Elizabeth of Austria (1436–1505)

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For other uses, see Elisabeth of Austria (disambiguation).
Elizabeth of Austria
Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania
Tenure10 February 1454 – 7 June 1492
Coronation10 February 1454
Bornc. 1436
Vienna
Died30 August 1505 (aged 68–69)
Kraków
Burial
Wawel Cathedral
Spouse
Casimir IV of Poland
​
​
(m. 1454; died 1492)​
Issue
HouseHabsburg
FatherAlbert II of Germany
MotherElisabeth of Bohemia

Elizabeth of Austria (

Emperor Sigismund, she had a strong claim to the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia. That made her an attractive bride for a Polish prince. The Polish nobility, seeking to increase Polish influence in Hungary and Bohemia, pursued marriage with Elizabeth since she was born and finally succeeded in 1454. Her marriage to Casimir was one of the most successful royal marriages in Poland.[2]
She gave birth to thirteen children, eleven of whom survived to adulthood. Four of her sons were crowned as kings.

Early life

Tumultuous childhood

Elisabeth was the daughter of

Emperor Sigismund. The exact date of her birth is unknown and has been variously provided between 1436 and early 1439.[3] Her elder brother was born in February 1435. Polish chronicler Jan Długosz mentioned that Polish envoys traveled to Vienna in autumn 1436 to negotiate with Emperor Sigismund a marriage between his granddaughters, Anne and Elisabeth, who were considered heirs to the thrones of Bohemia and Hungary, and Polish princes Władysław and Casimir. While the negotiations ended without a decisive agreement, they allowed historians to conclude that Elisabeth was born in the first half of 1436.[3]

Elisabeth's early life was marked by political turmoil. After the death of Emperor Sigismund in December 1437, Elisabeth's father was crowned as King of Hungary and Bohemia. His Bohemian title was challenged by the Hussites who promoted Polish prince Casimir IV Jagiellon as their king and a war erupted.[3] Polish diplomats continued to pursue the plan for a marriage between Casimir and Elisabeth, who would bring Bohemia as a dowry. King Albert received the diplomats coolly as he had no intentions of surrendering his claims to Bohemia.[4] In March 1439, Elisabeth's sister, Anne, was betrothed to William III, Landgrave of Thuringia, son of Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, and was sent to live at the Saxonian court.[5]

King Albert died in October 1439 after a brief campaign against the

Helene Kottannerin stole the Holy Crown of Hungary and brought it to Queen Elisabeth in Komárno.[7] Three-month-old Ladislaus was crowned on 15 May 1440, but that did not stop the civil war. For their safety and protection, the two children of Albert and Elisabeth were placed in the care of Frederick III, elected but not crowned Holy Roman Emperor.[7] As part of the agreement Elisabeth was betrothed to Frederick, nephew of Frederick III and son of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony, and Margaret of Austria.[8]

At the emperor's court

Elisabeth and Ladislaus were initially cared for by Anna von Pottendorf at the Forchtenstein Castle.[7] When Queen Elisabeth died in December 1442, Emperor Frederick III continued to care for the orphans who spent most of their time in Graz and Wiener Neustadt. The opposition accused the Emperor of neglecting the children, but that could be just political propaganda.[7] Emperor Frederick III was known to be emotionally distant and frugal, but he also provided both children with a good education. Enea Silvio Piccolomini, the emperor's secretary and future Pope Pius II, wrote De liberorum educatione as instruction for educating the children.[9]

A 1973 study of Elisabeth's remains revealed that she most likely had

spinal tuberculosis at a young age.[10] This left her skeleton visibly deformed, with an s-shaped spine, misaligned jaw, deformed thorax and her head cocked permanently to the right. The permanent tilt of her head led to stunted development of the right side of her face. Her face was narrow with a large chin.[10] However, as her later life and frequent pregnancies showed, she was of overall good health.[2]

In 1447, Frederick III proposed to marry Elisabeth to Charles, son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Philip had purchased Luxembourg from Elisabeth of Bohemia. Frederick III offered 70,000 ducats, as the dowry of Elisabeth, in exchange for Luxembourg, but Philip demanded 120,000 ducats and the negotiations fell through.[8] For unknown reasons, Elisabeth's scheduled wedding to Frederick of Saxony, negotiated by her mother Queen Elisabeth, did not take place despite a wedding treaty signed in July 1450.[8]

After the death of

Austrian nobles rebelled against Frederick III and transferred Elisabeth into the care of Ulrich. Elisabeth made a tearful public appeal in a city square calling for help to her and her brother, neglected and held virtual captive by the Emperor.[11] When Frederick III returned in June 1452, Austrian nobles forced him to release Ladislaus to Ulrich in September 1452.[12]

Polish queen

Casimir IV of Poland, meeting Saint John of Capistrano

Wedding and family life

In August 1452, preparing for the

Casimir IV of Poland.[13] Ulrich II, Count of Celje, who now had custody of Elisabeth, received the proposal favorably and sent two of his men to Poland. The formal wedding agreement was reached in August 1453 in Wrocław in the presence of Polish and Austrian nobles.[14] According to the agreement, Elisabeth's dowry, guaranteed by her brother King Ladislaus the Posthumous, was 100,000 Hungarian golden coins. The dowry was secured by lands in Austria, Hungary and Bohemia. In turn, Casimir guaranteed Koło, Opoczno, Przedecz as well as a monthly sum of 5,000 golden coins from the Bochnia and Wieliczka Salt Mines. Elisabeth had to renounce her claims to lands of Austrian rulers; the renunciation would not apply if her brother Ladislaus died without a male heir.[14]

Elisabeth's dowry was not paid immediately and that gave her the pretext to claim the Hungarian and Bohemian crowns.

Elisabeth, Duchess of Luxembourg.[18]

Elisabeth arrived to Poland in February 1454 with a retinue of nine hundred riders.

Queen of Poland.[2] Their 38-year marriage was happy and Elisabeth, despite frequent pregnancies, accompanied her husband on almost all travels, including about thirty visits to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They would separate infrequently and for short periods of time when Casimir lived in war camps.[2] Their first child, Vladislaus II, was born on 1 March 1456—two years after the wedding.[15] She gave birth to seven children in ten years.[20] The children received extensive education, which was credited to Elisabeth by Marcin Kromer. Their tutors included Polish priest Jan Długosz and Italian humanist Filippo Buonaccorsi.[15]

Queen Elisabeth had an influence on her husband Casimir, but she did not play a more active role in politics.

John Albert (died at age 41) never married, while Sigismund married at 47. Only Alexander, who lived in Lithuania, and Vladislaus, who lived in Bohemia, married while Elisabeth was alive.[22]

Struggle for Hungary and Bohemia

After the 1457 death of Elisabeth's childless brother, King

Thirteen Years' War (1454–66), King Casimir could not enforce Elisabeth's claims. However, that did not stop political measures. In 1466, Bishop Rudolf of Rüdesheim informed Elisabeth that Pope Paul II considered George of Poděbrady to be a heretic and Elisabeth a rightful heir to the throne of Bohemia.[23] When Matthias Corvinus proposed to Elisabeth's daughter Hedwig in 1468, Elisabeth angrily refused and called Corvinus a 'dog'.[24]

A new chapter in Elisabeth's struggle for her inheritance began with the death of Poděbrady in 1471, Elisabeth's son Vladislaus II became King of Bohemia.[24] At the same time a group of Catholic Bohemian nobles supported Corvinus instead of Vladislaus II. In turn, a group of Hungarian nobles conspired against Corvinus and invited the Polish king to overthrow him. With Bohemia in Vladislaus' hands, King Casimir IV decided to install his son, future Saint Casimir, in Hungary. A Polish army invaded Hungary, but the army was ill-supplied and the short Hungarian campaign was not successful.[25] The war in Bohemia continued until the Peace of Olomouc divided Bohemia between Corvinus and Vladislaus II.

After the death of Corvinus in April 1490, Casimir and Elisabeth supported their son John I Albert as King of Hungary.[26] Hungarian nobles preferred ineffectual Vladislaus II. After Elisabeth's pleas on behalf of John Albert, who reportedly was her favorite, failed to persuade Vladislaus II to abandon the Hungarian crown, a war erupted between the two brothers in June 1490 and lasted until January 1492.[26] John Albert lost and returned to Poland, while Vladislaus II was crowned as King of Hungary. At last, Elisabeth's son ruled both Hungary and Bohemia, except that it was not the son she desired. Hungary and Bohemia were ruled by Vladislaus and his son Louis II of Hungary until 1526.[26]

Queen mother

King Casimir died on 7 June 1492. Art historians believe that she hired artist

recumbent effigy.[26] The Lithuanian throne was already secured by Alexander Jagiellon who acted as his father's regent in Lithuania since 1490. Elisabeth took decisive actions to secure the Polish throne to her favorite son John I Albert—she wrote letters to Teutonic Grand Master Johann von Tiefen, her sons Vladislaus II and Alexander campaigning on behalf of John Albert.[26] More importantly, she borrowed 5,675 florins from the Fischel banking family and hired a group of Hungarian soldiers. These soldiers, led by Elisabeth's son Fryderyk, marched to Piotrków Trybunalski where Polish nobles elected John Albert as their King on 27 August.[27] The personal union between Poland and Lithuania
was temporarily interrupted.

Widowed, Elisabeth led a sedentary life in Kraków in the company of her youngest daughters

Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.[27] However, she continued to take an active role in family matters. In early 1495, she traveled to Vilnius to attend the wedding of her son Alexander and Helena of Moscow. Elisabeth wanted to convince Helena to convert from Eastern Orthodoxy to Catholicism and to obtain a position for her son Sigismund.[27] She failed in both regards and left Lithuania angered and insulted—perhaps because of this dislike she was passive when John Albert suddenly died in 1501 and did not take any more prominent actions to support Alexander as a candidate to the Polish throne.[28]

In 1496, she arranged the marriage of

Voivode of Moldavia. Instead, in 1504 and 1505 Queen Elisabeth assigned her lands and income to ensure her daughter's financial independence; Princess Elisabeth also inherited the bulk of the queen's wealth.[29]

Elisabeth became ill in 1505, but her symptoms are unknown. She died on 30 August 1505. She was interred next to her husband and two daughters in her husband's tomb on 21 September in Wawel Cathedral.[10]

Issue

Casimir and Elisabeth had the following children:

  1. Vladislaus II (1 March 1456 – 13 March 1516), King of Bohemia and Hungary
  2. Hedwig (21 September 1457 – 18 February 1502), married on 14 November 1475 to George, Duke of Bavaria-Landshut
  3. Casimir (3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484), patron saint of Lithuania
  4. John I Albert (27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501), King of Poland and Duke of Głogów
  5. Alexander (5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506), Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland
  6. Sophia (6 May 1464 – 5 October 1512), married on 14 February 1479 to Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach.
  7. Elizabeth (9 May 1465 – 9 May 1466)
  8. Sigismund I (1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
  9. Primate of Poland
  10. Elizabeth (13 May 1472 – betw. 19 May 1480/20 May 1481)
  11. Anna (12 March 1476 – 12 August 1503), married on 2 February 1491 to Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania
  12. Barbara (15 July 1478 – 15 February 1534), married on 21 November 1496 to George, Duke of Saxony
  13. Elizabeth (13 November 1482 – 16 February 1517), married on 25 November 1515 to Frederick II, Duke of Legnica

Ancestors

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ^ a b Brzezińska 1999, p. 190.
  2. ^ a b c d Duczmal 2012, p. 152.
  3. ^ a b c d Duczmal 2012, p. 145.
  4. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 149–150.
  5. ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 144.
  6. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 145–146.
  7. ^ a b c d Duczmal 2012, p. 146.
  8. ^ a b c Duczmal 2012, p. 150.
  9. ^ a b c Duczmal 2012, p. 147.
  10. ^ a b c Duczmal 2012, p. 160.
  11. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 147–148.
  12. ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 148.
  13. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 150–151.
  14. ^ a b c Duczmal 2012, p. 151.
  15. ^ a b c d e Duczmal 2012, p. 153.
  16. ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 154.
  17. ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 1461.
  18. ^ Putnam 1918, p. 53.
  19. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 151–152.
  20. ^ a b Duczmal 2012, p. 161.
  21. ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 156.
  22. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 162–163.
  23. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 153–154.
  24. ^ a b Duczmal 2012, p. 155.
  25. ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 305.
  26. ^ a b c d e Duczmal 2012, p. 157.
  27. ^ a b c d e Duczmal 2012, p. 158.
  28. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 158–159.
  29. ^ a b c d Duczmal 2012, p. 159.
  30. ^ a b Quirin, Heinz (1953), "Albrecht II.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 154–155; (full text online)
  31. ^ a b Krones, Franz von (1877), "Elisabeth (deutsche Königin)", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 6, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 9–22
  32. ^ a b Krones, Franz von (1875), "Albrecht IV. (Herzog von Österreich)", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 283–285
  33. ^ a b de Sousa, Antonio Caetano (1735). Historia genealogica da casa real portugueza (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Lisboa Occidental. p. 147.
  34. ^ a b Lindner, Theodor (1892), "Sigmund (Kaiser)", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 34, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 267–282
  35. ^ a b Quirin, Heinz (1953), "Barbara von Cilly", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 581; (full text online)
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elisabeth of Austria (1437-1505).
Elizabeth of Austria (1436–1505)
Born: 1436 Died: 30 August 1505
Royal titles
Preceded by
Queen consort of Poland

1454–1492 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Uliana Olshansky
Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania

1454–1492
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