Maria of Brabant

Marie of Brabant (1226-1256)

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Marie of Brabant (1226-1256) was a daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Marie of Hohenstaufen. She married Louis II, Duke of Bavaria, being the first of three wives.

[edit]Family

Her sister, Matilda of Brabant was wife of Robert I of Artois and Guy II of Châtillon. Among Matilda's children was Blanche of Artois who was mother of Joan I of Navarre. Marie's elder brother, Henry III, Duke of Brabant succeded their father in 1248 and was the father of Henry IV, Duke of Brabant, John I, Duke of Brabant and Maria of Brabant, Queen of France.

[edit]Execution

Marie was executed by beheading in Donauwörth 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 (Fürstenfeldbruck) near Munich.

Sources tell varying tales about how the event occured. 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.