Hedwig of Masovia ( pl, Jadwiga mazowiecka, hu, Hedvig mazóviai hercegnő; ca. 1392 – after 19 February 1439), 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 eldest 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

On 3 January 1410, Hedwig married the Hungarian magnate John Garai, Ban of Ozora and ''

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 ...

'' of Temes and Požega Counties. This union had undoubtedly a political objective. Hedwig's father Siemowit IV, during the Polish-Teutonic War wanted to be close to the Hungarian King

Sigismund of Luxembourg 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 ...

, who at that point was an undercover ally of the Teutonic Order. It is not excluded that the wedding of his vassal's daughter to an influential Hungarian magnate was approved by King

of Poland, hoping that after this union relations with the Hungarian King could be improved, and his approval be obtained for a war against the Order. The marriage was probably instigated by Sigismund's wife

Barbara of Cilli Barbara of Cilli or Barbara of Celje ( Hungarian: ''Cillei Borbála'', German: ''Barbara von Cilli,'' Slovenian and Croatian'': Barbara Celjska,'' 1392 – 11 July 1451), was the Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia by marriag ...

, a cousin of the Polish Queen

Anna of Cilli Anna of Cilli or Anne of Celje (1386 – 21 May 1416) was Queen of Poland (1402–1416). She was the second wife of Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło), King of Poland and Supreme Duke of Lithuania (reigned 1387–1434). Their marriage was pol ...

, Władysław II's second wife. Hedwig bore her husband four children: *Hedwig (d. ca. 1435), married

Petar Talovac Petar Talovac ( hu, Tallóci Péter; died in 1453) was a Croatian nobleman, a member of the Talovac noble family. He was a vassal of the Croato-Hungarian king Sigismund who served first as administrator of the Archbishopric of Zagreb and then as ...

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia ( hr, Hrvatski ban) was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) an ...

. *Catherine (d. ca. 1435/37), married Nicholas Bebek de Pelsőc, ''ispán'' of Gömör County. *Stephen (d. bef. 1430). *

Dorothea Dorothea (also spelled Dorothée, Dorotea or other variants) is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift". It may refer to: People * Dorothea Binz (1920–1947), German concentration camp officer executed for war cri ...

Queen consort of Bosnia Duchesses of Bosnia :''The Duke of Bosnia, Ladislaus of Hungary, was engaged to Judith of Poland for a time but the engagement was broken off. Ladislaus did have a wife whose name is unknown.'' , Maria of Bosniac. 1353–1403, , , , daugh ...

(d. September 1438), married 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 ...

. John Garai died before 9 April 1428. In 1435, the Hungarian Diet began a process against Hedwig, who was accused of poisoning her husband, feared that he could discover her affair with one of his relatives,

Nicholas Szécsényi Nicholas (II) Szécsényi ( hu, Szécsényi (II.) Miklós), also known as Nicholas of Salgó ( hu, Salgói or ''Salgai Miklós'', german: Nikolaus Schallaga; died 19 January 1438), was a Hungarian wealthy landowner and magnate, who solely inherite ...

. In addition, during the process she was accused of incitement to prostitution in the person of her daughter Catherine. The testimony of members of the

Garai family 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 ...

, who belonged to the Hungarian elite, where enough evidence for King Sigismund, who dictated a harsh punishment against Hedwig: all her property was confiscated, and she was imprisoned for life in the castle of her husband's family. She spent rest of her life in house arrest in good living conditions in the fort of

Ladislaus Garai Ladislaus Garai, also Ladislas Garai, ( hu, Garai László; 1410 – February or April 1459) was Palatine of Hungary from 1447 to 1458, and Ban of Macsó between 1431 and 1441 and from 1445 and 1447. Childhood Ladislaus was the son of Nich ...

References

*K. Jasiński: ''Rodowód Piastów mazowieckich'', Poznań-Wrocław 1998, pp. 111–114. *M. Wilamowski: ''Jadwiga'', n:''Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny'', Kraków 1999, p. 312. {{authority control Piast dynasty Polish princesses Polish people of Lithuanian descent Prisoners and detainees of Hungary 1390s births 1439 deaths Garai family