Dobroniega Ludgarda of Poland

Last updated

Dobroniega Ludgarda of Poland
Bornbefore 1136
Diedaround 1160 or later
Family house of Piast
Spouse(s) Theodoric I, Margrave of Lusatia
IssueConrad, Gertruda
Father Bolesław III Wrymouth
Mother Salomea of Berg

Dobroniega Ludgarda of Poland (b. before 1136, d. around 1160 or later) was a Polish princess, Margravine of Lusatia by marriage to Theodoric I, Margrave of Lusatia.

Contents

She was the daughter of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, and Salomea of Berg, daughter of Henry, Count of Berg, and as such a member of the House of Piast. Around 1147 (according to older historiography around 1142) she married Theodoric, second surviving son of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen and Lusatia. After bearing two children she was abandoned by her husband.

Early life

Dobroniega Ludgarda is named by Chronicon Montis Sereni and Genealogia Wettinensis as a sister of Mieszko III the Old. [1] As Mieszko III was the son of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, by his second wife Salomea, [2] historians considered that Dobroniega Ludgarda had the same parents. [3] [1] Due to chronology it is impossible for Dobroniega to be a daughter of Bolesław III from his first marriage with Zbyslava of Kiev. [1]

She was named Dobroniega after her paternal great-grandmother, Maria Dobroniega of Kiev. [3] [1] Dobroniega probably took on her second name Ludgarda after marriage with Theodoric, son of margrave of Meissen and Lusatia, whose mother was Luitgard (Ludgarda). This hypothesis, formulated by Karol Maleczyński, is widely accepted by historians. [3] [1]

No sources mentioned her date of birth. [1] She was one of younger children of Bolesław III and Salomea. [1]

According to Karol Maleczyński she was born no later than in 1129 as the tenth child of Bolesław III and Salomea. [3] Historian Kazimierz Jasiński considered that Dobroniega was born probably between 1128 and 1135 as she was probably younger than her husband who was born no earlier than in 1130 and she was married around 1147. [4]

There is also a possibility that Dobroniega was the daughter of Bolesław III who was engaged with Konrad von Plötzkau, Margrave of the Nordmark. If this identification was true, Dobroniega was born before 1127. However, historian Oswald Balzer rejected this possibility, and Kazimierz Jasiński considered that could not be taken seriously, because in this case we would fall in a bunch of untestable guesses. [5]

Marriage

Few years after the death of Bolesław III in 1138 his sons started fighting against each other: on the one side was Władysław II the Exile, the son from the first marriage, on the other were Bolesław IV the Curly and Mieszko the Old, sons from the second marriage. As Władysław was the brother-in-law of Conrad III, a king of Germany, his younger brothers were looking for allies in the Holy Roman Empire. One of them was Conrad, Margrave of Meissen and Lusatia. Younger sons of Bolesław III strengthened the agreement by marrying their sister Dobroniega to Theodoric (Dietrich, Dytryk), son of Conrad. [3]

The date of the marriage is unknown. According to older historians it was around 1142. [3] Kazimierz Jasiński considered that Bolesław IV and Mieszko III were looking for an ally related to Conrad only from 1146. This ally was mentioned first time in sources in the summer of 1146 when Conrad and Albert the Bear, duke of Saxony, conducted negotiations between the Polish princes. [6] According to Jasiński, Dobroniega married Theodoric probably around 1147 (between 1146 and 1148). [6] This date is accepted by other historians. [7] On 6 January 1148 Judyta, sister of Dobroniega, married to Otto, son of Albert the Bear. [8]

During her marriage she bore two children: a son, Conrad, and a daughter, Gertruda. [9] Her husband Theodoric became Margrave of Lusatia in 1156. [10]

Theodoric abandoned Dobroniega, but it is unknown when exactly that happened. [11] According to Chronicon Montis Sereni some time afterward Theodoric started a relationship with Cunigunde, the widowed Countess of Plötzkau. [11]

Oswald Balzer argued that Theodoric abandoned Dobroniega after 1144, while Kazimierz Jasiński thought that happened later, probably in 1150s. [11]

Death and aftermath

Dobroniega's date of death remains unknown. She died no earlier than around 1160. [11] Otherwise Theodoric could have married his concubine. [11] There is no information where Dobroniega was buried. [11] [7]

Her son Conrad was killed in a tournament on 17 February 1175, while her daughter Gertruda became a nun in Gerbstedt. [9]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jasiński, Kazimierz (1992). Rodowód pierwszych Piastów. Warszawa - Wrocław: Uniwersytet Wrocławski - Oficyna Wydawnicza VOLUMEN. p. 251. ISBN   83-85218-32-7.
  2. ↑ Jasiński, Kazimierz (1992). Rodowód pierwszych Piastów. Warszawa - Wrocław: Uniwersytet Wrocławski - Oficyna Wydawnicza VOLUMEN. p. 233. ISBN   83-85218-32-7.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Maleczyński, Karol (1939–1946). "Dobronega Ludgarda". Polski Słownik Biograficzny. Vol. 5. Polska Akademia Nauk & Polska Akademia Umiejętności. p. 248.
  4. ↑ Jasiński, Kazimierz (1992). Rodowód pierwszych Piastów. Warszawa - Wrocław: Uniwersytet Wrocławski - Oficyna Wydawnicza VOLUMEN. pp. 251–253. ISBN   83-85218-32-7.
  5. ↑ Jasiński, Kazimierz (1992). Rodowód pierwszych Piastów. Warszawa - Wrocław: Uniwersytet Wrocławski - Oficyna Wydawnicza VOLUMEN. pp. 253–254. ISBN   83-85218-32-7.
  6. 1 2 Jasiński, Kazimierz (1992). Rodowód pierwszych Piastów. Warszawa - Wrocław: Uniwersytet Wrocławski - Oficyna Wydawnicza VOLUMEN. p. 252. ISBN   83-85218-32-7.
  7. 1 2 Marzec, Andrzej (1999). "Dobroniego Ludgarda". Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 95. ISBN   83-08-02829-2.
  8. ↑ Jasiński, Kazimierz (1992). Rodowód pierwszych Piastów. Warszawa - Wrocław: Uniwersytet Wrocławski - Oficyna Wydawnicza VOLUMEN. p. 257. ISBN   83-85218-32-7.
  9. 1 2 Jasiński, Kazimierz (1992). Rodowód pierwszych Piastów. Warszawa - Wrocław: Uniwersytet Wrocławski - Oficyna Wydawnicza VOLUMEN. p. 254. ISBN   83-85218-32-7.
  10. ↑ Lindner, Michael. "Dietrich (II.) von Landsberg". Sächsische Biografie. Institut für Sächsische Geschichte und Volkskunde. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jasiński, Kazimierz (1992). Rodowód pierwszych Piastów. Warszawa - Wrocław: Uniwersytet Wrocławski - Oficyna Wydawnicza VOLUMEN. p. 253. ISBN   83-85218-32-7.

Related Research Articles

Judith of Poland was a member of the House of Piast and by marriage margravine of Brandenburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolesław III Wrymouth</span> Duke of Poland

Bolesław III Wrymouth, also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the only child of Duke Władysław I Herman and his first wife, Judith of Bohemia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lestek</span> 9th/10th-century Duke of the Polans

Lestek was the second duke of Polans, and son of Siemowit, born c. 870–880, mentioned in the oldest Polish chronicle, Gesta principum Polonorum by Gallus Anonimus. The dukes of Polans were the foundation of the Piast dynasty, the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zbigniew of Poland</span> Duke of Poland

Zbigniew, was a duke of Poland during 1102–1107. He was the first-born son of Władysław I Herman and Przecława, possibly a member of the Prawdzic family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bezprym</span> Bezprym

Bezprym was the duke of Poland from 1031 until his death. He was the eldest son of the Polish king Bolesław the Brave, but was deprived of the succession by his father, who around 1001 sent him to Italy in order to become a monk at one of Saint Romuald's hermitages in Ravenna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leszek, Duke of Masovia</span> Duke of Masovia

Leszek of Masovia was a Polish prince from the Piast dynasty, the Duke of Masovia from 1173 until his death. He was the only son of Bolesław IV the Curly, Duke of Masovia and High Prince of Poland, to survive his father. After his father's death he inherited Masovia. At the beginning, Leszek ruled under the guardianship of his uncle Casimir II the Just. He was a man of poor health. For a short time he supported his other uncle, Mieszko III the Old, but later decided to reconcile with Casimir II, who after Leszek's death inherited his duchy.

Henry I of Sandomierz was the duke of Sandomierz from 1138 until his death. He took part in the Second Crusade. Upon his return from the Holy Land, Henry organized a battle against the Prussians and died in battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodoric I, Margrave of Lusatia</span>

Theodoric I, a member of the House of Wettin, was Margrave of Lusatia from 1156 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena of Znojmo</span> High Duchess consort of Poland

Helena of Znojmo, was a Bohemian princess, a member of the Přemyslid dynasty. She was the daughter of Duke Conrad II of Znojmo and his Serbian wife Marija of Rascia. Helena was probably named after her maternal aunt, Queen Helena of Hungary, wife of King Béla II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konrad Laskonogi</span>

Konrad Laskonogi, was a Duke of Głogów since 1177 until his death.

Elizabeth of Hungary was a member of the House of Árpád and by marriage Duchess of Greater Poland.

Mieszko Kazimierzowic was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast. According to some scholars, he was probably Duke of Kuyavia since 1058 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casimir II the Just</span> High Duke of Poland

Casimir II the Just was a Lesser Polish Duke of Wiślica from 1166 to 1173, and of Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby High Duke of Poland in 1177; a position he held until his death, though interrupted once by his elder brother and predecessor Mieszko III. In 1186 Casimir also inherited the Duchy of Masovia from his nephew Leszek, becoming the progenitor of the Masovian branch of the royal Piast dynasty, and great-grandfather of the later Polish king Władysław I the Elbow-high. The honorific title "the Just" was not contemporary and first appeared in the 16th century.

Mieszko Mieszkowic, was a Polish prince, and a member of the House of Piast.

Lambert Mieszkowic, was a Polish prince of the House of Piast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regelinda</span> 989-1014 medieval noble woman

Regelinda, also known as the "Smiling Polish woman", was a Polish princess from the Piast dynasty and Margravine of Meissen from 1009 until her death by her marriage to Herman I.

Otto Bolesławowic (1000–1033) was member of the House of Piast. He was the third son of King Bolesław the Brave of Poland. Having inherited no land from his father, he fled to Germany. After the defeat of his brother Mieszko II Lambert in 1032, Otto received a part of Poland to rule but died shortly after.

Agnes of Poland was a member of the House of Piast and by marriage princess of Pereyaslavl and Volynia and grand princess of Kiev since 1168.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elisabeth of Greater Poland, Duchess of Bohemia</span> Polish princess

Elisabeth of Greater Poland was a Polish princess of the House of Piast and, by her two marriages, Duchess of Bohemia and Margravine of Lusatia.

The German–Polish War was a conflict fought between 1028 and 1031. It was fought by the Holy Roman Empire led by Conrad II, the Duchy of Bohemia led by Bretislav I, the Kievan Rus' led by Yaroslav the Wise and, from 1031, the Kingdom of Hungary led by Stephen I, against the Kingdom of Poland led by Mieszko II Lambert and, until 1031, the Kingdom of Hungary led by Stephen I. The war had begun with Polish attacks on Saxony within the Holy Roman Empire. Following that, the Empire and the Kievan Rus' had attacked Poland, winning the war in 1031. Following the German victory, Mieszko II Lambert was forced to abdicate, losing the title of the King of Poland, and his country being reformed into the Duchy of Poland, with Bezprym as a duke.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.