Name Dobroniega Poland | ||
Role Boleslaw III Wrymouth's daughter Parents Boleslaw III Wrymouth, Salomea of Berg Grandparents Wladyslaw I Herman, Judith of Bohemia Great-grandparents Casimir I the Restorer, Vratislaus II of Bohemia, Maria Dobroniega of Kiev, Adelaide of Hungary Similar People Boleslaw III Wrymouth, Mieszko III the Old, Wladyslaw II the Exile, Boleslaw IV the Curly, Wladyslaw I Herman | ||
Dobroniega Ludgarda (b. before 1136, d. around 1160 or later), was a Polish princess, a member of the House of Piast and by marriage the Margravine of Lusatia.
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She was the daughter of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, by his second wife Salomea, daughter of Henry, Count of Berg. Around 1147 she married Theodoric, second surviving son of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen and Lusatia. After bore two children she was abandoned by husband.
Early life
Dobroniega Ludgarda is named by Chronicon Montis Sereni and Genealogia Wettinensis a sister of Mieszko III the Old. As Mieszko III was son of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, by his second wife Salomea, historians considered that Dobroniega Ludgarda had the same parents. Due to chronology is impossible that Dobroniega was daughter of Bolesław III from his first marriage with Zbyslava of Kiev.
She was named Dobroniega after her paternal great-grandmother, Maria Dobroniega of Kiev. 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.
No sources mentioned date of birth of Dobroniega Ludgarda. She was undoubtedly one of younger children of Bolesław III and Salomea.
According to Karol Maleczyński she was born no later than in 1129 as tenth children of Bolesław III and Salomea.. 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.
There is also a theoretical possibility that Dobroniega was the daughter of Bolesław III who was engaged with Konrad von Plötzkau, Margrave of the Nordmark. If this identification were true, Dobroniega would be born before 1127. However, this is only theoretical possibility. Historian Oswald Balzer rejected this possibility, Kazimierz Jasiński considered that could not be taken seriously, because in other case we would fall in a bunch of untestable guesses.
Mariage
Few years after death of Bolesław III in 1138 his sons started to fighting against each other: on the one side Władysław II the Exile, son from the first marriage, on the other Bolesław IV the Curly and Mieszko the Old, sons from the second marriage. As Władysław was brohter-in-law of Conrad III, a king of Germany, his younger brothers were looking for other 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 married their sister Dobroniega with Theodoric (Dietrich, Dytryk), son of Conrad.
The date of marriage is unknown. According to older historians it was around 1142. Kazimierz Jasiński considered that Bolesław IV and Mieszko III were looking for an ally with Conrad no earlier than in 1146. This ally was mentioned first time in sources in summer 1146 when Conrad and Albert the Bear, duke of Saxony, brokered between Polish princes. According to Jasiński, Dobroniega married Theodoric probably around 1147 (between 1146 and 1148). This date is accepted by other historians. On 6 January 1148 Judyta, sister of Dobroniega, married to Otto, son of Albert the Bear.
During her marriage she bore two children: a son, Conrad, and a daughter, Gertruda. Her husband in 1157 became Margrave of Lusatia.
In uknown year Theodoric abandoned Dobroniega. According to Chronicon Montis Sereni some time after Theodoric started relationship with Cunigunde, the widowed Countess of Plötzkau.
Oswald Balzer considered that Theodoric abandoned Dobroniega after 1144, while Kazimierz Jasiński that probably in 1150s.
Death and Aftermaths
Dobroniega's date of death remains unknown. She died no earlier than around 1160. In other case Theodoric could married his concubine. There is no information where Dobroniega was buried.
Her son Conrad was killed in a tournament on 17 February 1175, while her daughter Gertruda became a nun in Gerbstedt.