Agnes of Austria (1281–1364)

For other people of the same name, see Agnes of Austria.
Agnes of Austria
Queen consort of Hungary
Tenure 1296–1301
Spouse Andrew III of Hungary
House House of Habsburg
House of Arpad
Father Albert I of Germany
Mother Elisabeth of Tirol
Born 18 May 1281
Died 10 June 1364 (aged 83)
Königsfelden

Agnes of Austria (18 May 1281 – 10 June 1364, Königsfelden) was a daughter of Albert I of Germany and his wife Elisabeth of Tirol. She was Queen of Hungary by marriage. She was a member of the House of Habsburg.

Contents

Family

Agnes was one of twelve children. Her siblings included: Rudolph I of Bohemia, Frederick the Fair, Leopold I, Duke of Austria, Albert II, Duke of Austria, Otto, Duke of Austria, Elisabeth, Duchess of Lorraine, Catherine, Duchess of Calabria and Anna, Margravine of Brandenburg.

Her maternal grandparents were Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia and Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany. Her paternal grandparents were Rudolph I of Germany and his first wife, Gertrude of Hohenburg. Elisabeth of Bavaria was daughter of Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria and his wife Agnes of the Palatinate.

Marriage

On 13 February 1296 in Vienna, Agnes married Andrew III of Hungary.[1] Afterwards, with his father-in-law's support, Andrew managed to defeat the revolt of Miklós Kőszegi and Máté Csák, and occupy the castles of Kőszeg and Pozsony. In 1298 Andrew supported with troops his father-in-law's revolt against King Adolf of Germany.

She disliked tournaments, but liked sermons. Since she was small of stature, she used to wear dresses her sisters no longer wanted, which gained her praise for modesty.[2]

The death of Andrew III on 14 January 1301, at Buda, ended the male line of the Árpáds. One of his contemporaries called him "the last golden twig of the Árpáds".

Later Life and Reputation

Now, Agnes was a widow and she had no children to carry on the Arpad Dynasty. However Agnes was only nineteen so was still able to remarry and have children but she never did. Agnes became a patroness of Königsfelden Abbey, which had been founded by her mother in memory of Agnes' late father. She took her stepdaughter, Elisabeth with her and went to live there in a small house.[3] Elisabeth was one of the final members of the Arpad family. Elisabeth was also due to marry Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, but the wedding never happened since Wenceslaus instead married Viola Elisabeth of Cieszyn.

Agnes was depicted as a pious woman. On the other hand, according to the 16th century Chronicon helveticum of Aegidius Tschudi, she avenged her father's murder by ordering the execution and expulsion of 1000 people (families and followers of his murderers), but it appears this report was to a large extent based on Swiss anti-Habsburg propaganda. [4] Because of her good reputation, she was asked several times to act as mediator. In 1333, she established a treaty between Austria and a number of Swiss towns and regions. In 1351, she solved a dispute between Basel and Bremen and did the same in the same year for Albert II, Duke of Austria and the Swiss Confederacy.[5] Her brothers often came to see her in Königsfelden to ask for advice.

Agnes died on 10 June 1364 and was buried at Königsfelden.

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Austria, Medieval Lands
  2. ^ Duggan, Anne (1997). Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. p. 112. 
  3. ^ Duggan, Anne (1997). p. 112. 
  4. ^ Honemann, Volker 'A Medieval Queen and her Stepdaughter', p. 112.
  5. ^ Duggan, Anne (1997). p. 114. 
Agnes of Austria (1281–1364)
Born: 1281 Died: 1364
Preceded by
Fenenna of Kuyavia		 Queen consort of Hungary
1296–1301		 Succeeded by
Viola Elisabeth of Cieszyn
Gisela of Bavaria (1000–1038)  · Anastasia of Kiev (1046–1060)  · Richeza of Poland (1060–1063)  · Judith of Swabia (1063–1074)  · Synadene (1074–1077)  · Adelaide of Rheinfelden (1077–1090)  · Felicia of Sicily (1097–1102)  · Euphemia of Kiev (1112–1113)  · Cristiana of Capua (1120–1121)  · Adelaide of Riedenburg (1121–1131)  · Helena of Rascia (1131–1141)  · Euphrosyne of Kiev (1146–1162)  · Yaroslavna of Halych (1167–1168)  · Agnes of Babenberg (1168–1172)  · Maria Komnene (1163–1165)  · Agnes of Antioch (1172–1184)  · Margaret of France (1186–1196)  · Constance of Aragon (1198–1204)  · Gertrude of Merania (1203–1213)  · Yolanda de Courtenay (1215–1233)  · Beatrice d'Este (1234–1235)  · Maria Laskarina (1235–1270)  · Elizabeth the Cuman (1270–1272)  · Elizabeth of Sicily (1269–1290)  · Fenenna of Kuyavia (1290–1295)  · Agnes of Habsburg (1296–1301)  · Viola Elisabeth of Cieszyn (1305–1306)  · Maria of Bytom (1306–1317)  · Beatrice of Luxembourg (1318–1319)  · Elisabeth of Poland (1320–1342)  · Margaret of Bohemia (1342–1349)  · Elizabeth of Bosnia (1353–1382)  · Margaret of Durazzo (1385–1386)  · Barbara of Cilli (1405–1437)  · Elizabeth of Luxembourg (1437–1442)  · Catherine of Poděbrady (1461–1464)  · Beatrice of Naples (1476–1490)  · Barbara of Brandenburg (1490–1491)  · Beatrice of Naples (1491–1500)  · Anne of Foix-Candale (1502–1506)  · Maria of Austria (1515–1526)  · Isabella Jagiellon (1539–1540)  · Anne Jagiellon (1526–1547)  · Maria of Austria (1563–1576)  · Anna of Tyrol (1608–1618)  · Eleonora Gonzaga (1622–1625)  · Maria Anna of Spain (1631–1646)  · Maria Leopoldine of Austria (1648–1649)  · Eleonora Gonzaga (1651–1657)  · Margaret Theresa of Spain (1666–1673)  · Claudia Felicitas of Austria (1673–1676)  · Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg (1676–1705)  · Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1699–1711)  · Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1711–1740)  · Maria Luisa of Spain (1790–1792)  · Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily (1792–1807)  · Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este (1808–1816)  · Caroline Augusta of Bavaria (1816–1830)  · Maria Anna of Savoy (1831–1848)  · Elisabeth of Bavaria (1854–1898)  · Zita of Bourbon-Parma (1916–1918)