Princess Margarethe of Swabia

Margarethe Josefa Hedwig was the seventh child of Bernard, Duke of Swabia and Dagna of Thuringia. Though her mother raised her catholic, from a child Margarethe was very smart and learned how to read, which led to her becoming enamored by the Eastern Orthodox faith. At the age of ten, Margarethe expressed her interest in converting to East Orthodoxy to her father and he was so horrified that he forbid her from reading and got rid of her books. To comfort her was her best friend and younger sister, Maud. Margarethe continued to pursue the orthodox faith privately and when her father found out at just age 12 Margarethe was sent to Hungary to be married to the Grand Prince of the Hungarians, Taksony. He was 20. Though eight years older than her, the two were married and Margarethe was allowed to convert to East Orthodoxy. Her husband respected her young age and the marriage was not consummated, instead she was given her own household which Taksony would visit and joke with her, play games, and pray. Margarethe was much happier in Hungary where she could grow up practicing her faith and experiencing Hungarian culture. She was also able to keep her name and was allowed to roam freely throughout gardens that were built for her, called the Roman Gardens, as Margarethe was from Swabia, a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire. She was also given a personal library to entertain her whilst her husband was doing his duties and being an adult. At 17, Margarethe approached her husband telling him that she was ready to 'become a woman.' The following year, she gave birth to a son, Stephen. She gave birth to three children who died shortly after birth or before turning one, Adelaide, Gejza, and Liliom. She then had two more surviving children, Emeric and Grimelda. Margarethe raised her daughter, Grimelda, with her orthodox faith and her sons were raised both Christian and Pagan, practicing both faiths shallowly, as her sons had a taste for war rather than religion. Margarethe took on the task of learning many languages including French, Latin, English, and Greek. She was incredibly educated for a woman of her time and stood up for feminist issues. She gave money to women who had been violated by men and supported young wives and mothers, as she was only 12 when she married. She, however, was lucky enough to have a very respectful husband and despite his many mistresses he found plenty of time to spend with his charming and pretty wife, who had grown into a beautiful woman, resembling her older sister, Frederika. Though Margarethe loved her husband, she wanted her children to have more freedom and allowed them to grow up and then choose out of a group of single royals. She was shocked, however, when her second living son, Emeric, fell in love, carried out an affair, and had a child with Halasz Ilona. Ilona was a member of tribal society and a her family was not of high birth. However, Emeric had promised to marry her if she became pregnant, and marry her he did, something that has mother made peace with after hours of prayer. In 1025, Margarethe was 48 when her husband died, and rather than Grand Prince, her son Stephen was named King. Margarethe was treated as a Queen Mother or Dowager Queen and was given her own residence with a pension and servants. An attempt was made on her life in 1027 when a Pagan who though she was trying to christianize and take over Hungary for herself broke into her residence, though a cook stopped him. This cook, named Gergo, was like a hero to Margarethe and though it is not clear how far the relationship went physically, the two clearly cared for each other very much. In her fifties, with the help of a scribe, Margarethe began recounting her life and remarkably made a book, called The Tales of a Woman, in which she described how she found her faith, her move to Hungary as a child, and her relationship with her sister Maud. She also took an interest in Runes and in her library she had multiple tutors who would help her. She ended up unintentionally forming a sophisticated court and had a somewhat westernized life, which echoed her youth in Swabia. Margarethe died at the age of 67 while napping in her garden. She was laid to rest on a bed of flowers and sent down a river bank.