Conrad II, Duke of Swabia

Conrad II (February/March 1173 – August 15, 1196) was duke of Swabia from 1191 to his death and Duke of Rothenburg (1188–1191). He was the fourth son of Frederick III Barbarossa and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, and brother of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor.

He was engaged to Berengaria of Castile in 1187, and knighted by Alfonso VIII of Castile in 1188. The marriage was never completed, at first because of her young age of 9. By 1191, she resisted the marriage and sought an annulment of the marriage treaty.^[1]

In 1191, Conrad was present in Rome for the coronation of his brother, Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. He then joined the Norman campaigns in Sicily in 1191 and 1194. A chronicler described Conrad as "a man thoroughly given to adultery, fornication, defilement, and every foulness; nevertheless, he was vigorous and brave in battle and generous to his friends."

Conrad was murdered in Durlach in 1196, allegedly by the husband of a woman he had raped. Another story says that Conrad was bitten in the eye by a virgin he was attempting to rape, and that he died of the resulting infection.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Conrad II, Duke of Swabia

16. Frederick von Büren               8. Frederick I, Duke of Swabia                       17. Hildegard von Bar-Mousson               4. Frederick II, Duke of Swabia                             18. Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor               9. Agnes of Germany                       19. Bertha of Savoy               2. Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor                                   20. Welf I, Duke of Bavaria               10. Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria                       21. Judith of Flanders               5. Judith of Bavaria                             22. Magnus, Duke of Saxony               11. Wulfhild of Saxony                       23. Sophia of Hungary               1. Conrad II, Duke of Swabia                                         24. William I, Count of Burgundy               12. Stephen I, Count of Burgundy                       25. Stephanie               6. Renaud III, Count of Burgundy                             26. Gerard, Duke of Lorraine               13. Beatrix of Lorraine                       27. Hedwige of Namur               3. Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy                                   28. Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine               14. Simon I, Duke of Lorraine                       29. Hedwige of Formbach               7. Agatha of Lorraine                             30. Henry III of Leuven               15. Adelaide of Leuven                       31. Gertrude of Flanders

Notes

1. Shadis 2010, p. 52-58.

Sources

• Burchard von Ursberg, Burchardi praepositi Urspergensis Chronicon, ed. 1916
• Shadis, Miriam (2010). Berenguela of Castile (1180–1246) and Political Women in the High Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-23473-7.

See also

• Dukes of Swabia family tree