Princess Elizaveta Ostrogska (1539–1582), also known as ''Elżbieta'' or ''Halshka'', was a Ruthenian heiress, the only child of Prince

Illia Ostrogski Eliasz Aleksander Ostrogski (1510–1539), also known as Illia Ostrogski, was the only son of Konstanty Ostrogski from his first marriage with Tatiana Koretska. He was starost of Bratslav and Vinnytsia. Biography When he was 13, his father Kon ...

and Beata Kościelecka.

Biography

She wasn born in the Ostrog castle in 1539, soon after her father died. She inherited a great fortune which made her appealing as a bride for potential husbands. When she was 14, her uncle Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski (against the will of her mother) made her marry

Dymitr Sanguszko Dymitr is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Dymitr of Goraj (1340–1400), a Grand Crown Marshal from 1390 and Court Treasurer in the years 1364–1370 and 1377–1391 *Michał Dymitr Krajewski (1746–1817), Polish writer and ed ...

starost The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. Th ...

of Kaniv, Cherkasy and

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, a ...

. Soon Dymitr needed to flee because of Infamy and conflict with Sigismund II Augustus I, but he was captured and killed by Marcin Zborowski in the Jaroměř in 1554. In 1555 the King made her marry Łukasz Górka, voivode of Poznań, Kalisz, Łęczyca and Brześć Kujawski again against her and her mother's will, who wanted Halszka to marry Siemion Olelkowicz, Prince of Slutsk. Both mother and daughter fled to Lviv and hid in the Dominican Church. Prince Siemon slipped into the church dressed like a beggar and secretly married Princess Ostrozka in 1559. The King however didn't recognize it and ordered Prince Siemon to give Elizaveta back to Górka. The church was besieged, and mother and daughter were forced to surrender and accept the King's will.Marriage Strategies and Inheritance Systems in Europe
/ref> Her mother, Beata Kościelecka, for many years tried to cancel the marriage with Łukasz Górka. In the meantime, Prince Siemion Olelkovycz Slutski died. When he died, Elizaveta started to participate in social affairs with her husband ''de jure''. Elżbieta lived with Górka in his castle in

Szamotuły Szamotuły (german: Samter) is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, about northwest of the centre of Poznań. It is the seat of Szamotuły County and of the smaller administrative district Gmina Szamotuły. The population was ...

until his death in January 1573. When she became a widow for the third time, her uncle Konstanty Wasyl made her give him and his son Janusz part of her fortune. She died alone, insane, at the age of 43 in 1582.

Inspirations

Her tragic fate was a base for the book of Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, titled ''Halszka'' (Wilno 1838).

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Poles, Polish painting, painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works includ ...

pictured her in the background of ''Kazanie Skargi''. There is a legend about one of the

castle towers, that it was the prison for a "dark princess", whose face was hidden behind an iron mask by her husband.

References

External links

''Lubomyr Wynar''. Ostrozky in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrogska, Elizaveta Polish princesses Elzbieta Ostrozka 1539 births 1582 deaths People from Ostroh 16th-century Polish landowners 16th-century Polish women 16th-century Polish nobility

Biography

Inspirations

See also

References

External links