True Life Tuesday: Jadwiga of Poland

Jadwiga was born in 1373 or 1374 in Buda in the kingdom of Hungary. She was the 3rd and youngest daughter of Louis I, king of Hungary, and his 2nd wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia. Both of her maternal grandmothers were Polish princesses with the Piast dynasty of Poland. Her father had no sons and wanted to secure his daughter's right to inherit his throne. This made them very attractive brides to European royals. Jadwiga was promised in marriage to William of Austria on March 4, 1373. Their provisional marriage was celebrated on June 15, 1378. She received Treviso, a town conquered from the Republic of Venice, as a dowry. After the ceremony she stayed in Austria, mostly in Vienna, for 2 years. 

She was at her father's side when he died on September 10, 1382. Her sister, Mary, was named king of Hungary 5 days after her father' death. The Hungarian lords gave the power to rule to her mother rather than her fiance. The fact that both girls were betrothed to foreign princes was very unpopular in Poland. Despite this she was crowned king of Poland on October 16, 1384. The Polish lords pushed for her to marry the duke Jogalia of Lithuania. He sent his envoys to Krakow in January 1385 to request her hand in marriage. She did not answer stating that she would let her mother decide. Elizabeth left the decision to the Polish nobles to do what they felt was in the best interest of Poland. 

In July 1385 William of Austria's father demanded that their marriage be consummated before August 16th. The history is unclear as to whether or not this happened. Eventually she agreed to marry Jogalia after "divine intervention" during her prayers. They were married in February 1836. Poland became a diarchy, a kingdom ruled by 2 sovereigns). Even though they did not speak the same language they had a cooperative marriage. Back in Hungary her mother was take hostage by rebels in July 1386. The eventually executed her in January 1387. Her brother-in-law, who had been crowned king of Hungary, started negotiations in 1392 to partition Poland. Jadwiga, who was a skilled negotiator, went to Lithuania to reconcile with her husband's brother and receive assistance for Poland's safety. Her sister Mary died on May 17, 1395 and Jadwiga was named her heir. After much tension with Mary's widower she and her husband were named heirs to the throne of Hungary but they took no more action against her brother-in-law.

Jadwiga and Jogalia were childless for over a decade. This was a source of tension between the couple. She ended up becoming pregnant in late 1398 or early 1399. She delivered a baby girl on June 22, 1389. She was named Elizabeth Bonafacia after her mother and Pope Boniface. The baby died on July 13, 1399 and Jadwiga followed her in death on July 17. They were buried together in Wawel Cathedral on August 24, 1399. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 8, 1997.