Vladislava Kurjaković (c. 1303 – after 1346) was a Croatian noblewoman who was the duchess of

Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...

as the wife of duke

Ivan Nelipić {{Infobox noble, type , name = John Nelipić''Ivan Nelipić'' , title = Duke of Knin , image = , caption = Nelipić coat of arms , alt = , CoA = , more ...

. She was a daughter of Kurjak Gusić, count of

Krbava Krbava (; ) is a historical region located in Mountainous Croatia and a former Catholic bishopric (1185–1460), precursor of the diocese of Modruš and present Latin titular see. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as ...

and a maternal niece of

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 ...

Paul I Šubić of Bribir Paul I Šubić of Bribir (, ; – 1 May 1312) was Ban of Croatia between 1275 and 1312, and List of rulers of Bosnia, Lord of Bosnia from 1299 to 1312. As the oldest son of Stephen II of the Šubić family, Šubić noble family, he inherited th ...

. She was married to the Duke of Knin and

Cetina The Cetina () is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . From its source, Cetina descends from an elevation of above sea level to the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.Naklada Nap ...

Ivan Nelipić, with whom she had a son,

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...

. Following her husband's death in 1344, she took control of her husband's possessions as her son's guardian and continued to resist the rule of the king in the north. A royal army numbering about 4,000 soldiers under the Slavonian ban Nikola Banffy eventually invaded her territories and besieged Knin during September and October 1344. Protected by significant fortifications, the ban was unable to storm the city, and instead pillaged the surrounding villages before mounting the hill Spas in a final attempt. Vladislava initially promised him she will submit to king

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 ...

, but subsequently changed her stance as the army withdrew. She was also aided by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, and signed an agreement with their delegates in the main hall of the palace in the Knin Castle, which enacted military support and trade agreements. As a result of this, another siege was laid to Knin by Nikola in 1345 together with the

Ban of Bosnia This is a list of monarchs of Bosnia, containing bans and kings of Medieval Bosnia; Bosnia (early medieval), Banate of Bosnia, Kingdom of Bosnia. Duke (1084–1095) Bans (1154–1377) Kings and queen (1377–1463) All Bosnian kings added t ...

Stjepan I Kotromanić Stephen I Kotromanić ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Стефан I, Stjepan I) (1242–1314) was a Bosnian Ban from 1287 to 1290 jointly with Ban Prijezda II and 1290–1314 alone as a vassal of the Kingdom of Hungary. Origin His ancestry is ...

as the main royal army under Louis I slowly approached consisting of tens of thousands of soldiers in total. Both of these acts finally pressured Vladislava to sign a contract with the two bans in July 1345, during which she ceded the castles of

, ,

Počitelj Počitelj is a settlement and a historic village in the Township of Čapljina in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its walled nucleus is protected National Monument of B ...

, Srb, and Unac to the king. The contract also confirmed her possession of Cetina and promised her the

fortress of Klis The Klis Fortress (; ) is a medieval fortress situated above the village of Klis, near Split, Croatia. From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, to a role as royal castle and seat of many Croatian k ...

(then under the control of

Mladen III Šubić Mladen III Šubić () ( 1315 – Trogir, 1 May 1348) was a member of the Croatian Šubić noble family, who ruled from Klis Fortress. He was in possession of Klis, Omiš and Skradin. He is also known as Shield of the Croats (Clipeus Croator ...

). Her son was granted absolution along with court titles and some land 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 ...

. In spite of this resolution, Vladislava was not happy, and spent the rest of her years in a voluntary exile in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

(since 1346), which was then under the control of the

References

External links

Vladislava Kurjaković
on

Croatian Encyclopedia The ''Croatian Encyclopedia'' () is a Croatian general encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divid ...

. 14th-century Croatian women Year of birth unknown 14th-century Croatian nobility Kurjaković {{croatia-bio-stub