Catherine of Masovia ( pl, Katarzyna mazowiecka; 1413/16 – between 2 June 1479 and 5 July 1480) was a Polish princess member of the

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...

in the Masovian branch. She was the eighth and youngest daughter of

Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia Siemowit IV (Ziemowit IV), also known as Siemowit IV the Younger (pl: ''Siemowit IV Młodszy''; ca. 1353/1356 – 21 January 1426), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast from the Masovian branch, from 1373/74 Duke of Rawa, and afte ...

and

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

, a daughter of

Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his bro ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

and sister of King

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. w ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Life

Before 21 August 1439, Catherine married

Michael Žygimantaitis Michael Žygimantaitis ( lt, Mykolas Žygimantaitis, pl, Michał Bolesław Zygmuntowicz; before 1406 – shortly before February 10, 1452 in Moscow) was pretender to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the last male descendant of Kęstu ...

, a Lithuanian prince and contender for the Grand Ducal throne as son of

Sigismund Kęstutaitis Sigismund Kęstutaitis ( lt, Žygimantas I Kęstutaitis, pl, Zygmunt Kiejstutowicz; 136520 March 1440) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name, while his pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was ...

, as his third wife. His two previous wives were also Masovian princesses: the first was Anna (Catherine's older sister) and the second was Euphemia (sister of

Bolesław IV of Warsaw Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: *Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, Pol ...

). They had no children. Thanks to his bonds with the Masovian Piasts, Michael Žygimantaitis counted with the strong support of the courts of Płock and Warsaw and also with the loyalty of the Lithuanian

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

; however, by 1447 he was abandoned by all his allies and defeated, was captured and transported to the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

where he died under unclear circumstances (possibly poisoned). After the deaths of her nephews Siemowit VI and Władysław II in early 1462, Catherine took control over parts of their domains, and vigorously defended (with the help of the local nobility) the rights of her cousins from the Warsaw line against the annexation plans of the Kingdom of Poland. The last mention of Catherine as a living person was on 2 June 1479. Her burial place is unknown.K. Jasiński: ''Rodowód Piastów mazowieckich'', Poznań – Wrocław 1998, pp. 147–148.

Notes

References

*J. Grabowski: ''Dynastia Piastów mazowieckich'', Avalon Editorial, Kraków 2012, pp. 473–474. *K. Jasiński: ''Rodowód Piastów mazowieckich'', Poznań – Wrocław 1998, pp. 144–148. *J. Tęgowski: ''Pierwsze pokolenia Giedyminowiczów'', Poznań – Wrocław 1999, pp. 226–227. {{authority control Piast dynasty Polish princesses Polish people of Lithuanian descent 1400s births 1470s deaths