Alexandra ( pl, Aleksandra, lt, Aleksandra; died 20 April 1434 in

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

) was the youngest daughter of Algirdas,

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

, and his second wife,

Uliana of Tver Uliana Alexandrovna of Tver (russian: Юлиания Александровна Тверская; – 17 March 1391) was a daughter of Prince Alexander of Tver and Anastasia of Halych (daughter of Yuri I of Galicia). She was the second wif ...

. Though Alexandra's exact date of birth is not known, it is thought that she was born in the late 1360s or early 1370s. In 1387, she married

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 aft ...

, and they had thirteen children.

Life

On 12 December 1385, few months after the

Union of Krewo In a strict sense, the Union of Krewo or Act of Krėva (also spelled Union of Krevo, Act of Kreva; be, Крэўская унія, translit=Kreŭskaja unija; pl, unia w Krewie; lt, Krėvos sutartis) comprised a set of prenuptial promises made ...

, reached a compromise with king

Jadwiga of Poland Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig ( hu, Hedvig), was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. She was the youngest daughter of Louis the Grea ...

and her intended consort king Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło), brother of Alexandra. Siemowit IV agreed to cease his rival claims to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

, pay homage to Jadwiga and Jogaila, and to assume position of a hereditary

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

to the Polish Crown in exchange for 10,000

Prague groschen The Prague groschen ( cz, pražský groš, la, grossi pragenses, german: Prager Groschen, pl, grosz praski) was a groschen-type silver coin that was issued by Wenceslaus II of Bohemia since 1300 in the Kingdom of Bohemia and became very common ...

and

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

Duchy of Belz Duchy of Belz or principality of Belz was a duchy, formed in the late 12th century in Kievan Rus. During its history the duchy was a constituent part of some other political entities such as the Kingdom of Rus, the Kingdom of Hungary, Duchy of ...

. The agreement was solidified by marriage of Siemowit IV and Alexandra in 1387. Alexandra died and was buried in

. Her final resting place is likely a church of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

Issue

In her union with Siemowit, Alexandra bore 13 children—five sons and eight daughters. Sons: *

Kazimierz II of Masovia Kazimierz (; la, Casimiria; yi, קוזמיר, Kuzimyr) is a historical district of Kraków and Kraków Old Town, Poland. From its inception in the 14th century to the early 19th century, Kazimierz was an independent city, a royal city of the C ...

* Trojden II of Masovia *

Władysław I of Płock Władysław I of Płock (1406/09 - 11/12 December 1455), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast from the Masovian branch. He was a Duke of Płock, Rawa Mazowiecka, Gostynin, Sochaczew, Belz, Płońsk, Zawkrze and Wizna during 1426-143 ...

* Siemowit V of Masovia *

Alexander of Masovia Alexander of Masovia (pl: ''Aleksander mazowiecki''; 1400 - 2 June 1444) was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast from the Masovian branch. He was Bishop of Trento since 1425, titular Patriarch of Aquileia since 1439, Cardinal nominated by ...

; who was a diplomat and

Bishop of Trento The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Trento ( la, Archidioecesis Tridentina, German Trient), in the Triveneto, is a Latin Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese named after its see in Alpine Italy, Trento (Tr(i)ent), in Trentino-Alto Adige region. Th ...

, titular

Bishop of Chur The Bishop of Chur (German: ''Bischof von Chur'') is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur, Grisons, Switzerland (Latin: ''Dioecesis Curiensis'').Cardinal of Damascus, and

Patriarch of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certain ...

. Daughters: * Euphemia of Masovia; married Bolesław I, Duke of Cieszyn *

Cymburgis of Masovia Cymburgis of Masovia (german: Cimburgis von Masowien), ( lt, Cimbarka Mazovietė), also Zimburgis or Cimburga ( pl, Cymbarka mazowiecka; 1394 or 1397 – 28 September 1429), a member of the Polish Piast dynasty, was Duchess of Austria from 1412 u ...

; married

Ernest, Duke of Austria Ernest the Iron (; 1377 – 10 June 1424), a member of the House of Habsburg, ruled over the Inner Austrian duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola from 1406 until his death. He was head of the Habsburg Leopoldian line from 1411. Biography E ...

* Jadwiga of Masovia; married John Garay, son of Nicholas I Garay * Amelia of Masovia; married William II, Margrave of Meissen * Anna of Masovia; possibly 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 Kęst ...

* Maria of Masovia; married

Bogislaw IX, Duke of Pomerania Bogislav IX (german: Bogislaw IX., pl, Bogusław IX; 1407/1410 – 7 December 1446), commonly known in English as Bogislav IX, was a duke of Pomerania in Pomerania-Stolp, whose residence was Stargard. His first cousin Eric of Pomerania trie ...

* Alexandra of Masovia *

Catherine of Masovia 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 in the Masovian branch. She was the eighth and youngest daughter of Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia ...

; married

Grandchildren of Alexandra and Siemowit IV included Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, Przemyslaus II, Duke of Cieszyn,

Sophie of Pomerania, Duchess of Pomerania Sophia of Pomerania-Stolp (1435 – 24 August 1497), was a Duchess of Pomerania by birth, and married to Eric II, Duke of Pomerania. Sophia was the daughter of Bogislaw IX, Duke of Pomerania and Maria of Masovia. In 1446, her father died and w ...

and

Dorothy Garai 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 func ...

References

Karol Piotrowicz, w: Polski Słownik Biograficzny/

Polish Biographical Dictionary ''Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' (''PSB''; Polish Biographical Dictionary) is a Polish-language biographical dictionary, comprising an alphabetically arranged compilation of authoritative biographies of some 25,000 notable Poles and of foreigner ...

. T. 1. Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności – Skład Główny w Księgarniach Gebethnera i Wolffa, 1935, p. 66–67

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexandra of Lithuania 14th-century births 1434 deaths Gediminids Lithuanian princesses Piast dynasty 14th-century Polish women 14th-century Polish people 15th-century Polish people 15th-century Polish women