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| St. Matilda of Ringelheim |
| 14 March 2023 |
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Matilda of Ringelheim (c. 892 – 14 March 968[1]), also known as Saint Matilda, was a Saxon noblewoman. Due to her marriage to Henry I in 909, she became the first Ottonian queen. Her eldest son, Otto I, restored the Holy Roman Empire in 962. Matilda founded several spiritual institutions and women's convents. She was considered to be extremely pious, righteous and charitable. Matilda's two hagiographical biographies and The Deeds of the Saxons serve as authoritative sources about her life and work.
Early life and marriage with Henry I
Matilda, daughter of Reinhild and the Saxon count Dietrich (himself a descendant of the Saxon duke Widukind who fought against Charlemagne) was born in around 892, and was raised by her grandmother Matilda in Herford Abbey. She had three sisters; Amalrada, Bia and Fridarun, who married Charles III, king of West Francia; and a brother, Beuve II, the Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne. Due to Fridarun's marriage to count Wichmann the Elder, there was an alliance between the House of Billung and the Ottonian family, which expanded their possessions to the west. In 909, she married Henry, at the time Duke of Saxony and later East Franconian king, after his first marriage to Hatheburg of Merseburg was cancelled.
In 929, Matilda received her dowry, which Henry gave to her in the so-called Hausordnung. It consisted of goods in Quedlinburg, Pöhlde, Nordhausen, Grona (near Göttingen) and Duderstadt. As queen, she took an interest in women's monasteries and is said to have had an influence on her husband's reign by having a strong sense of justice. |
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