Elisabeth of Świdnica (ca. 1315 – 8/9 February 1348) was a member of the

Piast dynasty 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 ...

in the

Świdnica Świdnica (; ; ) is a city on the Bystrzyca (Oder), Bystrzyca River in south-western Poland in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As of 2021, it has a population of 55,413 inhabitants. It is the seat of Świdnica County, and also of the smaller dis ...

Jawor Jawor () is a town in south-western Poland with 22,890 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław. One of the oldest towns ...

branch and by marriage Duchess of

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

. She was the third child but second daughter of Duke

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 ...

by his wife

Kunigunde 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 (disambiguation), Kinga. People with such names include: *Kunigunde of ...

, 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 ...

, later

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

Family

Elisabeth was the third of five children. Her brothers were:

Bolko II the Small Bolko II the Small ( – 28 July 1368), was the last independent Duke of the Piast dynasty in Silesia. He was Duke of Świdnica from 1326, Duke of Jawor and Lwówek from 1346, Duke of Lusatia from 1364, Duke over half of Brzeg and Oława from 1 ...

and

Henry II of Świdnica Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

. Elisabeth's eldest and only surviving sister was

Constance Constance may refer to: Places * Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community * Mount Constance, Washington State, United States * Lake Constance (disambiguat ...

; she was wife of Przemko II of Głogów. Elisabeth also had another sister, Beata; she died aged ten or eleven. Elisabeth's brother, Henry married Katherine of Hungary. Their daughter was Anne of Świdnica, third wife 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 ...

and mother of

Wenceslaus, King of the Romans Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; ; , nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he was deposed in 1400. As h ...

Marriage

On 6 May 1326 and only eleven years old, Elisabeth married Duke

Bolko II of Opole Bolko II of Opole (; before 1300 – 21 June 1356) was a Duke of Opole from 1313 (with his brother as co-ruler until 1323). He was the second son of Duke Bolko I of Opole by his wife Agnes, probably a daughter of Margrave Otto III of Brandenburg ...

. Thanks to the marriage, Bolko II had a temporary close connection with the Polish King

(paternal grandfather of his wife). However, this alliance was short-lived: on 5 April 1327 in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, he paid homage to

King John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...

; he was the last Silesian Duke who became vassal of Bohemia. Bolko and Elisabeth had seven children:According to old chronicles, Bolko II remarried after the death of his wife Elisabeth. The name of his second wife was possibly Margareta, and together they had a daughter, called Agnes, later wife of Margrave

Jobst of Moravia Jobst of Moravia ( or ''Jošt Lucemburský''; or ''Jodokus von Mähren''; – 18 January 1411), a member of the House of Luxembourg, was Margrave of Moravia from 1375, Duke of Luxembourg and Elector of Brandenburg from 1388 as well as elected K ...

, later

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

. However, modern historians have debated (and even denied in some cases) the existence of the alleged second wife and daughter of Bolko II. According to the latest researches, this Agnes could be identical to Elisabeth, daughter of Władysław Opolczyk and first (or only) wife of Jobst. The confusion was in the fact that Elisabeth probably also used the name Agnes (''Elisabeth-Agnes''), a custom which was not unusual at that time (for example, Viola of Cieszyn or Richenza of Poland, later Queens of Bohemia, changed their names to Elisabeth after their marriages; see their Wikipedia articles). Sources who supported the existence of one wife of Jobst: ; sources who supported the existence of two wives of Jobst
Database by Daniel de RauglaudreDatabase by Herbert Stoyan
#

Władysław Opolczyk Vladislaus II of Opole (, , , ; ca. 1332 – 18 May 1401), nicknamed Naderspan, was Duke of Opole from 1356, Count palatine of Hungary (1367–1372), Duke of Wieluń (1370–1392), Governor of Ruthenia (1372–1378), Count palatine of Poland ...

(b. ca. 1332 - d. 18 May 1401). # Bolko III (b. ca. 1337 - d. 21 October 1382). #

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

(b. by 18 August 1338 - d. by 23 October 1365). #Kunigunde (b. 1340 - d. aft. 4 July 1372), a nun at St. Klara in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

(Alt-Buda). #Agnes (b. ca. 1341? - d. aft. 1 June 1390), Married

, but had no issue. Later became a nun at

Stary Sącz Stary Sącz is a small historic town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Stary Sącz (commune), and one of the oldest towns in the country, receiving Magdeburg rights in the 13th century. Geography Star ...

. #Elisabeth (b. ca. 1342/47? - d. aft. 25 April 1382), a nun at

Trzebnica Trzebnica (Polish pronunciation: ; , ) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in west-central Poland. It is the seat of Trzebnica County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Trzebnica. It lies within the eastern Trzebni ...

. #Anna (b.ca. 1348? - d. aft. 12 March 1411), a nun at St. Klara at

. All of their daughters became

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s. Their sons succeeded their father and took control of the duchies. Elisabeth died in 1348, it is believed to have had something to do with the birth of her last child, Anna. Elisabeth left her husband a widower and he never remarried. Bolko died nine years after Elisabeth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabeth of Swidnica 1310s births 1348 deaths Piast dynasty 14th-century Polish women 14th-century Polish nobility