Dorothy Garai ( sh, Doroteja Gorjanska/Доротеја Горјанска, hu, Garai Dorottya; died between 19 and 24 September 1438) was a Hungarian noblewoman who became
Queen of Bosnia upon her marriage to
King Tvrtko II in 1428. She functioned as art patron and exerted significant influence over her husband, especially over his relations with church officials, which earned her considerable notoriety in monastic circles. The marriage was harmonious, but childless and cut short by her death in her twenties.
Background
Dorothea was born into the
House of Garai Garai or Garay ( hr, Gorjanski) were a Hungarian-Croatian noble family, a branch of the Dorozsma (Durusma) clan, with notable members in the 14th and 15th centuries. They were lords of Csesznek.
Origin
The family was descended from the Dorozsma ...
, an extremely powerful noble family of the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
. She was one of the daughters of
John Garai
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
, ''
ispán
The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. ( hu, ispán, la, comes or comes parochialis, and sk, župan)Kirs ...
'' (count) of the
Temes County
County of Temes ( Hungarian: ''Temes'', Romanian: ''Timiș'', Serbian: ''Тамиш'' or ''Tamiš'', German: ''Temes'' or ''Temesch'') was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in southwestern Roma ...
and ''
ban'' (governor) of the Bosnian region of
Usora.
Nicholas I and
Nicholas II Garai
Nicholas II Garai ( hu, Garai II Miklós, hr, Nikola II Gorjanski; c. 1367 – December 1433) was a powerful Hungarian baron who served as the Palatine of Hungary from 1402 until 1433 and the ban of Macsó, Usora, Só, Slavonia, Croatia and D ...
, Dorothea's grandfather and uncle respectively, served as
palatines of Hungary
Palatines (german: Pfälzer), also known as the Palatine Dutch, are the people and princes of Palatinates ( Holy Roman principalities) of the Holy Roman Empire. The Palatine diaspora includes the Pennsylvania Dutch and New York Dutch.
In 17 ...
, the highest-ranking officials in the kingdom.
Her mother was
Hedwig Hedwig may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist
* Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist
* Romanus Adol ...
, 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 ...
.
Dorothy may have been familiar with the Hungarian royal court due to family connections, her uncle being
King Sigismund
Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia (''jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1 ...
's palatine and brother-in-law.
Dorothy first emerges in the late 1420s, when she resided within the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs ( Hungarian: ''Pécsi Egyházmegye'', la, Dioecesis Quinque Ecclesiensis) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Hungary. The Cathedral of Pécs is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint P ...
and by which time her father had died.
At that time, King
Tvrtko II of Bosnia
Stephen Tvrtko II ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Stjepan/Stefan Tvrtko, Стјепан/Стефан Твртко; died in November 1443), also known as Tvrtko Tvrtković (), was a member of the House of Kotromanić who reigned as King of Bosnia from 1404 to 1409 ...
found that his vassals' opposition to his close ties with the neighbouring Kingdom of Hungary was putting his throne in jeopardy. The noblemen were concerned that the Hungarian alliance would provoke an attack by the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
, and that the Hungarians would help him consolidate his power at their expense. Tvrtko responded by strengthening his alliance with the Hungarians even further; Sigismund offered him marriage with Dorothy, and Tvrtko accepted.
Marriage
Engagement and wedding
![Bobovac artefact (Queen Dorothy's coat of arms)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Bobovac_artefact_%28Queen_Dorothy%27s_coat_of_arms%29.png)
The engagement did not immediately receive support of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, however, because Tvrtko's religious affiliations were not clear enough. He admitted his subjects were "shaky Christians" who often changed allegiance from the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
to the
Bosnian Church
The Bosnian Church ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Crkva bosanska, Црква Босанска) was a Christian church in medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina that was independent of and considered heretical by both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox ...
or even
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
and vice versa, but Tvrtko managed to dispel doubts about his loyalty to the Pope, and the marriage went ahead.
[John Van Antwerp Fine, ''The Bosnian Church: Its Place in State and Society from the Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Century'', Saqi in association with The Bosnian Institute, 2007] The sources reporting these marriage negotiations are also the only ones that mention Dorothy by name, which is why historians were for a long time uneasy about identifying her as Tvrtko's wife.
All information about the royal wedding comes from the documents issued by the institutions of the
Republic of Ragusa
hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world"
, population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century
, currency = ...
; the Ragusan patricians were keen to learn as much as possible about the Bosnian King's bride. Dorothy was supposed to be received by Tvrtko in
Milodraž
Milodraž was a settlement in the Kingdom of Bosnia, situated on an important road connecting the towns of Visoko and Fojnica. No remains of it have been found, but royal charters and Ragusan documents confirm that one of the residences of King ...
on 12 July 1428, but the marriage ceremony does not seem to have taken place before August. The wedding festivities lasted for days.
Many Bosnian noblemen, including Grand Duke
Sandalj Hranić Kosača
Sandalj is a village in the municipality of Valjevo, Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and C ...
, refused to attend out of protest.
Ragusan representatives on 31 July asked for the young queen to come to
Podvisoki
Podvisoki ( cyrl, Подвисоки) was a medieval settlement, a castle town (in ), as part of wider area just beneath of the fortress Visoki, located on the Visočica hill above modern-day Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
History
Podvisoki wa ...
so she could receive
gift
A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...
s, as Ragusans had a considerable merchant colony in that town.
[Pavo Živković, ''Tvrtko II Tvrtković: Bosna u prvoj polovini xv stoljeća'', Institut za istoriju u Sarajevu, 1981] The new queen may have accompanied her husband on his visit to the Kosača family seat in
Blagaj
Blagaj is a village in the south-eastern region of the Mostar basin, in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It stands at the edge of Bišće plain and is one of the most valuable mixed urban and rural built environments in ...
, intended to mend the relations between the vassal and the overlord, in the spring of 1429.
Queenship
As queen, Dorothy appears to have been both politically active and a
patron of art. The Ragusan authorities addressed the Queen as well as the King, and they made effort to flatter her by sending expensive gifts and emphasizing her family's traditionally close relations with the Republic. She was specifically invoked in 1432 when they requested that the larcenous
Ljubibratić noble family be banished. The vigorous artistic activity at the royal court in
Bobovac
Bobovac ( sh-Cyrl, Бобовац) is a fortified city of medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located near today's Vareš and the village of Borovica. It is protected site as a National monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
History
The city wa ...
during Dorothy's queenship is linked either to her personally or to Tvrtko's desire to please her.
In 1432,
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...
sent Saint
James of the Marches
Jacob de Marchia ( la, Jacobus de Marchia, it, Giacomo della Marca; c. 1391 – 28 November 1476), commonly known in English as Saint James of the Marches, was an Italian Friar Minor, preacher and writer. He was a Papal legate and Inquisitor.
E ...
to reform the
Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena
Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena (also ''Bosna Argentina''; officially la, Provincia OFM Exaltationis S. Crucis - Bosna Argentina) is a province of the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their headquarters ...
and eradicate the Bosnian Church. He became vicar and fully empowered inquisitor of Bosnia in 1435 and remained in the kingdom for four more years. His aggressive approach to the Bosnian Church was strongly opposed by King Tvrtko, but it appears that his principal nemesis was the Queen. Their differences were such that Dorothy, "that evil woman", was accused of trying to have James murdered on several occasions, only for him to be saved by various
miracles
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
. She is alleged to have eventually grown tired of trying to get rid of him and instead made peace with the saint. The circumstances under which her marriage to Tvrtko was sanctioned leave no place for doubts about her loyalty to the Catholic Church, and the accusations thus seem unfounded. They do, however, indicate that she had great influence on her husband's religious policy.
Death and posterity
![Bobovac](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Bobovac.jpg)
The marriage of Dorothy and Tvrtko was certainly contracted for political reasons, but Ragusan reports about their wedding festivities and her death, which took place between 19 and 24 September 1438, indicate that the King had genuine affection for his wife. She was interred in the Bobovac chapel, which had probably been built for her. Despite facing succession issues, her widower never remarried and was buried next to her five years later. Her tomb has since been
looted
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
. Anthropological research indicates that she was in her twenties when she died.
It is not clear whether Dorothy had children. Sources do not mention any issue of Tvrtko II and Dorothy Garai, so it is generally assumed that the couple were childless. Archaeological excavations in the 20th century resulted in the discovery of a child's grave between the graves of Tvrtko and Dorothy, however, indicating that they may have had a child who died shortly after birth.
See also
*
Tvrtko II of Bosnia
Stephen Tvrtko II ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Stjepan/Stefan Tvrtko, Стјепан/Стефан Твртко; died in November 1443), also known as Tvrtko Tvrtković (), was a member of the House of Kotromanić who reigned as King of Bosnia from 1404 to 1409 ...
*
Dorothea of Bulgaria
Dorothea of Bulgaria ( bg, Доротея, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Doroteja, Доротеја; died 1390), also called Doroslava (), was the first Queen of Bosnia. Daughter of the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Sratsimir, Dorothea was held hostage by King Louis I ...
*
Kujava Radinović
Kujava Radinović ( sr-cyr, Кујава Радиновић) was the second wife of King Stephen Ostoja of Bosnia and as such she was Queen of Bosnia from 1399 to 1404 and again from 1409 to 1415. She was the daughter of the nobleman Radin Jabla ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garai, Dorothy
Bosnian queens
1438 deaths
Dorothy
Dorothy may refer to:
*Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name.
Arts and entertainment
Characters
*Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum
* Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...
Year of birth unknown
15th-century Hungarian women
Burials in Royal Chapel on Bobovac