Matilda of Swabia (c. 1048 – 12 May 1060), a member of the

Salian dynasty The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the last Ottonia ...

, was the daughter of Emperor Henry III from his second marriage with

Agnes of Poitou Agnes of Poitou ( – 14 December 1077) was the queen of Germany from 1043 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1046 until 1056 as the wife of Emperor Henry III. From 1056 to 1061, she ruled the Holy Roman Empire as regent during the ...

. By her marriage to

Rudolf of Rheinfelden Rudolf of Rheinfelden ( – 15 October 1080) was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt a ...

, she was Duchess of Swabia from 1059-1060, before her early death.

Life

Matilda was the third daughter of Emperor Henry III and Empress Agnes, a daughter of the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

duke

William V of Aquitaine William the Great (; 969 – 31 January 1030) was duke of Aquitaine (as ) and count of Poitou (as or III) from 990 until his death. Upon the death of the emperor Henry II, he was offered the kingdom of Italy but declined to contest t ...

. Among her older siblings were

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, who became Abbess of

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the Harz (district), district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg becam ...

and Gandersheim, and Gisela, who died in infancy. Her younger siblings included her brothers Henry IV, who succeeded their father as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

in 1056, and

Conrad II Conrad II (, – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdom ...

, who also died in infancy, and a sister,

Judith of Swabia Judith of Swabia (, ; Summer 1054 – 14 March ca. 1105?), a member of the Salian dynasty, was the youngest daughter of Emperor Henry III from his second marriage with Agnes of Poitou. By her two marriages she was Queen of Hungary from 1063 t ...

, who was

queen consort of Hungary This is a list of the queens consorts of Hungary (), the consorts of the King of Hungary, kings of Hungary. After the extinction of the Árpád dynasty and later the Capetian House of Anjou, Angevin dynasty, the title of King of Hungary has been ...

from 1063 to 1074. In addition, Matilda had an older half-sister,

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "ble ...

, Abbess of Quedlinburg and Gandersheim, born from her father's first marriage with Princess

Gunhilda of Denmark Gunhilda of Denmark ( 1020 – 18 July 1038), was Queen of Germany as the wife of King Henry III from 1036 until her death. Biography Gunhilda was a daughter of King Cnut the Great (985/95 – 1035), ruler over the Anglo-Scandinavian North S ...

. Matilda was probably born in October 1048 in

Pöhlde Pöhlde is a village in southern Lower Saxony in Germany. It is part of the town Herzberg am Harz. It has a population of 2207 (1 October 2006). Archaeological excavation has revealed traces of settlement dating to the 2nd through 4th centuries AD. ...

, although some sources indicate that she was born before this, perhaps as early as 1045. When she was, at most, twelve years old, Matilda was betrothed to Rudolf of Rheinfelden in 1057. Their marriage took place in 1059. It is possible that Matilda was the mother of Rudolf’s son, Berthold of Rheinfelden. (The identity of Berthold’s mother is disputed, and she is sometimes said to be Rudolf’s second wife, Adelaide of Savoy.) Matilda died on 12 May 1060, probably in Goslar, and was buried at the monastery of SS Simon and Jude in Goslar.Black-Veldtrupp, ''Kaiserin Agnes'', p. 108.

Notes

References

* Hermann of Reichenau, Chronicon, ed. G.H. Pertz, MGH SS V (Hannover, 1844), pp. 74-133. *M. Black-Veldtrupp, ''Kaiserin Agnes (1043-1077). Quellenkritische Studien'' (Cologne, 1995). *D. Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln. Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten. Neue Folge Band XII, Schwaben'' * K. Schnith, ''Frauen des Mittelalters in Lebensbildern'' (Graz, 1997) *A. Zettler, ''Geschichte des Herzogtums Schwaben'' (Stuttgart, 2003) *A. Thiele, ''Genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band I, Teilband 1'' (Frankfurt am Main, 1993). *H. Frommer, ''Die Salier und das Herzogtum Schwaben'' (Karlsruhe, 1992) *E. Hlawitschka, ‘Zur Herkunft und zu den Seitenverwandten des Gegenkönigs Rudolf,’ in ''Die Salier und das Reich, vol. 1: Salier, Adel und Reichsverfassung'', ed. S. Weinfurter with H. Kluger (Sigmaringen, 1991), pp. 175-220. {{s-end 1040s births 1060 deaths Salian dynasty Duchesses of Swabia 11th-century German nobility 11th-century German women Daughters of emperors Daughters of kings Children of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of dukes