Katarina Šubić (; d. bef. 5 March 1358), was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n noblewoman from Croatian noble

Šubić family The Šubić family, also known initially as Bribirščić (Berberistich, Broborstic, Breberstic, Breberienses), was one of the Twelve noble tribes of Croatia and a great noble house which constituted Croatian statehood in the Middle Ages. They h ...

and by marriage, Duchess of

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on t ...

Biography

Katharina was the daughter of Mladen II Šubić,

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia () 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 Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...

and Lord of all of Bosnia. Katharina married

Bolesław III the Generous Bolesław or Boleslav may refer to: People * Bolesław (given name) (also ''Boleslav'' or ''Boleslaus''), including a list of people with this name Geography * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz Coun ...

, Duke of Legnica-Brzeg, in 1326, four years after the death of his first wife, Princess Margareta of Bohemia. The marriage, which lasted almost twenty-six years, was childless. After the abdication of her husband in 1342, Katharina retired with him to Brzeg, where they remained until Bolesław III's death ten years later, on 21 April 1352. In his will, Bolesław III left the Duchies of

and

Oława Oława (, , ) is a historic town in south-western Poland with 33,029 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, within the Wrocław metropolitan area. It is the seat of Oława County and of the smaller administrative distri ...

to Katharina as her

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settlement (law), settled on the bride (being given into trust instrument, trust) by agreement at the time of t ...

. This was the second documented case where a Piast ruler granted his widow lands in her own right; the first was Salome of Berg, who received

Łęczyca Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, ; ; ) is a town of inhabitants in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the Łęczyca County. Łęczyca is a capital of the historical Łęczyca Land. Or ...

from her husband

Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth (; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the onl ...

when he died in 1138. The terms of the dower grant stated that the beneficiary could obtain the full sovereignty over the land for her life, and could lose it in two cases: if she remarried or became a nun (resignation was not considered). Katharina reigned as Duchess of Brzeg for six years until her own death, in 1358. Brzeg returned to the hands of her stepsons, Wenceslaus I and Louis I.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subic, Katharina 1358 deaths Subic, Katarina Dukes of Brzeg Duchesses of Legnica Year of birth unknown Subic