Reign Jadwiga of Poland

1 reign

1.1 coronation (1384)
1.2 refusal of william (1385)
1.3 marriage jogaila (1385-92)
1.4 strife sigismund (1392-95)
1.5 conflict teutonic knights (1395-99)
1.6 pregnancy , death (1399)

reign
coronation (1384)

imaginary portrait of queen jadwiga 16th century. held @ kunsthistorisches museum in vienna

the interregnum followed louis s death , caused such internal strife came end jadwiga s arrival in poland. large crowd of clerics, noblemen , burghers gathered @ kraków greet display of affection , according 15th-century polish historian, jan długosz. nobody protested when archbishop bodzanta crowned on 16 october 1384. according traditional scholary consensus, jadwiga crowned king . thereby, robert w. knoll proposes, polish lords prevented eventual spouse adopting same title without consent. stephen c. rowell, says sources contradict traditional view outnumber verifying it, suggests sporadic contemporaneous references jadwiga king reflect not queen consort, queen regnant.

bodzanta, archbishop of gniezno, jan radlica, bishop of kraków, dobrogost of nowy dwór, bishop of poznań, , duke vladislaus ii of opole jadwiga s trusted advisers during first years of reign. according accepted scholarly theory, jadwiga, still minor, mere tool advisers. however, halecki refutes view, contending jadwiga matured , personality, charm , kindness, served strengthen position. in late 1384 intervened on duke vladislaus s behalf reconcile him mother s favourite, nicholas garai.

refusal of william (1385)

the polish lords did not want accept jadwiga s fourteen-year-old fiancé, william of habsburg, sovereign. thought inexperienced william , austrian kinsmen not safeguard poland s interests against powerful neighbours, luxemburgs controlled bohemia , brandenburg, , had strong claim on hungary. according halecki, lords of lesser poland first suggest jadwiga should marry pagan duke jogaila of lithuania.

jogaila sent envoys – including brother, skirgaila, , german burgher riga, hanul – kraków request jadwiga s hand in january 1385. jadwiga refused answer, stating mother decide. jogaila s 2 envoys left hungary , met queen elizabeth. informed them allow whatever advantageous poland , insisted daughter , prelates , nobles of kingdom had considered benefit christianity , kingdom , according jan długosz s chronicle. nobles kraków, sandomierz , greater poland assembled in kraków in june or july , majority of more sensible voted acceptance of jogaila s marriage proposal.

dymitr of goraj jan matejko depicts jadwiga trying break castle gate join william

in meantime, william s father, leopold iii hurried buda in late july 1385, demanding consummation of marriage between william , jadwiga before 16 august. queen elizabeth confirmed previous agreements marriage, ordering vladislaus ii of opole make preparations ceremony. according canon law, jadwiga s marriage sacrament completed before twelfth birthday if competent prelate testified precocious maturity. demetrius, archbishop of esztergom, issued necessary document. william went kraków in first half of august, entry wawel castle barred. długosz states jadwiga , william able meet in nearby franciscan convent.

contemporary or contemporaneous records of completion of marriage between william , jadwiga contradictory , unclear. official accounts of municipal authorities of kraków record on 23 august 1385 amnesty granted prisoners in city jail on occasion of celebration of queen s marriage. on other hand, contemporary austrian chronicle, continuatio claustroneubuzgis states poles had tried murder william before consummated marriage. in next century, długosz states william removed in shameful , offensive manner , driven castle after entered queen s bedchamber ; same chronicler mentions jadwiga aware many people knew ... had fortnight shared bed duke william , there had been physical consummation .

on night when william entered queen s bedchamber, group of polish noblemen broke castle, forcing william flee, according długosz. after humiliation, długosz continues, jadwiga decided leave wawel , join william, gate of castle locked. called axe , [tried] break open , dymitr of goraj convinced return castle. oscar halecki says długosz s narrative cannot dismissed romantic legend ; robert i. frost writes tale, apocryphal . there no doubt, however, william of austria forced leave poland.

marriage jogaila (1385-92)

saint florian s psalter, commissioned jadwiga in around 1370, held in national library of poland in warsaw

jogaila signed union of krewo in august 1385, promising queen elizabeth s representatives , polish lords envoys convert catholicism, pagan kinsmen , subjects, if jadwiga married him. pledged pay 200,000 florins william of habsburg in compensation. william never accepted it. 2 days after union of krewo, teutonic knights invaded lithuania.

the aeltere hochmeisterchronik , other chronicles written in knights territory accused polish prelates , lords of forcing jadwiga accept jogaila s offer. according polish legend, jadwiga agreed marry jogaila due divine inspiration during long prayers before crucifix in wawel cathedral. siemowit iv of mazovia resigned claim poland in december.

the polish lords envoys informed jogaila obey him if married jadwiga on 11 january 1386. jogaila went lublin general assembly unanimously declared him king , lord of poland in february. jogaila went on kraków baptized, receiving christian name, władysław, in wawel cathedral on 15 february. 3 days later, 35-year-old władysław-jogaila married 12-year-old jadwiga. władysław-jogaila styled himself dominus et tutor regni poloniae ( lord , guardian of kingdom of poland ) in first charter issued after marriage.

archbishop bodzanta crowned władysław-jogaila king on 4 march 1386. poland transformed diarchy – kingdom ruled on 2 sovereigns. jadwiga , husband did not speak common language, cooperated closely in marriage. accompanied him greater poland appease local lords still hostile him. royal visit caused damage peasants lived in local prelates domains, jadwiga persuaded husband compensate them, saying: have, indeed, returned peasants cattle, can repair tears? , according długosz s chronicle. court record of order judges in favour of peasant shows protected poor.

pope urban vi sent legate, maffiolo lampugnano, kraków enquire marriage of royal couple. lampugnano did not voice objections, teutonic knights started propaganda campaign in favour of william of habsburg. queen elizabeth pledged assist władysław-jogaila against enemies on 9 june 1386, hungary had sunken anarchy. group of slavonian lords captured , imprisoned jadwiga s mother , sister on 25 july. rebels murdered queen elizabeth in january 1387. month later, jadwiga marched @ head of polish troops ruthenia 1 of governors submitted without opposition.

queen jadwiga s oath, józef simmler, 1867

duke vladislaus of opole had claim on ruthenia not convince wenceslaus, king of romans, intervene on behalf. jadwiga confirmed privileges of local inhabitants , promised ruthenia never again separated polish crown. after reinforcements władysław-jogaila sent lithuania arrived in august, halych, fortress resist, surrendered. władysław-jogaila came ruthenia in september. petru muşat, voivode of moldavia, visited royal couple , paid homage them in lviv on 26 september. władysław-jogaila confirmed privileges jadwiga had granted ruthenians in october. instructed subjects show same respect husband herself: in letter addressed burghers of kraków in late 1387, stated husband natural lord .

on william s demand, pope urban vi initiated new investigation marriage of jadwiga , władysław-jogaila. sent bishop dobrogost of poznań rome inform pope of christianization of lithuania. in letter bishop dobrogost, pope urban jointly mentioned royal couple in march 1388, implied had acknowledged legality of marriage. however, gniewosz of dalewice, had been william of habsburg s supporter, spread rumours secret meetings between william , jadwiga in royal castle. jadwiga took solemn oath before jan tęczyński, stating had had marital relations władysław-jogaila. after witnesses confirmed oath, dalewice confessed had lied. did not take vengeance on him.

strife sigismund (1392-95)

jadwiga s brother-in-law, sigismund, had been crowned king of hungary, started negotiations teutonic knights partitioning poland in 1392. jadwiga met mary in stará Ľubovňa in may , returned kraków in july. accompanied husband lithuania, according oscar halecki, because far kraków till end of august. on 4 august, władysław-jogaila s cousin, vytautas, had earlier fled lithuania teutonic knights, paid homage władysław-jogaila near lida in lithuania on 4 august.

negotiations between sigismund , grand master of teutonic knights, konrad von wallenrode, continued mediation of vladislaus of opole. however, hungary s southern border exposed ottoman incursions, preventing sigismund taking military measures against poland. wallenrode died on 25 july 1393. successor, konrad von jungingen, opened negotiations poles. during discussions, pope boniface ix s legate, john of messina, supported poles.

stephen of moldavia s promise of loyalty jadwiga , jogaila against sigismund

jadwiga skilful mediator, famed impartiality , intelligence. went lithuania reconcile brother-in-law, skirgaila, vytautas in october 1393. relations between poland , hungary remained tense. sigismund invaded moldavia, forcing stephen of moldavia accept suzerainty in 1394. after hungarian troops left moldavia, stephen sent envoys jadwiga , jogaila, promising assist poland against hungary, ottoman empire , teutonic knights.

on 17 may 1395, mary died after riding accident. according 1383 agreement between mother , polish lords, jadwiga childless sister s heir in hungary. vlad of wallachia, hungarian vassal, issued act of submission on 28 may, acknowledging jadwiga , husband mary s legitimate successors. widowed king s close supporter, stibor of stiboricz, expelled vlad wallachia. władysław-jogaila gathered troops on polish-hungarian border, eustache jolsvai, palatine of hungary, , john kanizsai, archbishop of esztergom, stopped invasion of hungary. in september, konrad von jungingen told prince-electors of holy roman empire union of poland, lithuania , hungary under władysław-jogaila s rule endanger christendom. however, of sigismund s opponents, numerous in croatia, supported claim of ladislaus of naples, last male member of capetian house of anjou. on 8 september, influential hungarian lords declared not support change in government while sigismund far hungary fighting against ottoman turks. before end of year, peace negotiations between representatives of hungary , poland ended agreement. jadwiga adopted title heir hungary , , husband took no further action against sigismund.

conflict teutonic knights (1395-99)

the relationship between lithuania , teutonic knights remained tense. jadwiga , polish advisers invited grand master, konrad von jungingen, poland open new negotiations in june 1396. conflicts vladislaus of opole , siemowit of masovia, had not given claims parts of ruthenia , cuyavia, intensified. demonstrate territories under jadwiga s direct control, władysław-jogaila granted duchy of belz (in ruthenia) , cuyavia in 1397. however, jadwiga , polish advisers wanted avoid war teutonic order. in response, władysław-jogaila replaced polish stratostas in ruthenia local orthodox noblemen. according german sources, władysław-jogaila , vytautas jointly asked pope boniface ix sanction vytautas coronation king of lithuania , ruthenia.

jadwiga , jungingen met in włocławek in middle of june, did not reach compromise. teutonic order entrusted vladislaus of opole task of representing claims dobrzyń against jadwiga. jadwiga , husband met sigismund of hungary, had returned there after catastrophic defeat in battle of nicopolis, on 14 july. seem have reached compromise, because sigismund offered mediate between poland, lithuania , teutonic knights. on jadwiga s request, wenceslaus of bohemia granted permission establishment of college lithuanian students in prague on 20 july 1397. jadwiga, had spent many sleepless nights thinking of project, according herself, issued charter of establishment college on 10 november.

she opened new negotiations teutonic knights, konrad von jungingen dispatched simple knight meet in may 1398. władysław-jogaila s cousin vytautas entered negotiations teutonic knights because wanted unite lithuania , ruthenia under rule , receive royal crown holy see. according chronicle of john of posilge, official of teutonic order, jadwiga sent letter vytautas, reminding him pay annual tribute władysław-jogaila had granted dower. offended jadwiga s demand, vytautas sought opinion of lithuanian , ruthenian lords refused jadwiga s claim tribute. on 12 october 1398, signed peace treaty teutonic knights, without referring władysław-jogaila s right confirm it. oscar halecki says posilge s sensational story either invention based on gossip or guess chronicler.

pregnancy , death (1399)

jadwiga childless on decade, which, according chronicles written in teutonic lands, caused conflicts between , husband. became pregnant in late 1398 or 1399. sigismund, king of hungary, came kraków in march negotiate campaign defend wallachia against ottoman turks. vytautas, in order bolster authority on rus principalities, decided launch expedition against timur, had subdued golden horde. according jan długosz s chronicle, jadwiga warned polish noblemen not join vytautas campaign because end in failure. halecki says great number of polish knights joined vytautas s expedition proves długosz s report not reliable.

on occasion of expected birth royal couple, jogaila s brother vytautas, grand duke of lithuania, sent expensive gifts, including silver cradle, royal court on behalf of himself , wife, anna. first horoscopes written jadwiga s , jogaila s child predicted son in mid-september 1398. however, girl delivered on 22 june 1399 @ wawel castle. reports of time stated child born prematurely. according horoscope, however, born bit late. more bit surely- due date of 18 june rule out suspicion of pregnancy mid-september.

the newborn princess named elizabet bonifacia (polish: elżbieta bonifacja, lithuanian: elżbieta bonifacija), after jadwiga s mother , pope boniface ix who, in letter of 5 may 1399, had agreed godfather under condition infant called boniface or bonifacia. baptised piotr wysz radoliński, bishop of kraków. infant died on 13 july, however. jadwiga on deathbed. stanisław of skarbimierz expressed hope survive, describing spiritual mother of poor, weak , ill in poland. advised husband marry anna of cilli, casimir great s granddaughter, , died on 17 july.

jadwiga , daughter buried in wawel cathedral on 24 august, stipulated in queen s last will. on 12 july 1949, tomb opened. nothing had remained of child s soft cartilage after 550 years.