Klara Künkel
| Klara Künkel | |
|---|---|
| Queen of Münich | |
 | |
| Petty Queen of Münich | |
| Reign | 15 February 975 - 16 August 995 |
| Predecessor | Henry I |
| Successor | King Gunthard of Lower Bavaria |
| Born | Eschenlohe Keep, Kingdom of Münich |
| Buried | Eschenlohe Keep, Kingdom of Münich |
| Noble family | Künkel |
| Spouse(s) | Eanhere of Münich |
| Father | Henry I Künkel |
| Mother | Anna de Busca |
| Religion | Catholic |
Klara Künkel was Queen of the petty kingdom of Münich from 16th of August 995 to until her death on 2 July 1027. Klara was the middle child to her father King Henry I. Having only daughters and fearing for the future of the realm, Henry’s first daughter was disinherited after converting to the heretical Cathar faith, leaving Henry’s younger daughters left to succeed him, Klara being the eldest.
Henry had developed a liking to his court physician and rewarded him with the Lordship of Münich and marrying his daughter Klara, with the agreement that it was a matrilineal marriage.
Henry I died in 995 and was succeeded by his daughter Klara. The new Queen quickly came into conflict with her uncles. Being a woman, married to a lowborn and the second daughter of Henry caused some ill sentiments about Klara’s succession. Refusing to recognize Klara’s throne, Lord Frederick, eldest brother to Henry, led Henry’s other landed siblings to rebel against the new Queen. In a devastating civil war, Klara and her supporters managed to scrape by with a white peace under the terms that Klara would retain the throne and Frederick and the other vassals would not be imprisoned or executed. As a result, Klara’s uncles had earned themselves a justification to be arrested and executed for being traitors, however Klara never made any arrests or attempts to execute her family members in fear of starting another civil war.
Throughout her reign, Klara was constantly threatened by her vassals and relatives. Klara’s standing army was only strong enough to deter any one vassal from rebelling, but not all of them united. A fragile peace was kept between the Queen and vassals for years to come. Klara had managed to ally with one of her kinsmen through a marriage, which provided much needed security against another civil war. Klara’s vassals were constantly seizing opportunities to expand their realms to neighboring lands, but Klara herself only expanded once, claiming Ravensburg as her own. As a result, the power of her vassals increased significantly, while Klara’s power remained relatively the same. No other civil war occurred during Klara’s reign.
With the death of her husband, Klara’s son Gunthard had inherited the Lordship of Münich. Many of the established lords had come to see Gunthard as respectable, which helped both his and Klara’s reputation. This would mean upon the death of Klara, Gunthard would claim both lordships of Münich and Eschenlohe. This gave Klara two alliances with her vassal lords, further securing her place in the throne against any remaining ambitious relatives. Her closest confidant was her spymaster Bedrich Obroditen, who worked closely with Klara to root out and opposition and keep her protected. Klara died on 2 July, 1027 and was succeeded by her son Gunthard.