Elizabeth of Hungary (, ; – 21 July 1154) was a member of the

House of Árpád A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and by marriage Duchess of Greater Poland. She was the eldest child of King

Béla II of Hungary Béla the Blind (; ; ; – 13 February 1141) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1131 to 1141. He was blinded along with his rebellious father Álmos on the order of Álmos's brother, King Coloman of Hungary. Béla grew up in monasteri ...

and Helena of Raška. This parentage is confirmed in several web sources who followed the message of chronicler

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

; however, modern historians led by

Oswald Balzer Oswald Marian Balzer (23 January 1858 in Chodorów – 11 January 1933 in Lwów) was a Polish historian of law and statehood who was one of the most renowned Polish historians of his time. In 1887 he became a professor at the University of L ...

refuted this theory on basis of chronological reasons: if Elizabeth's marriage date is correct, she must have been only between 8 and 9 years old, an age which seems extremely young for a bride, even by the standards of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Balzer assumed that Elizabeth was a daughter of Prince Álmos,

Duke of Croatia This is a complete list of dukes and kings of Croatia () under domestic ethnic and elected dynasties during the Duchy of Croatia (until 925), the Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia (1102–1526 in union with King ...

(father of King Béla II), a parentage which also is supported by further web sources. The disadvantage of this hypothesis are the message of medieval chronicles (for example, the ''Chronicon Polono-Silesiacum''), who firmly established that Elizabeth was a daughter of the ''Hungarian King'', a title Álmos never used because he was only a prince. Another theory was proposed by

Kazimierz Jasiński Kazimierz Jasiński (19 August 1946 – 25 January 2012) was a Polish cyclist. He competed in the Men's Road Race event at the 1968 Summer Olympics. In 1968 he was also part of the Polish team that won the Peace Race coming 11th individua ...

: in his opinion, Elizabeth was a daughter of King Stephen II. Although sources indicated that because of his dissolute lifestyle, Stephen II didn't have any surviving children, according to Jasiński this messages are originated from a later period and don't deserve trust; also, it should be taken into account that frequently skipping for the chroniclers the birth of female offspring.Jasiński K., ''Rodowód pierwszych Piastów'', Warsaw-Kraków 1992, pp. 235-240. Around 1136, Elizabeth married with Prince

Mieszko Mieszko is a Slavic given name of uncertain origin. Onomastics There are three major theories concerning the origin and meaning of the name of Duke Mieszko I of Poland. The most popular theory, proposed by Jan Długosz, explains that Mieszko is a ...

, son of the Polish ruler

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 ...

. The wedding was performed as a result of the agreement concluded a year earlier in

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

. Two years later (28 October 1138), Duke Bolesław III died; according to his will, Mieszko inherited the

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

province and became in his first duke, with Elizabeth as his duchess. Elizabeth and Mieszko had: * Odon *

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

* Elizabeth (Duchess of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and Margravine of

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

) * Wierzchoslawa Ludmilla (Duchess of

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

) *Judith (Countess of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...

and Duchess of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

) Elizabeth died in 1154 aged twenty-six.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elizabeth of Hungary, Duchess of Greater Poland 1120s births 1154 deaths Year of birth uncertain House of Árpád Piast dynasty Hungarian princesses Medieval Hungarian people of Serbian descent People from the Duchy of Greater Poland 12th-century Hungarian nobility 12th-century Hungarian women 12th-century Polish women 12th-century Polish people Daughters of kings