Princess Anna of Poland (1366–1425) was a Polish princess born into the

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

, and by marriage was Countess of

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

, also called Cilli, a medieval feudal dynasty within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. She was an influential woman in the politics of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln (European Genealogical Tables), Neue Folge, Band I.2, Tafel 274, Verlag: Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt a. M. 2000ː Podana została data śmierci 9 czerwca 1422. Miejsce pochówku w tym samym kościele gdzie mąż Ulrich I. Herzog von Teck, tzn. St. Stephan Kirche, Mindelheim. Zachowała się płyta nagrobna z piaskowca z przedstawieniem Anny von Teck.

Biography

She was daughter of King

Casimir III of Poland Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

(1309–1370), who was succeeded, not by Anna nor any of Casimir's own descendants, but by Casimir's nephew, King

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...

. Anna's mother was Casimir's fourth wife Hedwig of Sagan (d. 1390). Anna's elder half-sisters were already dead though one of them had left children. Anna was the eldest child of that fourth marriage, which also did not produce any sons, to King Casimir's dismay. In 1380 Anna was married to William, Count of Celje (1361–1392), a man chosen by Anna's first cousin, King

Louis I Louis I may refer to: Cardinals * Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578) Counts * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois (1172–1205) * Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346) * Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...

, from among his allies on the Hungarian southern borderlands. They had a single surviving child, daughter named Anna (1386–1416). In 1394 the widowed Anna married Ulrich,

Duke of Teck Duke of Teck () is a title which was created twice in Germanic lands. It was first borne from 1187 to 1439 by the head of a cadet line of the Kingdom of Germany, German ducal House of Zähringen, known as the "first House of Teck". The seat of thi ...

(died 1432). Meanwhile, the throne of Poland had passed in 1386 to Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania. When his first wife, Queen Hedwig (Anna's first cousin once removed) died in 1399 without surviving children, Jogaila sought a wife among the heirs to the kingdom of Poland, which had been Hedwig's inheritance. Duchess Anna desired to regain Poland for her heirs, the descendants of Casimir III, and to obtain power in her homeland. To achieve this, her daughter Anna was married in 1401 or 1402 to the widowed king, then aged around 50. She gave birth to a daughter, Hedwig Jagiellon, in 1408. The Duchess of Teck worked to advance her daughter's and granddaughter's position in Poland. When her daughter died in 1416, leaving no further surviving children (except Hedwig), Jogaila married Elisabeth of Pilica in 1417, and then Sophia of Halshany in 1422, both of whom did not descend from the Piast kings of Poland, as he had been unable to find any more brides with a hereditary right to the kingdom. The king's two sons and heirs were borne by his last wife, Sophia. In 1421 Anna's granddaughter was betrothed to the future Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg (1413–1471), the second son of

Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick (Middle High German: ''Friderich'', Standard German: ''Friedrich''; 21 September 1371 – 20 September 1440) was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427 (as Frederick VI), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Margra ...

. A party of Polish nobles, including Anna, wanted Hedwig and her intended husband to succeed Jogaila at least in Poland, instead of her half-brothers, his sons by Sophia. Anna died in 1425, which left Hedwig without any strong relatives to support her position. Because Hedwig died (allegedly poisoned) in 1431 without any issue, Anna's descent became extinct before Jogaila's death in 1434.

Family

In 1380 Anna of Poland married to William, Count of Celje (1361–1392). They had a single surviving child: * Anna of Celje (1386–1416), married to Jogaila Grand Duke of Lithuania, named Wladyslaw II as king of Poland. ** Hedwig Jagiellon, died 23 years old. In 1394 the widowed Anna of Poland married Ulrich,

(died 1432).

References

{{authority control 1366 births 1425 deaths 14th-century Polish women 14th-century Polish nobility 15th-century Polish women 15th-century Polish people Polish royalty Princesses of Poland Piast dynasty Countesses of Celje Daughters of kings