Matilda of Swabia

Matilda of Swabia (; – 29 July 1032), a member of the Conradine dynasty, was Duchess of Carinthia by her first marriage with Duke Conrad I and Duchess of Upper Lorraine by her second marriage to Duke Frederick II. She played an active role in promoting her son, Duke Conrad the Younger, as a candidate for the German throne in 1024 and to this end corresponded with King Mieszko II Lambert of Poland. Family Matilda was the daughter of Duke Herman II of Swabia (d. 1003) and his wife Gerberga (c.965/966–1019), a daughter of King Conrad I of Burgundy. She had many illustrious relatives. Through her father, Matilda was descended from the Ottonian king Henry the Fowler; through her mother from King Louis IV of France and Charlemagne. After the death of Emperor Otto III in 1002, Matilda's father, Duke Herman, opposed the election of her cousin Duke Henry IV of Bavaria as German king, and promoted himself as a rival candidate for the throne. Herman and Henry both claimed descent from Henry the Fowler, progenitor of the Ottonian dynasty. Life About 1001/02 Matilda married Conrad of Carinthia, son of Duke Otto I, a member of the Salian dynasty. Conrad supported her father's bid for the German throne in 1002. Their marriage was possibly consanguineous and therefore was condemned by Henry II (her father's rival who was now crowned German king) at the Synod of Thionville in January 1003. A heated debate broke out; nevertheless, the couple remained together until Conrad's death in 1011.