Judith of Swabia

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Judith Sophia of Swabia (1047/1054 – 1093/1095) was the daughter of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor and his second wife, Agnes de Poitou.

When Judith's brother Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany concluded peace with Andrew I, King of Hungary in September 1058, she was engaged to the Hungarian king's son, Solomon, who was six years her junior. They married five years later in September 1063 in Székesfehérvár. Solomon had the support of Judith's powerful brother when he became King of Hungary in 1063. Solomon appears to have practiced bigamy, as he kept a second unnamed wife along with Judith. By marriage to him, Judith became queen consort of Hungary; her reign lasted until 1074, when her husband was forced to abdicate the throne. He died in 1087. Their marriage was childless.

Soon thereafter she married Ladislaus I Herman, Duke of Poland, who supported her brother in a bid to restore peace. He too had been recently widowed. His future successor, Boleslaw III of Poland, was his son from his first wife.

When they married, Judith changed her name to Sophia of Hungary, perhaps to distinguish herself from his first wife, Judith Premyslid, another Judith. Incidentally, Judith Premyslid was a niece of Solomon, Judith Sophia's first husband. Together Sophia, as she was thereafter known, and Ladislaus had three daughters. The middle daughter was Agnes of Gandersheim, who would become an abbess. She preceded her husband in death.