Catherine of Austria, Queen of Poland
Catherine of Austria | |
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Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania | |
Tenure | 1553–1572 |
Coronation | 30 July 1553 in Wawel Cathedral |
Duchess consort of Mantua and Montferrat | |
Tenure | 22 October 1549 – 22 February 1550 |
Born | Innsbruck or Vienna, Holy Roman Empire | 15 September 1533
Died | 28 February 1572 Linz, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire | (aged 38)
Burial | |
Spouse |
|
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary |
Catherine of Austria (
Early life and Duchess of Mantua
Catherine was one of the fifteen children of
Queen consort of Poland
Wedding
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Tiziano_Vecellio_-_Bildnis_der_Erzherzogin_Katharina_von_%C3%96sterreich.jpg/220px-Tiziano_Vecellio_-_Bildnis_der_Erzherzogin_Katharina_von_%C3%96sterreich.jpg)
In May 1551, after the death of his second scandalous wife Barbara Radziwiłł, King Sigismund II Augustus became a widower.[2] Emperor Ferdinand I pursued the marriage between Catherine and Sigismund to create a pro-Habsburg group within the Polish court. Particularly, he wanted to prevent Polish assistance to Sigismund's sister Isabella Jagiellon and her son John Sigismund Zápolya in the succession disputes over the Kingdom of Hungary. Both Catherine and Sigismund personally opposed the marriage.[2] Catherine blamed Sigismund of mistreating and causing the early death of her older sister and his first wife Elizabeth of Austria. Sigismund feared that Catherine would be similarly unattractive and of frail health as Elisabeth. However, the Habsburgs threatened to create an anti-Polish alliance with the Tsardom of Russia.[2]
In early 1553,
Life with Sigismund
Catherine spoke Italian and therefore could communicate with Queen mother Bona Sforza and her family.[5] She was ambitious and tried to gain political influence in the Polish court which caused Sigismund's ire. At least at first, he attempted to do right by his wife – he needed an heir and was acutely aware of the criticism of his treatment of his first wife Elizabeth of Austria.[5] In February 1554, the royal couple separated for the first time. Catherine was in Parczew while Sigismund attended general sejm in Lublin.[6] According to royal secretary Michał Trzebuchowski, the queen was very upset by the separation and kept crying. When Sigismund visited his wife on 9–10 April, Catherine informed him that she was pregnant.[6] At the end of April, the royal couple traveled to Lithuania and on 25 May reached Vilnius where with short breaks Catherine lived for nine years. It is unclear whether it was a miscarriage, false pregnancy, or an intrigue, but there was no birth in October 1554.[6]
Relatively normal, albeit somewhat distant, the marriage continued for a few more years. It seems that Catherine accompanied her husband to general sejm in spring 1555 and to the
In the spring of 1556, the Queen mother Bona Sforza returned to her native Italy and her two yet-unmarried daughters, Anna Jagiellon and Catherine Jagiellon, moved to Vilnius. It seems that the three women became close.[7] In summer 1558, the royal family returned to Poland. In October, Catherine became severely ill, but the cause of the illness is unknown as she would not allow Polish doctors near her.[7] When her father sent a couple of Austrian doctors, they reported only high fever and chills. She recovered somewhat only in spring 1559 but her recovery was interrupted by frequent travels in summer 1559 to avoid a plague outbreak.[8] Catherine returned to Vilnius only in early 1560 and became ill again. Sigismund was convinced that it was epilepsy, the same disease that tormented his first wife and Catherine's sister. Their marriage became very distant.[8]
Failed marriage
In October 1562, at the wedding of Catherine Jagiellon and
In July 1564,
Wives of Sigismund II Augustus |
Catherine did not receive a warm welcome in Vienna as she was blamed for the failed marriage.[10] Emperor Maximilian II extended her stay and wanted to meet with Sigismund personally to discuss the issue, but he refused. In March 1567, Andreas Dudith relayed that Sigismund categorically refused to live with Catherine (reportedly, he once said that he would gladly become a monk if that meant he could get rid of Catherine)[11] and that he would not protest if Catherine remained in Austria.[10] Sigismund would not specify where Catherine should live if she returned to Poland and would not allot money for her court, in effect precluding her from returning.[10] In June 1567, Catherine became seriously ill with what doctors called melancholia. After recovering, in October, she moved to Linz to live out the remaining five years of her life.[10]
According to a witness, Catherine lived like a widow. She received 28,000 guldens annually from Sigismund for her court of more than fifty people.
Catherine died on 28 February 1572 and was buried in castle's chapel. When Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, ordered reconstruction of the castle, her body was moved to the St. Florian Monastery on 22 September 1599.[12] A funeral was not organized until 22 September 1614 during the reign of Emperor Matthias. The surviving sarcophagus was built in 1781.[12]
Ancestors
Ancestors of Catherine of Austria, Queen of Poland |
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References
- Notes
- ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 311.
- ^ a b c d e f g Duczmal 2012, p. 312.
- ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 312–313.
- ^ a b Duczmal 2012, p. 313.
- ^ a b Duczmal 2012, p. 314.
- ^ a b c Duczmal 2012, p. 315.
- ^ a b c d Duczmal 2012, p. 316.
- ^ a b c d Duczmal 2012, p. 317.
- ^ a b c Duczmal 2012, p. 318.
- ^ a b c d e f Duczmal 2012, p. 319.
- ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 332.
- ^ a b c d Duczmal 2012, p. 320.
- von Wurzbach, Constantin, ed. (1861). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 7. p. 112 – via Wikisource. .
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Vladislas II, King of Bohemia and Hungary at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Cazacu, Matei (2017). Reinert, Stephen W. (ed.). Dracula. Brill. p. 204.
- ^ Holland, Arthur William (1911). Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. . In
- ^ Poupardin, René (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Ferdinand II, King of Spain at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Isabella I, Queen of Spain at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Casimir IV, King of Poland at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- von Wurzbach, Constantin, ed. (1860). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 167 – via Wikisource. .
- ^ Boureau, Alain (1995). The Lord's First Night: The Myth of the Droit de Cuissage. Translated by Cochrane, Lydia G. The University of Chicago Press. p. 96.
- ^ Noubel, P., ed. (1877). Revue de l'Agenais [Review of the Agenais]. Vol. 4. Société académique d'Agen. p. 497.
- Bibliography
- Duczmal, Małgorzata (2012). Jogailaičiai (in Lithuanian). Translated by Birutė Mikalonienė; Vyturys Jarutis. Vilnius: ISBN 978-5-420-01703-6.
External links
Media related to Catherine of Austria (1533-1572) at Wikimedia Commons