Dzien Dobry everyone! For This Week in History today, we’re going back to Poland for a less depressing tale and one of my favorite moments in history, the coronation of King Jadwiga. On October 16, 1384, the Polish people welcomed nine-year-old Jadwiga to serve as their monarch after arduous deliberations of who would succeed to the throne. You’ll notice that I say king, Jadwiga was the first female to rule Poland as a monarch and was given the title of king to prevent power from being usurped by her future husband, #badass. Now buckle up, because we are about to get into the absolute headache of 14th-century Eastern European politics, and trust me, it’s a doozy.
Let’s start simple: King Louis I of Hungary had three daughters and quite a lot of countries. He ruled over Hungary and later Poland after his uncle, King Casimir III, died without any successors and left the throne to him. At the time, the Polish nobility never truly acknowledged his authority, I mean who really would want some random Hungarian king ruling over you, but they were receptive to one of his daughters reigning as monarch. The plan of inheritance was for each daughter to have a portion of the pie. Catherine, the eldest, was set to rule over Hungary, Mary planned on ruling Poland and Jadwiga the youngest, was set to marry into the Holy Roman Empire for a fruitful alliance. This plan eventually went kaput, since Catherine passed at the age of seven, which is where things start getting interesting.
King Louis I ended up dying in 1382, which left a lot of thrones up for grabs. Mary set up shop in Hungary with her mother, Elizabeth, acting as regent, to prevent the power from reaching her husband, Sigismund of Luxembourg. Meanwhile, Jadwiga began her journey to Poland and, upon arriving, was welcomed despite the two years of infighting and squabbling that led to her coronation.
The beginning of her reign was controlled mostly by her advisors. While she was acclaimed for her intelligence and could read and write in multiple languages, that didn’t change the fact that she was placed in charge of a foreign country at the age of TEN. Additionally, another small complication arose: she was betrothed from infancy to William of Hapsburg. Now, the noblemen of Poland did not like this, they were concerned that William would try to take control of their country and instead opted for the union of Jadwiga with Jogaila, the pagan Grand Duke of Lithuania. This was a difficult decision for Jadwiga as she had allegedly developed feelings for William, and the marriage to Jogalia would be for purely political motives. I would argue that she was a pre-teen and probably didn’t really develop strong feelings for anyone, but she would have much rather married someone closer in age, like 14-year-old William, than someone who was 23 years her senior. Gross. Ultimately, after consulting with Jesus Christ, Jadwiga decided to marry Jogalia.
The marriage worked out to be rather advantageous, it founded the centuries-long union between Poland and Lithuania while also meeting Jadwiga’s goal of spreading catholicism. The couple served as co-rulers, with Jogalia acting more as the prince consort to Jadwiga’s reign over Poland. As she matured, Jadwiga relied less and less on her advisors and was regarded as a great ruler. She was known “as a founder of churches, monasteries, a patroness of intellectuals, and protector of the poor, the weak, and the abandoned.” She is even considered a cofounder of Jagiellonian University for donating her personal wealth upon her passing. She died at the young age of 25 due to complications in childbirth and her newborn daughter, Elizabeth Bonifacia, did not survive long either. I often wonder what she could have done with more time.
Over the centuries, she has served as an icon for the Polish people, with much of her story shrouded in the myth of the miracles she performed. In 1997, she was canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II, and she is still praised for her short but impactful era of leadership. Today, you will find her portrait in the Royal Castle of Warsaw, the only woman to have been painted alongside the long line of Polish Kings.