The Freelance History Writer is pleased to welcome back Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik with an exclusive article on an exceptional woman from Polish medieval history.

In January 1887, a group of scholars and artists explored the grave of Jadwiga [Hedwig] of Anjou, in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków. Among them was Jan Matejko, famous painter and then head of the prestigious Kraków School of Arts, who made a series of drawings of the resting place itself and of the royal remains. Next time the grave was opened was in July 1949. On this occasion the scientists came to the following conclusion: the position of the body suggested that Jadwiga had been buried with her daughter, whose remains were not preserved. Little Elizabeth Bonifacia lived only a few weeks. The earthly remains of a newborn could not have stood the test of time. Remains of her mother, however, were in good condition.

Forensic tests were carried out in 1976, which allowed the scientists to determine the approximate age, height and other physical features of the deceased. Thorough analysis revealed that her entire life Jadwiga was tall and well-built and enjoyed good health. The only defect, which may have been an indirect cause of her untimely passing, being a distinctively narrow pelvis, which could have led to complications in childbirth. The one and only woman in Polish history who was crowned ”king” shared the fate of so many contemporary women by meeting her end in a birthing chamber.

 

The future saint Jadwiga was born on 18 February 1374 (although the exact day has been a matter of debate) into the ruling house of Hungary. Her father was King Louis the Great of the House Anjou, and her mother was Elizabeth of Bosnia. The family on both the maternal and paternal sides was closely related to the ruling house of Poland, the Piasts. The Polish crown passed to Jadwiga through her father who became the heir of his maternal uncle, the last Piast king, Kazimierz Wielki [Casimir the Great].

The matter of Polish succession had been on the agenda long before the birth of Jadwiga. King Casimir the Great of Poland, did not produce a male heir, but since he was in his forties, he still hoped to do so. Nevertheless, he took every precaution to secure the succession in case of his heirless death. He reached an agreement with two of his nephews, Louis and Stephen of Anjou, sons of his sister, the queen of Hungary, according to which the two and their future children would inherit the throne of Poland after him. And thus, upon Casimir’s death in 1370 Louis was crowned king of Poland. To secure the  succession of one of his daughters (he did not produce male heir either), two things were necessary: her formal recognition and acceptance by the Polish nobles, and a husband. 

The daughter of Louis the Great, Jadwiga received a bluestocking education, first at the cultivated court of her father in Hungary, then in Vienna, at the court of her future father-in-law. This training for a political life was not easy, but Jadwiga turned out to be an apt pupil. Not only could she read and write, speak fluent Latin and German, but she had a mind of her own and sufficient self-confidence to act independently. This was especially true when she became king of Poland and showed an active and generous support of scholars and learning institutions.

 

In 1379, Jadwiga’s eldest sister Catherine died, leaving her and her sister Mary Louis’s sole surviving children. Initially, it was Mary who was to rule Poland, but the Polish nobility did not like the idea of Sigismund of Bohemia, as Mary’s consort, becoming de facto king. To avoid this unwelcome solution, a new scheme emerged. They were fully aware of Jadwiga’s betrothal to Wilhem Habsburg, but they did not consider this an obstacle that needed to be overcome. Following the plan introduced during the reign of Jadwiga’s great-grandfather, Ladislaus the Elbow-High of Poland, they wanted to ally themselves with Lithuania, after its pagan rulers converted to Christianity. As a matter of fact, nobody asked Jadwiga herself what she thought about marrying a man twice her age. 

They recalled Jadwiga from Vienna where she had been staying with her future husband’s family. Three years afterwards her father died and the crown of Hungary passed on to her sister Mary and her consort, Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg’s son, Sigismund of Bohemia. Polish magnates appealed to Elizabeth of Bosnia, her mother, asking to send the younger of her two surviving daughters to Kraków. Elizabeth agreed but it was not until late spring of 1384 when young Jadwiga came to her new kingdom.

Prior to her arrival, one of the Piast dukes and candidate to the crown, Siemowit IV of Masovia, planned to abduct Jadwiga and force her into marriage, in an effort to become the de facto ruler of Poland. These plans came to naught, however, although he did come to Kraków in disguise with a military force. This bold move was described in vivid detail by Jan of Czarnków in his Chronicle and certainly fires a reader’s imagination. But the nobility of Lesser Poland did not wish to see Siemowit as their king and after numerous meetings and heated debates, they reached an agreement and he gave up his claim. 

Her new subjects welcomed Jadwiga and they commissioned a new crown for her coronation. The ceremony took place on 16 October in Wawel Cathedral, Kraków. Jadwiga, eleven years old at the time, surprised her new courtiers and officials with her intelligence and impeccable manners. She seemed older than she was and mature for her age. On 18 January 1385 the Lithuanian delegation came to Kraków and a meeting was held with the representatives of the Polish nobility.

Jadwiga was to marry Jogaila. We know that before this plan came to fruition, she sent one of her trusted courtiers, Zawisza the Red, to her future’s husband’s court. He was to behold the duke with his very own eyes and report back to the queen, both on his physical appearance and his manners. He successfully completed his mission. Apparently Jogaila had nothing to hide, because he invited Zawisza to accompany him during his bathtime. Upon his return the knight reported Jadwiga’s future husband lacked for nothing. 

In the opening days of 1386, Jadwiga publicly called off her engagement to Wilhelm Habsburg and married newly baptised Jogaila, who was to come down in history under his new name, Władysław Jagiełło [Ladislaus Jagiellon]. At the time of their wedding she was twelve, he was thirty-five. Władyslaw was crowned king on 4 March 1386. Not a year passed, however, when Jadwiga found herself implicated in a scandal at court.

Rumours began to circulate about her secret meetings with Wilhelm, who allegedly paid her visits in disguise. The case, following Jadwiga’s wishes was brought to court and the knight who spread the rumour, Gniewosz of Dalewice, was put on trial. Jadwiga won and Gniewosz had to call off all the accusations by crawling under the bench and barking them off, following the custom.

But this was not the end of Jadwiga’s troubles. Offended Habsburgs did whatever they could to slander her good name on the international arena, in spite of the fact that they were compensated for the broken Habsburg-Anjou alliance. Władysław paid them two hundred thousand florins for their loss. Still, they continued to call him a ”bride stealer”, declared his union with Jadwiga null and void, and appealed to the pope to resolve the matter. They lost the case at papal court and Jadwiga and Władysław gained a powerful new ally, the Holy Father himself.  He officially congratulated Władysław on a newly founded bishopric at Vilna, the capital of Lithuania. 

Despite the initial problems, the marriage turned out to be a successful one. According to the custom, Jadwiga and Władysław held separate courts and separate chancelleries, but they cooperated with each other. Jadwiga, still very young, had much to learn. Władysław was an experienced ruler she could learn from. As a result she actively participated in political life, putting to great use her mediating skills.

These skills turned out to be especially useful in the negotiations she conducted with the knights of the Teutonic Order, but also in Hungarian policy. Jadwiga conferred with her sister Mary on numerous occasions. Their meetings were held both in Hungary and in Lesser Poland. She also intervened in Lithuania, where she peacefully resolved dynastic disputes between the ruling fractions.

 

In 1397, Jadwiga learned of her mother’s death. Famed for her beauty, but not for her political decisions, queen dowager Elizabeth of Bosnia met a violent end. After imprisonment by her opponents in Novigrad castle, she was found guilty of the murder of Charles III of Naples. She was strangled to death before her daughter Mary’s own eyes, her body put on display, hanging on a rope from the castle walls. Mary survived and was rescued by her husband only to die a few years later in a riding accident. Jadwiga, who had been recognized as Mary’s heir in Hungary, laid her claim, but she and Władysław were not popular with the Hungarian nobility and did not gain support. 

Despite personal losses Jadwiga kept faith and continued to play an active role in the administration and politics of her own realm. She showed great care to all those in need, the poor and the ill. Her active and generous support of scholars and learning institutions did not waver over the years. Together with Władysław, she did whatever she could to restore the Kraków Academy (the first Polish university founded by Kazimierz Wielki) to its former glory. In her last will she donated all her jewelry, her rich dresses and other valuable objects to this learning institution, later known as the Jagiellonian University, the most prestigious school in the country and world-famous. Additionally, she founded a dormitory for Polish students at the University of Prague. 

Jadwiga and Władysław had one child together, a daughter, christened Elżbieta Bonifacia [Elizabeth Bonifacia], who was born on 22 June 1399 and named after her maternal great-grandmother and grandmother, both Elizabeths. She did not live long, however, and soon afterwards Jadwiga herself passed away from complications in childbirth. She was twenty-five at the time.

The funeral ceremony took place two days after her death, on 19 July. They buried her together with her daughter in the Wawel Cathedral, near the high altar and close to the altar dedicated to St Erasmus and St Brigid. In the final years of her life, Jadwiga was very devoted to St Brigid of Sweden, hence perhaps the choice of her resting place. Almost immediately after the funeral, her tomb became the focus of miracles and the destination of pilgrimages. Her cult flourished, with her canonization first mentioned during the funeral ceremony itself by her confessor, Stanisław of Skalbmierz. It was still discussed in the early 16th century, which we know thanks to the contemporary chroniclers. Unfortunately, after cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki’s death, there was nobody to continue what he began and the matter was put aside.

In Polish history the 19th century saw the rise of national heroes. After Poland lost its independence and disappeared from the map of Europe for 123 years, Polish patriots did everything they could to revive the spirit of national pride, and Jadwiga was a historical figure to be proud of. Works of art were created, writers and poets sought inspiration in her life, her deeds and her untimely death. Romantic stories began to circulate about her relationship with Wilhelm Habsburg, underlining the sacrifice she made for the sake of her new kingdom and her new subjects.

She voluntarily gave up her true love (a young gentleman she knew since her early childhood) to marry a much older pagan prince from what was considered uncivilized Lithuania. The artists could use their imagination freely, for no contemporary depictions of her survived, the only exception being the image on the reliquary casket her mother donated to the church of St Simeon in Zadar, Croatia. Unfortunately this particular representation of Jadwiga, her mother and her two elder sisters is purely conventional and tells us nothing about their actual physical appearance. Nor does the image on a sole surviving seal of hers. 

Jan Matejko, the afore-mentioned famous painter, who was present when her grave was discovered and examined in the 19th century, tried to recreate her looks using the drawings he made. This is how the famous ”portrait” was created, the best known representation of the queen. In the Wawel Cathedral one can see her funeral regalia, retrieved from her grave. They had been made of wood and hide and covered with gold, replacing the originals which she donated in her last will to support the Academy of Kraków [today’s Jagiellonian University]. 

This revived interest in her life and good deeds leading to the revived interest in her canonization. Jadwiga was canonized on 8 June 1997 in Kraków by Pope John Paul II, the only Polish pope in history. Ever since she has been recognised as patron saint of Poland and apostle of Lithuania.