View source for Mechthild of the Palatinate

{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Mechthild of the Palatinate
| image        = File:DH.Mechthild von der Pfalz.jpg
| birth_date   = 1418
| death_date   = 22 August 1482
| burial_place = Charterhouse of Güterstein
| spouse       = [[Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg-Urach]]<br>[[Albert VI, Archduke of Austria]]
| issue        = Mechthild<br>[[Ludwig II, Count of Württemberg-Urach]]<br>Andreas<br>[[Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg]]<br>Elisabeth
| house        = [[House of Wittelsbach|Wittelsbach]]
| father       = [[Louis III, Elector Palatine]]
| mother       = [[Matilda of Savoy]]
}}

'''Mechthild of the Palatinate''' (1418–1482) was a princess and major patroness of the literary arts in the 15th century.<ref name="Watanabe2011">{{cite book|last=Watanabe|first=Morimichi|title=Nicholas of Cusa: A Companion to His Life and His Times|year=2011|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1409420392|page=106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3S-Jk_LZwEC&q=Mechthild%2C+countess+of+the+Palatinate&pg=PA106}}</ref>

Born to [[Louis III, Elector Palatine|Ludwig III, Elector Palatine]] and [[Matilda of Savoy]], she was married by the age of 15 to [[Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg-Urach]].<ref name="Watanabe2011" /> Five children came out of the marriage, but by age 31 she became a widow.<ref name="Clogan1995">{{cite book|last=Clogan|first=Paul Maurice|title=Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Culture: Diversity, Issue 22|year=1995|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=0847680991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O1ZVbqS6eiYC&q=Mechthild%2C+countess+of+the+Palatinate&pg=PA141}}</ref>{{rp|143}} She was remarried two years later to the [[Albert VI, Archduke of Austria|Archduke Albert VI of Austria]].<ref name="Watanabe2011" /> After he died in 1463, she retired to her court at [[Rottenburg am Neckar]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Pius II|author-link=Pius II|title=Eurialus and Lucretia|year=1988|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=9062039995|page=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8N8gH0f6-YAC&q=Mechthild%2C+countess+of+the+Palatinate&pg=PA65}}</ref> This court became a center of flourishing literary culture up until her death.<ref name="Camden2001">{{cite book|last=Camden House Publishing|title=Camden House History of German Literature|year=2001|publisher=Boydell & Brewer|isbn=1571131035|page=788|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-yWvO3w9Zy4C&q=Mechthild%2C+countess+of+the+Palatinate&pg=PA788}}</ref>

Some of the literary artists who she supported showed their appreciation for her through the dedication of literary works. After their initial meeting in 1460, Niklas van Wyle dedicated four of his translations to her.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pius II|title=Eurialus and Lucretia|year=1988|publisher=9062039995|page=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8N8gH0f6-YAC&q=Mechthild%2C+countess+of+the+Palatinate&pg=PA65|isbn=9062039995}}</ref>

Amongst many things, she was also known as a bibliophile.<ref>{{cite book|last=Christ|first=Karl|title=The handbook of medieval library history|year=1984|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810816541|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fifhAAAAMAAJ&q=Mechthild,+countess+of+the+Palatinate}}</ref> Jakob Püterich von Reichertshausen wrote a poem for her called ''Letter of Honor''.<ref name="Jeep2001">{{cite book|last=Jeep|first=John M.|title=Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia|year=2001|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=0824076443|page=632|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p4uHav3mZLsC&q=Mechthild%2C+countess+of+the+Palatinate&pg=PA632}}</ref> In the poem, he lists and compares all the books that he and she had collected in their individual libraries.<ref name="Jeep2001" /> She had sent him a list of 94 of her books in advance of this poems creation for his use.<ref name="Jeep2001" /> Many of those in her possession, he had not even heard of before.<ref name="Jeep2001" />
	
In collaboration with her son, [[Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg|Count Eberhard the Bearded of Württemberg]], who was married to an Italian princess of the [[Gonzaga family]], [[Barbara Gonzaga (1455–1503)|Barbara Gonzaga]], she founded the [[University of Freiburg]], in [[Freiburg im Breisgau]], in 1457.<ref name="Camden2001" /> She later co-founded the humanistic [[University of Tübingen]] in 1477.<ref name="Camden2001" />

She died on 22 August 1482 and was buried at the Charterhouse of Güterstein.<ref name="Clogan1995" />{{rp|144}}
[[File:Mathilde of the Palatinate.jpg|thumb|Mathilde of the Palatinate]]

==Issue==
Ludwig I and Mechthild of the Palatinate had the following children:
*Mechthild (after 1436 – 6 June 1495), married in 1454 to [[Louis II, Landgrave of Hesse]] (1438–1471)
*[[Ludwig II, Count of Württemberg-Urach|Ludwig II]] (3 April 1439 – 3 November 1457), from 1450 count of [[Württemberg]]-[[Bad Urach|Urach]]
*Andreas (11 April – 19 May 1443)
*[[Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg|Eberhard V]] (11 December 1445 – 24 February 1496), from 1457 count of Württemberg-Urach, from 1495 Duke Eberhard I. of Württemberg
*Elisabeth (4 October 1447 – 3 June 1505), married in 1470 to [[Johann II of Nassau-Saarbrücken]] in [[Saarbrücken]] (1423–1472), and in 1474 to Heinrich the Elder, Count of Stolberg (1436–1511)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Mathilde of Palatinate}}

{{Consorts of Austria}}
{{Austrian archduchesses by marriage}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1418 births]]
[[Category:1482 deaths]]
[[Category:Princesses in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:German bibliophiles]]
[[Category:University of Tübingen]]
[[Category:University of Freiburg]]
[[Category:House of Wittelsbach]]
[[Category:Daughters of counts]]
[[Category:Daughters of prince-electors]]
[[Category:Remarried royal consorts]]
[[Category:Mothers of monarchs of Württemberg]]