Mathilde of Swabia (Konradiner)

Depiction of Mieszkos II and Mathildes von Schwaben on the dedication picture of the Liber de divinis officiis; St. Gallen first quarter of the 11th century. Düsseldorf, University and State Library, Ms.C 91, (lost), fol. 3r

Mathilde von Schwaben (* 988 or 989 ; † July 29, 1032 ) was by marriage Duchess of Carinthia and Upper Lorraine and possibly also Countess von Ballenstedt . As an opponent of Konrad II ("Konrad the Elder"), she herself played an active political role at times. The reason was that her son Konrad II of Carinthia (called "Konrad the Younger" to distinguish himself from the Emperor) was defeated in the 1024 election. She is also known for her letter to the Polish King Mieszko II ("Epistola Mathildis Suevae ad Misegonem II. Poloniae Regem") with her picture.

family

She came from the family of the Conradines and was related to the Ottonians , the West Frankish Carolingians and the kings of Burgundy . The father was Duke Hermann II of Swabia . The mother was Gerberga of Burgundy , daughter of King Conrad III. of Burgundy . Siblings were the brothers Berchtold and Hermann III. von Schwaben and the sisters Gisela , who later married Konrad II. Empress. and Beatrix, married to Adalbero I of Carinthia . Half-siblings from the mother's first marriage were Hermann II von Werl , Rudolf von Werl and Bernhard I. von Werl .

She herself was married to Duke Konrad I of Carinthia († 1011) for the first time. The marriage resulted in three children: Duke Konrad II of Carinthia (called the Younger), Bishop Brun of Würzburg and a daughter who married Count Gerhard von Metz. A brother-in-law was Brun von Toul (later Gregor V ).

After the death of her first husband, Mathilde married Duke Friedrich II of Upper Lorraine († 1027). With this she had the daughter Beatrix , who in the first marriage the Margrave Boniface of Tuzien and in the second marriage Duke Gottfried III. from Lower Lorraine married. A second daughter Sophie married Count Ludwig von Mousson .

Whether she entered into a third marriage with Count Esico von Ballenstedt and was thus ancestral mother of the Ascanians is controversial, as the information provided by Annalista Saxo is unreliable in this regard.

Life

Even before her father applied for the German throne in 1002, Mathilde had been married to Conrad I of Carinthia from the Salian family. He supported his father-in-law in his king's plans. After Heinrich II was elected king, he sharply criticized the marriage between Mathilde and Konrad at a synod in Diedenhofen in 1003 because of an alleged family relationship . Despite violent tumult, there was no divorce proceedings. In fact, common ancestors were four generations back. After the death of Duke Konrad, the underage son Mathilde, who later became Konrad II, was passed over by Heinrich II when he proposed to succeed him in Carinthia. Instead, Adalbero von Eppenstein became her sister's husband, Herzog. This act of Henry II threatened the prominent position of the Salians and threatened to lead to a loss of importance. After Konrad's death (1011), Mathilde soon married Friedrich von Bar, who was first co-duke and later duke of Upper Lorraine from 1019.

After her sister Gisela married the nephew of Konrad I of Carinthia, who later became Emperor Konrad II, Mathilde developed good relationships with this couple. The brother-in-law Konrad supported her son Konrad, albeit in vain, through the battle of Ulm in 1019 in his attempt to become Duke of Carinthia. In doing so, Konrad the Elder incurred the emperor's displeasure and may even have to go into exile at times. The alliance of the two Salian lines ended when both sought the royal throne in 1024. Mathilde left the election meeting in Kamba with the Lorraine greats in protest and continued to resist. At Easter 1025, her son Conrad broke with the emperor. Her husband Friedrich and her son Konrad and their followers strengthened the rebellious opponents of the Kaiser. Mathilde herself played an active role in this. She gave a valuable theological book “Liber de divinis officiis” to the Polish king Mieszko II. On behalf of Mathilde, a dedication book “Epistola Mathildis Suevae ad Misegonem II. Poloniae Regem” was written with her picture. The picture has been lost, the manuscript is now in the University and State Library in Düsseldorf. In the letter Mathilde conceded all the characteristics of royalty to the Polish king, who was not recognized by Emperor Konrad, and even recognized Old Slavonic as the liturgical language. This donation can also be interpreted as an act of resistance against the emperor.

Later Mathilde seems to have reconciled with the emperor. From the court day at Easter 1030 in Ingelheim , reports of a good relationship with the imperial couple. In the same year Mathilde donated the monastery of St. Evre in Toul .

After her death she was buried in Worms Cathedral. Her children, who were not yet of legal age, were adopted and raised by Empress Gisela after her death. The Kaiser expressly remembered her in his memorial foundation in Worms for his family.

literature

• Eckhard Freise :  Mathilde von Schwaben. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 16, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-428-00197-4 , p. 375 f. ( Digitized version ).

Remarks

1. ↑ See Egon Boshof : The Salians. 5th, updated edition, Stuttgart 2008, p. 23 f.
2. ^ Heinrich II. (RI II) n. 1524d 1003 (mid-January), Diedenhofen (RI-online) .
3. ↑ See Egon Boshof: The Salians. 5th, updated edition, Stuttgart 2008, p. 25 f.
4. ↑ See Egon Boshof: The Salians. 5th, updated edition, Stuttgart 2008, p. 29.
5. ^ UB Düsseldorf: Manuscript with dedication to King Mieszko II. Pseudo-Alcuin text from the St. Gallen Abbey. Early 11th century. In addition: Brygida pumpkin: The Epistola Mathildis Suevae to Mieszko II. In a new perspective. A research report. With an appendix by Eckhard Freise and Marcus Weidner, In Search of the Lost Dedication Miniature of Cod. C 91 of the Düsseldorf University Library. In: Frühmedalterliche Studien 23, 1989, pp. 318–343.