Editing Matilda of Ringelheim

{{Short description|German queen from 909 to 936}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix=Saint
|name=Matilda
|birth_date={{c.}} 892
|birth_place=[[Enger]], [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]], [[East&nbsp;Francia]]
|death_date=14 March 968
|death_place=[[Quedlinburg]], Saxony, {{nowrap|[[Holy Roman Empire]]}}
|feast_day=14 March
|titles= 
|image=Ptacnik Mechtilda.jpg
|caption=King Henry and Matilda, detail from the ''[[Chronica sancti Pantaleonis]]'', 12th century
|venerated_in=[[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Roman Catholic Church]]
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=after 968
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=
|patronage=
|major_shrine=[[Quedlinburg Abbey]], Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
|prayer=
|prayer_attrib=
}}
{{CS1 config|mode=cs1}}

'''Matilda of Ringelheim''' ({{c.|892}} – 14 March 968{{sfn|Althoff|1990}}), also known as '''Saint Matilda''', was a [[Saxon]] noblewoman who became [[queen of Germany]]. Her husband, [[Henry the Fowler]], was the first king from the [[Ottonian dynasty]],{{sfn|Beumann|1969}} and their eldest son, [[Otto the Great]], restored the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 962.{{sfn|Althoff|1999}} 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 dynastic connections==
Matilda was born in around 892. She was a daughter of Reinhild and [[Dietrich of Ringelheim|Dietrich]]. He was count of the  [[Duchy of Saxony]] in the [[Kingdom of Germany]], formed fifty years earlier after the [[Treaty of Verdun]]. Fighting against [[Charlemagne]] at that time had been the Saxon duke [[Widukind]], from whom Dietrich was descended. 

It was in [[Herford Abbey]], in the Duchy of Saxony, that Matilda was raised by her grandmother (also called Matilda). She had three sisters; Amalrada, Bia and [[Frederuna|Fridarun]]. Fridarun was to go on to marry [[Charles the Simple]], king of [[West Francia]]. Matilda also had a brother, Beuve, who would eventually become Beuve II, [[Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne]].{{sfn|Althoff|1990}} Matilda was to have a niece called Fridarun, whose marriage to Count [[Wichmann the Elder]] meant there was an alliance between the House of [[Billung]] and the Ottonian family. This expanded their possessions to the west.{{sfn|Rieckenberg|Freytag|1955}}

==Marriage to Henry I==
When Matilda was seventeen, in 909, she married [[Henry the Fowler|Henry]], at the time [[duke of Saxony]]. He subsequently became king of [[East Francia]]. Henry's first marriage to [[Hatheburg of Merseburg]] had been annulled.<ref>Previously a nun, Hatheburg's marriage was annulled in 909 because the [[Catholic Church]] deemed that her vows as a nun had not been broken, though she had borne Henry's son Thankmar. His legitimacy was jeopardised by this annulment.</ref>{{sfn|Beumann|1969}}{{sfn|Althoff|2018|p=11}}

Some twenty years later, in 929, Matilda received her [[dower]], which Henry gave her in the so-called ''Hausordnung''. This dower amounted to land in [[Quedlinburg]], [[Pöhlde Abbey|Pöhlde]], [[Nordhausen, Thuringia|Nordhausen]], Grona (near [[Göttingen]]) and [[Duderstadt]].{{sfn|Althoff|1990}} 

As queen, Matilda took an interest in women's [[monasteries]]. Her influence on the king's reign is said to have been her strong sense of justice.{{sfn|Althoff|2018|p=17}}

===Children===
Matilda bore the king five children:  

* [[Otto the Great|Otto]] (912–973), crowned the [[Holy Roman emperor]] in 962{{sfn|Althoff|1999}} 
* [[Henry I, Duke of Bavaria|Henry]] (919/22–955), who became [[duke of Bavaria]] in 948{{sfn|Beumann|1969}} 
* [[Bruno the Great|Bruno]] (925–965), who was elected [[archbishop of Cologne]] in 953 and made [[duke of Lorraine]] in 954{{sfn|Oediger|1955}} 
* [[Hedwig of Saxony|Hedwig]] (910–965/80), who married the [[West Frankish]] duke [[Hugh the Great]]
* [[Gerberga of Saxony|Gerberga]] (c. 913–968/69 or 984), who first married Duke [[Gilbert of Lorraine]] and then King [[Louis IV of France]]

==Life as a widow==
Henry died in 936 in [[Memleben Abbey|Memleben]] and was buried in Quedlinburg. It was here that Queen Matilda founded a convent in the same year.{{sfn|Ehlers|1998|p=259}} She lived there during the following years and took care of the family's legacy. Thus, [[Quedlinburg Abbey]] became not only the most important centre of prayer in the kingdom, but also a place to commemorate its famous dead.{{sfn|Althoff|1984|pp=169–179}} 

As with other convents in the kingdom, Quedlinburg became a place for the education of noble families' daughters. Some became abbesses, securing a family's influence. One such was Matilda's own granddaughter, [[Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg|Matilda]]. She was the daughter of the above-mentioned Otto I and [[Adelaide of Italy|Adelheid of Burgundy]]. It was to this granddaughter that the queen, in 966, after 30 years' leadership, passed on responsibility for the convent. This Matilda thus became the first abbess of the convent in Quedlinburg.{{sfn|Müller-Wiegand|2003|p=98}} 

With her other resources, Queen Matilda founded more convents, one of them in [[Enger]] in 947.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://hf.westfalenhoefe.de/doku.php?id=wiki:enger |title = Wiki:enger &#91;Westfalenhöfe – Kreis Herford&#93;}}</ref> Her last foundation was in 961, the convent of Nordhausen.{{sfn|Althoff|2018|p=27}}

Over the years 936–946, Matilda's handling of her dower was disputed by her son Otto. He claimed his mother's possessions. Eventually this led to her fleeing into exile. Otto's wife, Queen [[Eadgyth]], is said to have brought about a reconciliation: Matilda was to leave her wealth, and furthermore Otto was to be forgiven for his actions.{{sfn|Müller-Wiegand|2003|p=124}} 

The above feud remains controversial to this day: to protect her legacy in the lead up to her death early in 968, Matilda acquired for all monasteries in eastern Saxony papal privileges.{{sfn|Althoff|1993|p=263}} These were overridden after her death when Matilda's dower passed to [[Theophanu]], the wife of Matilda's grandson [[Otto II]].{{sfn|Althoff|2018|p=43}}

==Death==
Queen Matilda died in the convent of [[Quedlinburg]] on 14 March 968, after a long illness.{{sfn|Althoff|1993|p=261}} She was buried in [[Quedlinburg Abbey]], next to her late husband.{{sfn|Ehlers|1998|p=257}} Throughout her life, Matilda had been dedicated to charity and her ecclesiastical foundations – as attested repeatedly in two hagiographies.{{sfn|Schütte|1994}}{{pn|date=March 2020}} A commemorative plaque can be found in the [[Walhalla memorial]] near [[Regensburg]], Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://heinzalbers.org/page-reg0060.htm|title=Walhalla: Gedenktafeln und Stützfiguren|website=heinzalbers.org|access-date=17 February 2020}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
Matilda is the patron of the St. Mathilde church in [[Laatzen]] (Germany), the St. Mathilde church in [[Quedlinburg]] (Germany), the Melkite church in [[Aleppo]] (Syria), and the Mathilden-Hospital in [[Herford]] (Germany). Her [[feast day]] is 14 March.

==See also==
* [[Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/March 14|Saint Matilda of Ringelheim, patron saint archive]]

==References==
===Citations===
<references/>

===Sources===
* {{cite book |url=https://digi20.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb00042229_00001.html |first=Gerd |last=Althoff |title=Adels- und Königsfamilien im Spiegel ihrer Memorialüberlieferung, Studien zum Totengedenken der Billunger und Ottonen |publisher=Wilhelm Fink |publication-place=Munich |year=1984 |language=de |authorlink=Gerd Althoff}}
* {{Cite NDB|16|371||Mathilde|Althoff, Gerd|119162547|ref={{harvid|Althoff|1990}}}}
* {{cite journal |title=Widukind von Corvey. Kronzeuge und Herausforderung |year=1993 |last1=Althoff |first1=Gerd |journal=Frühmittelalterliche Studien |volume=27 |pages=253–272 |doi=10.1515/9783110242256.253 |s2cid=189462653 |language=de }}
* {{Cite NDB|19|656|660|Otto I|Althoff, Gerd|118590758|ref={{harvid|Althoff|1999}}}}
* {{cite book |first=Gerd |last=Althoff |title=Königin Mathilde († 968): Ihr Leben als Braut, Ehefrau, Witwe und ihre eigenartigen Lebensbeschreibungen |series=Beiträge zur Stadtgeschichte |volume=11 |publisher=Verlag für Regionalgeschichte |location=Bielefeld |year=2018 |isbn=9783739510811 |language=de }}
* {{Cite NDB|8|307|310|Heinrich I|[[Helmut Beumann|Beumann, Helmut]]|11854831X|ref={{harvid|Beumann|1969}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Ehlers |first=Joachim |chapter=Heinrich I. in Quedlinburg |editor1-last=Althoff |editor1-first=Gerd |editor2-last=Schubert |editor2-first=Ernst |title=Herrschaftsrepräsentation im ottonischen Sachsen |publisher=Thorbecke Verlag der Schwabenverlag AG |year=1998 |isbn=9783799566469 }}
* {{cite thesis |first=Daniela |last=Müller-Wiegand |title=Vermitteln – Beraten – Erinnern: Funktionen und Aufgabenfelder von Frauen in der ottonischen Herrscherfamilie (919–1024) |publisher=[[University of Kassel]] |year=2003 |type=doctoral thesis |language=de |id={{URN|nbn|de:0002-1477}} }}
* {{cite NDB|2|670||Brun|Oediger, Friedrich Wilhelm|118674730|ref={{harvid|Oediger|1955}}}}
* {{cite NDB|2|240||Billunger|author=Rieckenberg, Hans Jürgen |author2=Freytag, Hans-Joachim|118702068|ref={{harvid|Rieckenberg|Freytag|1955}}}}
* {{cite book |first=Bernd |last=Schütte |title=Untersuchungen zu den Lebensbeschreibungen der Königin Mathilde |publisher=Hahnsche Buchhandlung |publication-place=Hannover |year=1994 |series=Monumenta Germaniae Historica |volume=9 |isbn=9783775254090 |language=de }}

==Further reading==
* Sean Gilsdorf: ''Queenship and Sanctity The Lives of Mathilda and The Epitaph of Adelheid'', Washington, D.C., 2004.


{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|||{{c.}} 894/97||968}}
{{s-roy}}
|-
{{S-bef
| before = [[Hedwiga of Franconia]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Duchess consort of Saxony]]
| years = 912–936
}}
{{S-aft
| after = [[Eadgyth|Edith of Wessex]]
| rows = 2
}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[Cunigunde of Swabia]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[List of German queens|German Queen]]
| years = 919–936
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Subject bar |portal1= Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Christianity |portal4= Germany}}

{{Royal consorts of Germany}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matilda of Ringelheim}}
[[Category:Frankish queens consort]]
[[Category:Queens consort of East Francia]]
[[Category:Ottonian dynasty]]
[[Category:German saints]]
[[Category:Christian royal saints]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic royal saints]]
[[Category:890s births]]
[[Category:968 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Christian female saints of the Middle Ages]]
[[Category:10th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Duchesses of Saxony]]
[[Category:10th-century German women]]
[[Category:House of Immedinger]]
[[Category:Queen mothers]]
[[Category:Mothers of Holy Roman Emperors]]
[[Category:Mothers of Italian monarchs]]
[[Category:Mothers of Bavarian monarchs]]
[[Category:Mothers of Saxon monarchs]]
[[Category:Mothers of German monarchs]]
[[Category:Henry the Fowler]]