Judith of Swabia (, ; Summer 1054 – 14 March ca. 1105?), a member of the Salian dynasty, was the youngest daughter of Emperor Henry III from his second marriage with Agnes of Poitou. By her two marriages she was Queen of Hungary from 1063 to 1074 and Duchess of Poland from 1089 to 1102. Early life Born probably at the Imperial Palace of Goslar, Judith was the youngest of the six children born to Emperor Henry III and Empress Agnes. Soon after her birth on 9 April 1054, Judith was betrothed to Philip, eldest son of King Henry I of France. However, after the death of Emperor Henry III on 5 October 1056, with Empress Agnes acting as regent on behalf of her minor son, King Henry IV, the engagement was broken in September 1058, when a peace treaty was concluded with King Andrew I of Hungary. Emperor Henry III had waged two unsuccessful campaigns against Hungary in 1051 and 1052, whereafter Pope Leo IX arranged an agreement. As a part of the new alliance, Judith was engaged to the Hungarian king's son Solomon at the Bavarian court in Regensburg. When King Andrew I died in 1060, his widow and sons had to take refuge in Germany. Nevertheless, with the support of his powerful brother-in-law, Solomon could recover the Hungarian throne after the death of his uncle Béla I in 1063 and soon after married with Judith in Székesfehérvár. Queen of Hungary Judith's marriage to Solomon proved to be unsuccessful, and apparently both the king and queen had love affairs. Although it is generally believed that the union was childless, some sources state that Solomon and Judith had a daughter, Sophia, who later married Count Poppo of Berg-Schelklingen. During the 1070s, a struggle for power commenced between King Solomon and his cousins (Geza and Ladislaus, sons of the late Béla I). On 14 March 1074 at the Battle of Mogyoród, the king's forces were decisively defeated by his cousins and their allies, the Dukes of Poland and Bohemia. Judith fled back to Germany, while Solomon continued his fight for the Hungarian throne; in 1077 he accepted the rule of his cousin King László I, who gave him in exchange extensive landholdings after his formal abdication (1081). Despite this, Solomon never gave up his pretensions and began to plot against King László I; however, his plans were discovered and he was imprisoned by the King in the Tower of Visegrád until 15 August 1083, when on the occasion of the canonization of Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, Solomon was released.

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Judith of Swabia (, ; Summer 1054 – 14 March ca. 1105?), a member of the Salian dynasty, was the youngest daughter of Emperor Henry III from his second marriage with Agnes of Poitou. By her two marriages she was Queen of Hungary from 1063 to 1074 and Duchess of Poland from 1089 to 1102.

Overview

Judith of Swabia (, ; Summer 1054 – 14 March ca. 1105?), a member of the Salian dynasty, was the youngest daughter of Emperor Henry III from his second marriage with Agnes of Poitou. By her two marriages she was Queen of Hungary from 1063 to 1074 and Duchess of Poland from 1089 to 1102. Early life Born probably at the Imperial Palace of Goslar, Judith was the youngest of the six children born to Emperor Henry III and Empress Agnes. Soon after her birth on 9 April 1054, Judith was betrothed to Philip, eldest son of King Henry I of France. However, after the death of Emperor Henry III on 5 October 1056, with Empress Agnes acting as regent on behalf of her minor son, King Henry IV, the engagement was broken in September 1058, when a peace treaty was concluded with King Andrew I of Hungary. Emperor Henry III had waged two unsuccessful campaigns against Hungary in 1051 and 1052, whereafter Pope Leo IX arranged an agreement. As a part of the new alliance, Judith was engaged to the Hungarian king's son Solomon at the Bavarian court in Regensburg. When King Andrew I died in 1060, his widow and sons had to take refuge in Germany. Nevertheless, with the support of his powerful brother-in-law, Solomon could recover the Hungarian throne after the death of his uncle Béla I in 1063 and soon after married with Judith in Székesfehérvár. Queen of Hungary Judith's marriage to Solomon proved to be unsuccessful, and apparently both the king and queen had love affairs. Although it is generally believed that the union was childless, some sources state that Solomon and Judith had a daughter, Sophia, who later married Count Poppo of Berg-Schelklingen. During the 1070s, a struggle for power commenced between King Solomon and his cousins (Geza and Ladislaus, sons of the late Béla I). On 14 March 1074 at the Battle of Mogyoród, the king's forces were decisively defeated by his cousins and their allies, the Dukes of Poland and Bohemia. Judith fled back to Germany, while Solomon continued his fight for the Hungarian throne; in 1077 he accepted the rule of his cousin King László I, who gave him in exchange extensive landholdings after his formal abdication (1081). Despite this, Solomon never gave up his pretensions and began to plot against King László I; however, his plans were discovered and he was imprisoned by the King in the Tower of Visegrád until 15 August 1083, when on the occasion of the canonization of Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, Solomon was released.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).