Elizabeth of Luxembourg

For other people named Elisabeth of Luxembourg, see Elisabeth of Luxembourg (disambiguation).

For other people named Elisabeth of Bohemia, see Elisabeth of Bohemia (disambiguation).

Elizabeth of Luxembourg
Queen consort of Hungary
Tenure	1437–1439
Coronation	1 January 1438, Székesfehérvár
Queen consort of Germany
Tenure	1438–1439
Queen consort of Bohemia
Tenure	1438–1439
Coronation	29 June 1438, Prague
Spouse	Albert II of Germany
Issue
Ladislaus the Posthumous Anne, Duchess of Luxembourg Elisabeth, Queen of Poland
House	House of Luxembourg
Father	Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Barbara of Cilli
Born	7 October 1409 Visegrád, Hungary
Died	19 December 1442(1442-12-19) (aged 33) Győr, Hungary
Burial	Székesfehérvár Basilica, Hungary
Religion	Roman Catholic

Elizabeth of Luxembourg (7 October 1409 – 19 December 1442) was queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia. She was the interim regent of Hungary in 1439–1440, and a throne claimant and one of the participants in the Hungarian civil war 1440–1442.

She was the only child of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Hungary and Bohemia, by his second wife, Barbara of Cilli. Her father was the last male descendant of the House of Luxembourg on the imperial throne.

Birth

Her real birth date can be calculated by virtue of a letter of King Sigismund to Kéméndi Petew fia János (John, son of Peter Kemendi), Lord-lieutenant of Zala County dated 26 April 1410 (sabbato post festum s. Georgii) at Végles, 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. 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, 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. 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 and Issue

On 28 September 1421, Pozsony, Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia, Pressburg in German) Elisabeth married Albert V, Duke of Austria, thus becoming Duchess of Austria. After her father died, Albert was elected King of Hungary, and then King of Bohemia and King of Germany. She was thus Queen consort of Hungary, Bohemia and Germany. Elisabeth was crowned on 1 January 1438 by the Bishop of Veszprém.

They had two sons and two daughters.

• Anne of Bohemia and Austria (12 April 1432 – 1462) married William III of Luxembourg (April 30, 1425 – September 17, 1482), had issue.
• George of Austria (Vienna, 16 February 1435 – Vienna, 16 February 1435)
• Elisabeth of Austria (1436 – 30 August 1505) married Casimir IV of Poland (30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492), had issue.
• Ladislaus the Posthumous (22 February 1440 – 23 November 1457) had no issue.

Regent

At the death of her husband, she was regarded as the rightful heir to the Hungarian throne, and 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 family Cilli, Ulrich II, Count of Celje, 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.

Civil war

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 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 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. In 1442, a negotiation was issued by Cardinal Cesarini in Győr. Elisabeth and Vladislaus met and engaged 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

Elisabeth was not the daughter of her father's first wife Mary of Hungary, and thus not descended from Angevin kings of Hungary (but in many ways, she 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 Slovenian ruler Count Herman I of Celje and Catherine of Bosnia (who apparently descended also from Nemanjic kings of Serbia and from Catherine of Hungary, a daughter of Stephen V of Hungary). 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.

References

• Baranyai, Béla: Zsigmond király un. Sárkány-rendje (The so-called Order of the Dragon of King Sigismund), Századok (Periodical Centuries), 59–60, 561–591, 681–719, 1925/1926 = Zsigmond király úgynevezett Sárkányrendje (The so-called Order of the Dragon of King Sigismund), offprint, Budapest, 1926
• Mályusz, Elemér: Zsigmondkori oklevéltár (Collection of Charters of the Age of King Sigismund) II. (1400–1410), Második rész (Part Two) (1407–1410), Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1958. = Magyar Országos Levéltár Kiadványai (Publications of National Archives of Hungary) II., Forráskiadványok (Source publications) 4.
• Borsa, Iván (ed.): Zsigmondkori oklevéltár (Collection of Charters of the Age of King Sigismund) III. (1411–1412) (Based on the Manuscript of Elemér Mályusz), Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1993. = János Varga (ed.-in-chief): A Magyar Országos Levéltár Kiadványai (Publications of National Archives of Hungary) II., Forráskiadványok (Source publications) 22.

Further reading

• Cawley, Charles (7 February 2011), HUNGARY: ZSIGMOND 1386-1437, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, retrieved August 2012 
• (Hungarian) Engel, Pál & Norbert C. Tóth: Itineraria Regum et Reginarum Hungariae (1382–1438), Budapest, Institute of History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2005.
• Kottannerin, Helene; Williamson, Maya Bijvoet (translator and editor) (1998), The Memoirs of Helene Kottanner (1439–1440): Translated from the German with Introduction, Interpretative Essay and Notes, Library of Medieval Women 4, D. S. Brewer, ISBN 9780859914628 
• (Hungarian) Mollay, Károly (transl.): A korona elrablása, Kottanner Jánosné emlékirata (The Memoirs of Helene Kottanner) 1439–1440, Magyar Helikon, Budapest, 1978.
• (Hungarian) Szilágyi, Sándor (ed.): A magyar nemzet története (The History of the Hungarian Nation) III. kötet (Part Three), Athenaeum, Budapest, 1895.

Royal titles
Preceded by Barbara of Cilli	Queen consort of Germany 1438–1439	Vacant Title next held by Eleanor of Portugal
	Queen consort of Bohemia 1438–1439	Vacant Title next held by Joanna of Rožmitál
	Queen consort of Hungary 1437–1439	Vacant Title next held by Catherine of Poděbrady