Elisabeth of Greater Poland, Duchess of Bohemia
Elisabeth of Greater Poland (
She was a daughter of
Elisabeth's birthdate is unknown. Medieval sources do not even indicate whether the Hungarian princess was her mother. Elizabeth is believed to have been her daughter only because both had the same name.[2] Some scholars report that Elizabeth was born about 1152[3] or 1154.[4]
Life
Duchess of Bohemia
Around 1173 Elisabeth was married to
Margravine of Lusatia
Elisabeth never returned to Poland. Soon after her husband died (end January or early February 1180), she married Conrad, the fifth son of Dedi V, Margrave of Lusatia. They had three children: one son, Conrad, and two daughters, Matilda and Agnes.[7]
On 16 August 1190, Margrave Dedi V died, and his domains were divided between his two surviving sons: the eldest, Dietrich, inherited the counties of Sommerschenburg and Groitzsch (as the eldest heir of his mother) and the second son, Conrad, received the Margravate of Lusatia (the main paternal domain) and the county of Eilenburg. In consequence, Elisabeth became Margravine consort of Lusatia and Countess consort of Eilenburg. There are no records about her role at the Lusatian court.
Death and aftermath
At the beginning of 1209, Conrad II defeated the army of Elisabeth's half-brother, Władysław III Spindleshanks, in the Battle of Lubusz. It is assumed that this experience may have contributed to the death of Elisabeth in April 1209.[8] A year later, on 6 May 1210, Conrad II died.
Elisabeth is buried at Dobrilugk Abbey.[citation needed] Her only son, Conrad, died in boyhood; Agnes, the youngest daughter, married Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine, but they had no children. Elisabeth's many descendants issued from her eldest daughter Matilda and her husband Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg.[citation needed]
References
- ^ K. Jasiński, Rodowód pierwszych Piastów, second edition, Poznań, 2004, pp. 236-238. The Hungarian origin of Mieszko III's first wife is undisputed among chroniclers and historians; however, her exact parentage remains controversial. See her Wikipedia article for further reading.
- ^ K. Jasiński, Rodowód pierwszych Piastów, second edition, Poznań, 2004, p. 240.
- Polski słownik biograficzny, vol. VI, 1948, p. 259.
- ^ O. Balzer, Genealogia Piastów, Kraków, 1895, p. 199. This date is given in earlier literature, including W. Dworzaczek, Genealogia, Warsaw, 1959, arr. 81.
- ^ F. Palacký, Dějiny nation českého v Čechách and v Moravě, Prague 1998, pp. 123-124.
- ^ K. Ożóg, Elżbieta [in:] Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny, Kraków 1999, p. 119. Czech historiography doesn't mention the place of exile of the Ducal couple.
- ^ According to some sources, she died childless. K. Pieradzka, Elżbieta, [in:] Polski Słownik Biograficzny, vol. VI, 1948, p. 259.
- ^ B. Zientara, Henryk Brodaty i jego czasy, Warszawa 1997, p. 183.