Elizabeth of Poland (, ; 1305 – 29 December 1380) was

Queen of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used ...

by marriage to

Charles I of Hungary Charles I, also known as Charles Robert (; ; ; 128816 July 1342), was King of Hungary and Croatia in the union with Hungary, Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of Charles Martel of A ...

, and regent of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

from 1370 to 1376 during the reign of her son

Louis I Louis I may refer to: Cardinals * Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578) Counts * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois (1172–1205) * Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346) * Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...

Life

Early life

Elizabeth was a member of the Polish royal

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

, the daughter of

Władysław I the Elbow-high Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: People Mononym * Włodzis ...

, prince of

Kuyavia Kuyavia (; ), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three traditional parts: north-western (with th ...

, later King of Poland, and

Jadwiga of Kalisz Jadwiga of Kalisz ( Polish: ''Jadwiga kaliska'' (''Bolesławówna)''; c. 1266 – 10 December 1339) was a Queen of Poland by marriage to Ladislaus the Short. She was the mother of the last Piast King of Poland, Casimir III. She was the second o ...

. She was the sister of

Casimir III of Poland Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

, who died in 1370. Her older sister was

Cunigunde of Poland Kunigunde, Kunigunda, or Cunigunde, is a European female name of German origin derived from "kuni" (clan, family) and "gund" (war). In Polish this is sometimes Kunegunda or Kinga. People with such names include: * Kunigunde of Rapperswil (c. early ...

, who was married to

Bernard of Świdnica Bernard (II) of Świdnica () (c. 1291 – 6 May 1326) was a Duke of Jawor- Lwówek-Świdnica-Ziębice between 1301 and 1312 (with his brothers as co-rulers), of Świdnica-Ziębice during 1312–1322 (with his brother as co-ruler), and the sole Duke ...

Queen consort

She was married on 6 July 1320 to Charles I Robert, King of Hungary. Elizabeth was Charles' fourth wife. The marriage brought an alliance between Poland and Hungary. Charles' two previous marriages are believed not to have left surviving issue, at least no surviving sons. Charles' first wife Maria of Bytom was believed to have been barren but it is also believed she bore two daughters:

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

and Elizabeth. Others however believe that the two girls were daughters of Queen Elizabeth. While at court in Hungary, Elizabeth is credited as having been the first to introduce perfume, then known as Hungary Water, to Europe and the western world.

Queen mother

Following her husband Charles Robert's death, Elizabeth wished to make a good marriage for her eldest surviving son,

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

. She had her son betrothed to Margaret of Bohemia, daughter of

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...

. They married in 1342 but the marriage didn't last because, seven years into the marriage, the fourteen-year-old Margaret died, childless. Elizabeth now needed for her son to remarry and produce an heir. The branch of the Kuyavian Piast family was popular in Hungary, and several members lived in Louis' court. Elizabeth's influence extended far beyond any other queen consort, and years before,

Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia Stephen II ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Стефан II, Stjepan II) was the Bosnian Ban from 1314, but in reality from 1322 to 1353 together with his brother, Vladislav Kotromanić in 1326–1353. He was the son of Bosnian Ban Stephen I Ko ...

, married

Elizabeth of Kuyavia Elizabeth of Kuyavia (, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Elizabeta, Елизабета; 1315/1320 – after 22 August 1345) was a Polish noblewoman of the House of Piast. She was the only daughter of Duke Kazimierz III of Gniewkowo and his wife, who ...

, the daughter of the Duke

Kazimierz III of Gniewkowo Kazimierz III of Gniewkowo (ca. 1280/84 – 22 August 1345/13 May 1350), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast, Duke of Inowrocław during 1287-1314 (under the regency of his mother until 1294 and his brother during 1294–1296), since ...

, Queen Elizabeth's cousin. Stephen II of Bosnia had a young daughter named

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

, and after learning about her, the Hungarian queen insisted immediately on bringing her to the Hungarian court for fostering. Stephen was reluctant at first, but eventually dispatched Elizabeth. Three years later, Queen Elizabeth invited Stephen to Hungary and arranged a marriage between their children. The queen mother was heir to her brother Casimir's throne after the death of their sister, Cunigunde. Her claim passed to Louis after the death of his two elder brothers. Casimir had married four times but none of his wives had given him surviving sons. He chose to leave Louis the crown of Poland thus Hungary and Poland being united under one monarch. Elizabeth's second surviving son,

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

, married

Joanna I of Naples Joanna I, also known as Johanna I (; December 1325 – 27 July 1382), was Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1343 to 1381; she was also Princess of Achaea from 1373 to 1381. Joanna was the eldest daughter of C ...

. Andrew wished to be made king of Naples and rule jointly with his wife, but Joanna refused.

Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI (; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1 ...

approved Joanna's request to be crowned alone. Fearing for his life, Andrew wrote to his mother that he would soon flee the kingdom and his Hungarian retainers informed his mother of his uncertain situation. She intervened and made a state visit; before she returned to Hungary, she bribed the Pope to reverse himself and permit Andrew's coronation. She also gave her son a ring, which was supposed to protect him from death by blade or poison, and returned with a false sense of security to Hungary. The ring didn't protect him; Andrew was soon assassinated by strangulation.Léonard, Émile-G (1954). ''Les Angevins de Naples''. Paris: Presses universitaires de France. p. 347.

Regent

Louis was absent from Poland between 1370 and 1375. Elizabeth was made regent to conveniently eliminate her from his court. The Poles hated paying taxes and loved to quarrel among themselves and with the court, especially with the domineering Elizabeth. Her regency turned out to be a failure, her own Polish background notwithstanding. In 1376, the Poles killed 160 of her Hungarian bodyguards and Elizabeth escaped to Hungary lest she, too, be killed by her compatriots. Louis reconciled with the rebels, and strengthened his power, at his mother's expense.

Death

After her regency and her return to Hungary, Elizabeth spent her final years in a monastery outside of

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

, where she wrote her will. It specifies her desire to rest in the monastery of

Order of Saint Clare The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin language, Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Or ...

in Old Buda. Elizabeth also left money and possessions to her family: she left Louis several golden vessels, daughter-in-law, Elizabeth of Bosnia -

Buda Castle Buda Castle (, ), formerly also called the Royal Palace () and the Royal Castle (, ), is the historical castle and palace complex of the King of Hungary, Hungarian kings in Budapest. First completed in 1265, the Baroque architecture, Baroque pa ...

, granddaughter,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

- a gold wreath, granddaughter, Jadwiga - wreath of

lilies ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

, and her niece, Hedwig - a ring. She also left money to some churches.

Issue

* Charles (1321) * Ladislaus (

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, 1 November 1324 – 24 February 1329) *

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...

(1326–1382) *

Andrew, Duke of Calabria Andrew, Duke of Calabria (30 October 1327 – 18 September 1345) was the first husband of Joanna I of Naples, and a son of Charles I of Hungary and brother of Louis I of Hungary. Background and engagement Andrew was the second of three surviv ...

(1327–1345) * Stephen, Duke of Slavonia (1332–1354) * Catherine (d. 1355) * Elizabeth (d.1367), married Boleslaw Opolski, sister of Katherine and also possible daughter of Elisabeth of Poland.

Ancestors

Legacy

The Queen was a renowned patron of arts and founder of many shrines which she fitted with wonderful treasures. The exquisite examples of Queen's foundation includes silver Reliquary Shrine with Virgin and Child from about 1350 in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, attributed to Jean de Touyl, most probably created for the convent of the Poor Clares of the Order of Saint Francis at

, also founded by the Queen in 1334 and silver reliquary of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

in the form of a gothic church from 1344, attributed to Pietro di Simone Gallico in the Museo Nicolaiano in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

. Elizabeth also inspired the foundation of the Hungarian Chapel in Aachen and sponsored some of its treasures.

In popular culture

Film

Queen Elizabeth is one of the supporting characters in Polish historical drama TV series "Korona królów" ("The Crown of the Kings"). She is played by Katarzyna Czapla.

Notes

References

* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabeth Of Poland, Queen Of Hungary Piast dynasty Regents of Poland 14th-century women rulers Queens consort of Hungary Princesses of Poland Hungarian people of Polish descent 1305 births 1380 deaths 14th-century Hungarian people 14th-century Hungarian women 14th-century Polish women 14th-century Polish people Daughters of kings Hungarian queen mothers Mothers of Polish monarchs