#elizabeth kotromanic

[medieval-royalty]

Angevin Queens of Hungary 5/6:

Elizabeth of Bosnia, Queen of Hungary and Poland (c.1339-16 January 1387)

Elizabeth of Bosnia, also known as Elizabeth Kotromanic, was born between 1335 and 1340.  Her parents were Stephen II Kotromanic, Ban (ruler) of Bosnia, and his wife, Elizabeth of Kuyavia, who was a member of Poland’s Piast dynasty.  Around 1350, Elizabeth, having caught the interest of King Louis I of Hungary and his mother, Elizabeth of Poland, was sent to the Hungarian court.  There, in 1353, when she she in her teens, Elizabeth married Louis, who had lost his first wife, Margaret of Bohemia to the plague four years prior.  

     Elizabeth did not play much of a role at court for the first decade of her marriage, her powerful mother-in-law of the same name overshadowed her.  Louis did not have any children by his first marriage, and for more than a decade, him and Elizabeth were childless.  While Elizabeth remained childless, Louis recognized Stephen, his only surviving brother as his heir.  When Stephen died in 1354, his son John became to new heir, but he died in 1360.  Stephen’s other child, a daughter also named Elizabeth, was then recognized as heir, her being the only living descendant of Louis’s parents, besides Louis himself.  Elizabeth of Bosnia and Louis may have had a daughter born in 1365 who died the next year, but her existence in in dispute. 

     In the early 1370s, fortunes began to change for Elizabeth, she gave birth to three daughters in quick succession: Catherine, Maria, and Hedwig.  In the year 1370, Louis’ uncle, Casimir III, King of Poland died leaving no sons.  Louis became the new King of Poland, but preferred to stay in Hungary.  His mother moved back to her native country where she was regent until 1376.  This circumstance allowed the younger Elizabeth to play more of a role at court.  She seems to have taken an active role in her daughters’ upbringing, she even wrote a book for their education!  Unfortunately, no copies survive.  Elizabeth also commissioned a reliquary chest for St. Simeon in the Croatian city of Zadar, which survives to this day.  According to legend, she donated the chest for penance for stealing a finger bone from the mummified saint.  It’s more likely that she commissioned the chest to secure her and Louis’s connections to the city and the Church of St. Simeon.        

     Since Louis and Elizabeth had no sons, their eldest daughter Catherine was the heir.  Louis wanted to make advantageous marriages for his three daughters, as any one of them could end up on the throne of Hungary and Poland.  Catherine was betrothed to Louis, second son of King Charles V of France, Maria to Sigismund, second son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, and Hedwig to William, eldest son of Duke Leopold III of Austria.  In 1378, these plans were upset when Catherine died.  Louis now had to recognize Maria and Sigismund as his successors.  

     King Louis died in September 1382, when his eldest daughter, Maria was only eleven.  Elizabeth acted as regent, assisted by the powerful baron, Nicholas Garay.  Maria was quickly crowned as “King of Hungary”, the title “Queen” was only for consorts, and Elizabeth wanted it known that her daughter was Queen of Hungary in her own right.  Maria’s succession however, was not secure, and many of the Hungarian and Croatian nobles were not happy at the arrangement of female rule, and Elizabeth’s regency was troubled by constant revolts.

     This Polish did not want to be in union with Hungary, and wanted a monarch who would reside in their own country.  So instead of Maria, they chose her younger sister, Hedwig, to be their ruler in 1383.  Elizabeth agreed that she would send Hedwig to Poland to be crowned, but then the young girl would have to return to Hungary for the next three years.  However, in 1384, the Polish could not wait any longer, and demanded that Hedwig be sent to Poland.  Hedwig was sent, and she and Elizabeth never saw each other again.  Hedwig was crowned “King of Poland” in October 1384, to show that she was a monarch in her own right.  In Poland she became known as King Jadwiga.

     Elizabeth was opposed to Maria’s betrothed, Sigismund of Luxembourg, and wanted her daughter to marry Louis of France (her deceased daughter Catherine’s betrothed) instead.  In 1384, she started negotiating for this marriage.  In 1385, the betrothal to Sigismund was annuled, and Maria and Louis of France were married by proxy.  Not all of the Hungarian nobles agreed with this decision, causing more tensions to Elizabeth’s rule.

     King Charles III of Naples was the only remaining male Angevin, besides his young son, Ladislaus.  In 1382, he had his cousin, Queen Joanna I of Naples disposed and murdered, and took the throne.  Some of the Hungarian and Croatian lords wanted him as their king, so he invaded in the fall of 1385.  Sigismund of Luxembourg also invaded, and since Louis of France had not yet arrived to marry Maria in person, Elizabeth was left with no choice but to permit Sigismund to marry Maria.  This could of been because Charles of Naples wanted to seize the Hungarian throne, and Elizabeth thought that having her daughter married would prevent this from happening.

     This did not help, however.  Charles successfully invaded Hungary, and forced Maria to abdicate.  On New Year’s Eve 1385, he was crowned King of Hungary, Elizabeth and Maria were forced to attend his coronation.  Charles’s supporters returned to Naples by February, leaving him nearly defenseless.  As soon as they were gone, Elizabeth and Garay invited Charles to Buda Castle.  There, on 7 February 1386, he was stabbed according to Elizabeth and Garay’s orders.  Charles did not die right away, however.  Elizabeth and Garay had him imprisoned, and he finally died on 24 February, either from his wounds or poisoning.

     Maria and Elizabeth were restored, but there was still a lot of opposition.  She still did not agree with Sigismund, and did not want him recognized king.  Sigismund was not happy with this arrangement.  The Croatian lords who supported Charles, recognized his 9-year-old son, Ladislaus as the new king of Hungary.  With Maria, Garay, and others, Elizabeth set off to deal with them in July 1386.  On their way there, on 25 July 1386, they were ambushed, Garay and their supporters killed.  Elizabeth and Maria were captured.  Taking the blame for the recent events, Elizabeth begged the attackers to spare Maria’s life.

Elizabeth and Maria were imprisoned in Novigrad Castle, in Croatia, while their enemies decided what to do with them.  Charles of Naples’ widow, Margaret of Durazzo, insisted that Elizabeth be put to death.  In January 1387, Sigismund headed towards Novigrad to save the queens, but possibly just Maria.  A Venetian fleet was also trying to save Maria and Elizabeth.  When this news reached Novigrad, Elizabeth was strangled before Maria’s eyes soon before 16 January 1387.  Sigismund could have been behind her death, so that he could be King.  Elizabeth was secretly buried in St. Chrysogonus Church in Zadar, Croatia in February 1387.  Sigismund was crowned King of Hungary in March 1387, and in June of that year, Maria was freed from captivity.  Sigismund, however, remained the ruler, and Maria played little part in government from then on.                                                            

[budapestbug]

Perhaps the most recognized medieval object from Hungary is the Holy Crown of Hungary, commonly known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, displayed on the last picture. King Saint Stephen, the first Hungarian king received a crown from the pope in the year 1000, the legend says, but we know, the surviving crown dates from later in the 11th century, but throughout ther Middle Ages it was regarded as the Crown of Saint Stephen. Are there other crownes Hungary survived? How king was crowned before the arrival of the Holy Crown. Well, yes, other crowns were also found, used before the 12nd century, or in those thurmoiling decades, when rivalry and fight went on for the Kingdom of Hungary. First pic shows the so called Monomachos-crown, a Byzantine crown dating from the mid-11th century (is in the Hungarian National Museum) possibly used from the time of Coloman I, who was crowned in 1095. Second pictures shows a crown from the 13th century, this crown was found in the Margaret Island. On the island according to some historians stood at that time one of the monasteries of the Hungarian Temple Order, supporters of Anjou Charles Robert to seize the power in Hungary. He was crowned three times, in 1301, 1308 and 1310, but only at the last occasion the present Holy Crown of Hungary was used. Maybe this crown palyed role during the second coronation of him in 1308. Third picture display a crown found in the shrine of Saint Simeon in Zara (Zadar), probably donated by King Louis the Great or Queen Mary, his daughter. The role of this crown is unknown, maybe wored by Luis's widow, Elizabeth Kotromanic, who did not let her daughter to reign, but ruled for some years with ironhand over Hungarian territories. Fourth picture shows a crown, the funerary crown of Emperor Sigismund, husband of Queen Mary, who followed his wife on the Hungarian throne after her death in 1387 (died 1437). This crown was found among the ruins of Nagyvárad today Oradea in Romania - cathedral, and presently in the Hungarian National Museum. Last pic is hopefully known by everyone: the Hungarian Regalias with the Holy Crown of Hungary.