Editing Judith of Swabia (section)

==Duchess of Poland==
In 1089, Judith married Duke [[Władysław Herman]] of Poland. This union considerably benefited German-Polish relations; on the occasion of the wedding, Emperor Henry IV commissioned to [[St. Emmeram's Abbey]] in Regensburg the creation of [[Gospel Book]]s to the Polish court, now kept in the library of the [[Wawel Cathedral]] chapter in [[Kraków]]. After her marriage, Judith changed her name to Sophia, perhaps to distinguish herself from Władysław I's first wife, [[Judith of Bohemia]]. Judith of Swabia's daughters with Władysław were Sophia(?) (who married Prince Yaroslav Sviatopolkovich of [[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir]]-[[Volynia]]), [[Agnes I, Abbess of Quedlinburg|Agnes]] (later [[abbess of Quedlinburg]] and [[Gandersheim Abbey|Gandersheim]]), and the wife of a Polish lord whose name is not known. According to older historians his third daughter did not marry a Polish lord, but was Adelaide (who married Margrave [[Diepold III of Vohburg]]).

Judith probably had a big impact on Poland's political life. It is believed that she was the mistress of [[Sieciech]], the count palatine and true governor of the country. Judith actively aided Sieciech in his schemes to take over the country;<ref>R. Grodecki, S. Zachorowski, J. Dąbrowski: ''Dzieje Polski średniowiecznej'', vol. I, p. 128.</ref><ref>Karol Maleczyński: ''Bolesław III Krzywousty'', p. 30.</ref> the death of [[Mieszko Bolesławowic]] under mysterious circumstances was, in all probability, caused by orders of the Count Palatine and Judith. With the help of Sieciech, Judith convinced her husband<ref>Roman Grodecki, Stanisław Zachorowski, Jan Dąbrowski: ''Dzieje Polski średniowiecznej'', vol. I, p. 129.</ref> to send Władysław I's first-born son [[Zbigniew of Poland|Zbigniew]] (who seems to be a strong candidate to the succession despite his illegitimacy) to [[Quedlinburg Abbey]] where her sister [[Adelaide I, Abbess of Quedlinburg|Adelaide]] was abbess; also, they wanted an eventual alliance with the only legitimate son of Władysław I, [[Bolesław Wrymouth]], born from his first marriage with Judith of Bohemia.

After discovering the plans of Sieciech and Judith to take over the country, Bolesław and Zbigniew became allies. Both brothers demanded that the reigns of government should be handed over to them. Eventually, after some attempts to break the alliance between the brothers, Sieciech was defeated, deposed and exiled (ca. 1100–1101). On 4 June 1102 Duke Władysław I died. The country was divided between Bolesław III and Zbigniew.

Judith's date of death was disputed among historians and web sources. Although 14 March is stated as the correct day in almost all the known sources, in the case of the year is more difficult to ascertain. Sources established that she died between 1092–1096, but this seems improbable, because it is known that around 1105, Bolesław III entered into an agreement with her, under which, in exchange for abundant [[dower]] lands, Judith guaranteed her neutrality in the Duke's political contest with his half-brother Zbigniew.<ref>M. Spórna, P. Wierzbicki: ''Słownik władców Polski i pretendentów do tronu polskiego'', p. 62.</ref> Thus, she died after that date. [[Gerard Labuda]] stated that Judith spent her last years of life in Regensburg with her (supposed) daughter Adelaide, wife of Count Dietpold III of Vohburg and Cham; since the date of the marriage between Adelaide and Count Dietpold III was ranked between 1110–1118, it is assumed that Judith died after the latter year, at a relatively advanced age.<ref>(in German) [http://www.manfred-hiebl.de/genealogie-mittelalter/salier_2/judith_tochter_von_heinrich_3_1096_salier_arpaden_piasten/judith_koenigin_von_ungarn_+_1096.html ''Judith Tochter von Kaiser HEINRICH III. + 1092/96'' in: manfred-hiebl.de/genealogie-mittelalter] [retrieved 24 October 2014].</ref> Her place of burial, [[Admont Abbey]] in [[Austria]], apparently confirm this theory.