Rodowód Piastów śląskich'', Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part I, pp. 160–162. *M. Spórna and P. Wierzbicki, ''Słownik władców Polski i pretendentów do tronu polskiego'', Kraków 2003, pp. 335–336. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg, Matilda of, Duchess of Poland Queens consort of Poland 1270s births 1290s deaths

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...

13th-century Polish nobility 13th-century Polish women 13th-century German nobility 13th-century German women Daughters of monarchs