Marie of Brabant (1226-1256)
Encyclopedia
Henry II, Duke of Brabant
Henry II of Brabant was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235...
and Marie of Hohenstaufen
Marie of Hohenstaufen
Marie of Hohenstaufen was a member of the powerful Hohenstaufen dynasty of German kings which lasted from 1138 to 1254. She is also known to history as Maria of Swabia....
. She married Louis II, Duke of Bavaria
Louis II, Duke of Bavaria
Duke Louis II of Bavaria was Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. Born in Heidelberg, he was a son of duke Otto II and Agnes of the Palatinate...
, being the first of three wives.
Family
Her sister, Matilda of BrabantMatilda of Brabant
Matilda of Brabant was the eldest daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and his first wife Marie of Hohenstaufen.-Marriages and children:...
was wife of Robert I of Artois
Robert I of Artois
Robert I , called the Good, was the first Count of Artois, the fifth son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile.-Life:...
and Guy II of Châtillon. Among Matilda's children was Blanche of Artois
Blanche of Artois
Blanche of Artois was the queen consort of Navarre; after her husband Henry I of Navarre's death, she served as regent from 1274 to 1284 on behalf of her daughter, Joan I...
who was mother of Joan I of Navarre
Joan I of Navarre
Joan I , the daughter of king Henry I of Navarre and Blanche of Artois, reigned as queen regnant of Navarre and also served as queen consort of France.-Life:...
. Marie's elder brother, Henry III, Duke of Brabant
Henry III, Duke of Brabant
Henry III of Brabant was Duke of Brabant between 1248 and his death. He was the son of Henry II of Brabant and Marie of Hohenstaufen....
succeeded their father in 1248 and was the father of Henry IV, Duke of Brabant
Henry IV, Duke of Brabant
Henry IV of Brabant was Duke of Brabant from 1261 to 1267.Born at Leuven, he was the eldest son of Henry III, Duke of Brabant and Adelaide of Burgundy, daughter of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy...
, John I, Duke of Brabant
John I, Duke of Brabant
John I of Brabant, also called John the Victorious was Duke of Brabant , Lothier and Limburg .-Life:...
and Maria of Brabant, Queen of France.
Execution
Marie was executed by beheading in DonauwörthDonauwörth
Donauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria , in the region of Swabia . It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers meet...
in 1256, following the standard practice for women found guilty of adultery; however, proof of guilt of adultery on her part could never be validated. As expiation, Louis founded the Cistercian friary Fürstenfeld Abbey
Fürstenfeld Abbey
Fürstenfeld Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated about 25 km north-west of Munich. The abbey was one of the household monasteries of the Wittelsbachs...
(Fürstenfeldbruck) near Munich.
Sources tell varying tales about how the event occurred. In 1256 Louis had been away from home on state affairs for an extended period of time in the area of the Rhine. His wife wrote two letters, one to her husband, and another to the earl of Kyburg at Hunsrück, a vassal of Ludwig. Details about the actual content of the second letter vary, but according to the chroniclers, the messenger who carried the letter to Louis had been given the wrong one, and Louis came to the conclusion that his wife had a secret love affair.
Over time, a great many tales of folklore sprang up around Louis' bloody deed, most of them written long after Louis' 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.
See also
- Dukes of Brabant family treeDukes of Brabant family treeThis is a family tree of the Dukes of Brabant from 1139 up to 1430. Godfrey I, count of Leuven, became Duke of Lower Lotharingia in 1106. Henry I became the first Duke of Brabant in 1183/1184.See also:*Duchy of Brabant*List of family trees...
- Louis II, Duke of BavariaLouis II, Duke of BavariaDuke Louis II of Bavaria was Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. Born in Heidelberg, he was a son of duke Otto II and Agnes of the Palatinate...
- Marie of Brabant (disambiguation)Marie of Brabant (disambiguation)Marie of Brabant may refer to:* Marie of Brabant, Holy Roman Empress , wife of Emperor Otto IV of the Holy Roman Empire*Marie of Brabant, Duchess of Bavaria , wife of Louis II, Duke of Bavaria...
- Genevieve of BrabantGenevieve of BrabantGenevieve of Brabant is a heroine of medieval legend.-Legend:Her story is a typical example of the widespread tale of the chaste wife falsely accused and repudiated, generally on the word of a rejected suitor. Genovefa of Brabant was said to be the wife of the palatine Siegfried of Treves, and was...