Judith of Schweinfurt | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Bohemia | |
 Depiction in theChronicle of Dalimil, 14th century | |
| Born | before 1003 |
| Died | 2 August 1058 |
| Noble family | House of Schweinfurt |
| Spouse(s) | Bretislav I, Duke of Bohemia |
| Issue | |
| Father | Henry of Schweinfurt |
| Mother | Gerberga ofHenneberg |
Judith of Schweinfurt (Czech:Jitka ze Schweinfurtu / in old Czech: Jitka ze Svinibrodu; before 1003 – 2 August 1058) wasDuchess consort of Bohemia from 1034 until 1055, by her marriage with thePřemyslid dukeBretislav I.[1][2][3][4]
Her parents wereHenry of Schweinfurt (d. 1017), margrave in the BavarianNordgau,[1] and his wifeGerberga ofHenneberg. Margrave Henry and his fatherBerthold may have been descendants of DukeArnulf of Bavaria and related to theLuitpolding dynasty. Berthold's brother (or nephew) MargraveLeopold I of Austria became progenitor of the YoungerHouse of Babenberg. She was raised at the nunnery her family had founded inSchweinfurt.[5][6][7]
According toFrantišek Palacký, the young Bohemian prince Bretislav, son of the Přemyslid dukeOldřich of Bohemia, on his way to the court of EmperorConrad II in 1029 passed through Schweinfurt, where he met Judith and immediately fell in love with her.[7]
Duke Oldřich had forged an alliance with theGerman kingHenry II to depose his elder brothersBoleslaus III andJaromír.[8] He also had been able to reconquer largeMoravian territories occupied by thePolish dukeBolesław I the Brave by 1019. Therefore, Oldřich was not averse to confirm his good relationship with the German nobility through a marriage to Judith.
Beautiful Judith was a desirable bride, however, Oldřich's only son Bretislav was of illegitimate birth from hismisalliance with the farmer's daughterBožena.[9] Judith's relatives were very proud of their noble origins, thus complicating the prospect of Bretislav's marriage with the high-born Judith. The young man solved the problem in his own way by sneaking into the monastery and abducting Judith[5][7] on a wild ride out of Schweinfurt, shattering locks and chains with his sword.[1] Bretislav was never punished for the crime. He and Judith settled atOlomouc in Moravia.
Bretislav married Judith some time later.[10][11] Their first sonSpytihněv[12] was born after almost ten years (which led to the hypothesis that the kidnapping happened in 1029), although Judith may have given birth to daughters before her first son.
After Bretislav died in 1055, Judith was expelled by her son Spytihněv out of Bohemia, like many other Germans, and moved to theKingdom of Hungary with her younger sonVratislaus.[13] In Hungary she may have secondly married the former kingPeter Orseolo, who had been deposed in 1046.[14][15] Judith died in 1058 and her mortal remains were transferred toSt. Vitus Cathedral inPrague.[16]
The marriage of Bretislav and Judith was perpetuated in the theatre playBretislaus, also namedBretislav and Jitka, written by the Czech authorJan Campanus Vodňanský (1572–1622) in 1614.[17][18] The performance was then forbidden, considered detrimental to the reputation of the Bohemian monarchs.[18] According to legend, Judith during her kidnapping lost a shoe when Bretislav's horse galloped downhill from the Schweinfurt monastery; since the 19th century a masonry cave with a stone shoe marks the site.
Judith of Schweinfurt House of Schweinfurt Born: c. 1003 Died: 2 August 1058 | ||
| Preceded by | Duchess consort of Bohemia 1034–1055 | Succeeded by |
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