Maria of Brabant (1226–1256)
Maria von Brabant (* 1226 ; † January 18, 1256 in Donauwörth ) was the wife of Duke Ludwig II, the strict Duchess of Bavaria and Countess Palatine near the Rhine.
She was the daughter of Duke Henry II of Brabant and Lorraine from his first marriage to Maria, daughter of King Philip of Swabia . On August 2nd, 1254, she married Ludwig the Strengen, Duke of Bavaria, in Landshut . He had her beheaded out of jealousy on January 18, 1256 in Donauwörth (then "Werd") at Mangoldstein Castle .
history
At the beginning of 1256, Duke Ludwig the Strict was on a military campaign in the Rhine Palatinate . Maria von Brabant wrote a letter to him and a knight friend to persuade her husband Ludwig the Strict to return. The messenger mixed up the two letters. Probably because of a misunderstood formulation, Ludwig the Strict suspected that his wife was unfaithful to him. He immediately set out for Donauwörth, where he was angry and had his wife beheaded. Two ladies-in-waiting and the bailiff were also victims of Ludwig's blind jealousy on the night of January 17-18, 1256. According to the Regensburg Chronicle of Carl Theodor Gemeiner , Heinrich I. Raugraf von Baumbach († 1261), the knight, whose letter had caused the catastrophe, was brother of the Worms Bishop Eberhard I ; his grave slab is preserved in the Rosenthal monastery ruins .
Ludwig later realized that he had probably wrongly suspected his wife and had her executed . As a penance, he donated the Cistercian monastery Fürstenfeld at what is now Fürstenfeldbruck . His nickname “the severity” was given to him later, probably also because of the murder of his first wife.
However, more recent studies shed a different light on the case, according to which the alleged infidelity could only have been a pretext and political motives were more decisive. At this point, the relationship between Maria von Brabant and the ruling German King Wilhelm von Holland is significant .
Duchess Maria von Brabant is buried in the crypt of the monastery church Hl. Kreuz zu Donauwörth . In the church there is an epitaph plate, surrounded by an elaborate wrought iron grille, donated by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria . In addition, memorial plaques for the court ladies who were killed are set into the ground.
Outdoor games
In Donauwörth, several performances take place every summer on the open-air stage on the Mangoldfelsen . A few years ago, the tragic events surrounding the death of Maria von Brabant were reenacted in this play at the former location of Mangoldstein Castle.
literature
- Johannes Traber: Maria von Brabant . In: Donauwörther Institutsblätter 1924 Issue 1, pp. 53–62 Internet Archive .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Adolph Köllner: Geschichte der Herrschaft Kirchheim-Boland and Stauf , Wiesbaden, 1854, p. 89; (Digital scan)
- ^ Website on the story of Mary of Brabant
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Maria of Brabant |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | by marriage to the Duchess of Bavaria |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1226 |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 18, 1256 |
| Place of death | Donauwörth |