Elizabeth of Luxembourg
Elizabeth of Luxembourg (Hungarian: Luxemburgi Erzsébet; 7 October 1409 – 19 December 1442) was queen consort of Hungary, queen consort of Germany and Bohemia.
For other people named Elisabeth of Luxembourg, see Elisabeth of Luxembourg (disambiguation).Elizabeth of Luxembourg
1437–1440
1 January 1438, Székesfehérvár
1438–1439
1438–1439
29 June 1438, Prague
7 October 1409
Visegrád, Hungary
19 December 1442 (aged 33)
Győr, Hungary
The only child of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, King of Hungary and Bohemia, Elizabeth was expected to ascend his thrones along with her husband, Albert of Austria. After her father's death, Elizabeth and her husband were elected by the Hungarian estates as de facto equal rulers.[1][2] She could not completely assert her position though, because the Veszprém bishop refused to give up on his right to crown the queen (the monarch was traditionally crowned by the Esztergom bishop).[3] She was however recognized as co-ruler and played an active part in the government. After Albert's death though, she was unable to prevent the election of a new king.[4][5]
Albert died in 1439, leaving Elizabeth a pregnant dowager with two daughters, Anne and Elizabeth. Bohemian nobility proclaimed an interregnum, while King Vladislaus III of Poland was crowned new king of Hungary in May 1440, three months after Queen Elizabeth delivered a son, Ladislaus the Posthumous. She was determined to contend for her patrimony on her son's behalf, which led to a civil war between hers and Vladislaus's supporters. The conflict ended with the queen's sudden death at the age of 33.
Birth[edit]
Her real birth date can be calculated by virtue of a letter of King Sigismund to Kéméndi Péter fia János (John, son of Peter Kemendi), Lord-lieutenant of Zala County dated 26 April 1410 (sabbato post festum s. Georgii) at Végles, Kingdom of Hungary (now Vígľaš, Slovakia) and sealed with Queen Barbara's seal, who also stayed there and in which the king informs him about his daughter's birth alias circa festum beati Francisci confessoris.[6][7] Because this feast falls on 4 October, it must have happened in the previous year, that is, 1409 and in October. Baranyai (1926) argues that the usage of circa can allow some variations towards September but if it had occurred in September, he would have referred to the feast of Saint Michael which falls on 29 September instead of that of Francis of Assisi. The only remaining question, namely the exact day is educed from the engagement date of his daughter to Archduke Albert which was held on 7 October 1411, Pozsony,[8] Kingdom of Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia, Pressburg in German) and probably may have adjusted to a former important event because it belongs to no religious feasts. The birthplace is also inferential and is traced back to the traditional place for the queen's labours that was in Visegrád and which is referred to in her Memoirs by Helene Kottannerin in the case of Queen Elisabeth advanced in pregnancy with Ladislas V in early 1440. In addition, Itinerary of King Sigismund shows that he stayed in Visegrad between 9–19 October 1409.[9] In the end one concludes that her birth in Prague, on 28 February 1409, similarly to the date of 27 November this year which in reality was her christening day, is based on false sources.
Marriage[edit]
On 28 September 1421,[15] the enduring friendship between King Sigismund and the House of Habsburg culminated in a marriage treaty signed in Vienna.[10] The treaty confirmed Elizabeth's status as heiress presumptive of both Hungary and Bohemia, but only for as long as she remained Sigismund's only child. It stipulated that the birth of another daughter would leave Elizabeth with the right to choose one of her father's kingdoms, while the younger sister would inherit the other. Should she gain a brother, however, she would be deprived of both crowns in his favour. The Margraviate of Moravia was ceded to Albert as Elizabeth's dowry. The treaty was controversial in both Hungary and Bohemia, as the nobility of both countries claimed the right to elect their monarch, even though their choice was normally the heir-in-blood.[15]
Elizabeth formally married Albert in a splendid ceremony held on 19 April 1422 in Vienna. Elizabeth, now duchess of Austria, moved to the Viennese court of her husband. The papal dispensation for the marriage, necessary due to the couple's common descent from Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Judith of Habsburg, was not sought until 1431, but was easily granted by Eugene IV.[21]
The couple's first child, a daughter named Anne, was born in 1432. The French travel writer Bertrandon de la Broquière noted that "the Duchess, a tall, handsome woman, daughter to the Emperor, and heiress after him to the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia and their dependencies", gave birth to a daughter, "which had occasioned festivals and tournaments that were the more numerously attended because hitherto she had not had any children."[22] In 1435, Elizabeth delivered a son, George, who died within three hours.[23] The next birth was that of another daughter, Elizabeth, in 1436.[24]
Regency and throne claims[edit]
At the death of her husband, she took control of Hungary as regent. She was pregnant, and she was convinced the child was a son. She prepared for the election of the next monarch of Hungary and formed a political party of followers. Among her followers were her mother's Cilli relatives, represented by Ulrich II, Count of Cilli, the greatest fief holder in Hungary, the Szécsis, the Garays and the cities, and appointed followers to the posts of arch bishop and governor of the royal castle.
By 1440, Elisabeth was the de facto ruling monarch of Hungary, and her orders were respected and carried out, though she was not yet elected by the council and confirmed as such. On 1 January 1440, the Hungarian council gathered to elect a monarch. The decision was, that because of the threats from the Ottoman Empire, Elisabeth could not be elected as monarch, but a warlord and a military leader was needed. There were also suggestions that Elisabeth should marry the male elected to be monarch. In the end, Vladislaus of Poland was elected King of Hungary.
Elisabeth officially accepted the decision, but shortly afterward, she left Buda with her followers. On 15 May, she had her son crowned King of Hungary in Székesfehérvár with the Holy Crown stolen by Helene Kottannerin from the castle of Visegrád. On 17 July Vladislaus of Poland was crowned King of Hungary in Székesfehérvár without the Holy Crown. Northern Hungary supported Elisabeth, and she attacked Buda with an army led by John Jiskra, but was defeated. Elisabeth left her two younger children in the care of Emperor Frederick III and financed the civil war in Austria. Near the end of civil war, Elizabeth consolidated her power and won most battles. She personally led her troops in battles and encouraged her people. In 1442, a negotiation was issued by Cardinal Cesarini in Győr. Elisabeth and Vladislaus met and exchanged gifts. Vladislaus gave Elisabeth fur. Shortly afterward, Elisabeth died. She was rumoured to have been poisoned.
Her only son Ladislas V the Posthumous of Austria, king of Bohemia and Hungary (born 1440) died without issue, leaving the remaining kingdoms of the family to be succeeded by elected rulers.
Her daughters Anna, Duchess of Thuringia (1432–1462), and Elisabeth, Queen of Poland (1437–1505), continued the family which afterwards regained some of these kingdoms.
Family and claims to thrones[edit]
Elisabeth was not the daughter of her father's first wife Mary of Hungary, and thus not descended from the Angevin kings of Hungary. However, she in many ways is descended from the old Árpád kings of Hungary.
Her paternal grandparents were Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elisabeth of Pomerania. Her maternal grandfather was Count Herman II of Celje, whose parents were the Styrian magnate Hermann I of Celje and Catherine of Bosnia (sister of the Hungarian queen Elizabeth of Bosnia). In right of the paternal grandparents, she was, through Emperor Charles, an heiress of Bohemia, and through Elisabeth of Pomerania, an heiress of Poland, of its Kujavian Piast branch of kings. Thus, she was a leading claimant to several Slavic kingdoms and principalities.
She was also a descendant of Árpád kings of Hungary, through her great-grandmother Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330), who herself was granddaughter of Kunguta Rostislavna of Halicia, whose mother Anna was a daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary. Admittedly, this was not a very close Hungarian connection, but all the other extant descendants of Árpáds were approximately as distant at that time. Additionally, she descended from Ottokar I of Bohemia's second wife Constance of Hungary, daughter of Bela III of Hungary.