Barbara of Cilli
Barbara of Cilli | |
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Tenure | 1433–1437 |
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Tenure | 1411–1437 |
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Tenure | 1405–1437 |
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Tenure | 1419/36–1437 |
Spouse | Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor |
Issue | |
Elisabeth of Luxembourg | |
House | House of Cilli |
Father | Herman II, Count of Celje |
Mother | Countess Anna of Schaunberg |
Born | 1392 |
Died | 11 July 1451 |
Barbara of Cilli (1392 – 11 July 1451), Hungarian: Cillei Borbála (also sometimes known as "Barbara of Celje") was the spouse of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund and as such Holy Roman Empress. She was by marriage also Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. She received the sobriquet "Messalina of Germany" for her political intrigues, and was instrumental in creating the Order of the Dragon. She served as the regent of Hungary in the absence of her husband.
Family Genealogy
Barbara was the daughter of Herman II, Count of Celje, and Countess Anna of Schaunberg. Barbara's paternal grandparents were Hermann I, Count of Cilli, and his wife, Catherine of Bosnia, a possible sister of Elizabeth of Bosnia. Barbara's maternal grandparents were Henry III of Schaunberg and his wife Ursula of Görz.
Both Barbara and her cousin and adopted sister Anna married ruling kings whose recently deceased wives were sisters and relatives of the Celje family. Anna married Władysław, King of Poland and Lithuania, in 1402 after the death of Jadwiga of Poland, while Barbara married King Sigismund of Hungary (years later also Holy Roman Emperor) in 1405 after the death of Mary of Hungary.[1]
Barbara lived to see the birth of three grandchildren, Anne, Elisabeth and Ladislas. She is one of the ancestresses of modern European royal families.
Biography
Barbara was engaged in 1401 and married in 1405 or 1408 to Sigismund, King of Hungary, a younger son of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor who later succeeded to the rule in Germany (1410), Bohemia (1419) and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor himself in 1433. The marriage likely took place in 1405, but there is no clear confirmation until 1408, when she was crowned queen of Hungary.
Barbara gave birth to a daughter, Elisabeth, Sigismund's only surviving issue and heiress, who married King Albert II of Germany.
Barbara spent most of her time in Hungary, while her spouse devoted his time elsewhere. She served as the regent of Hungary during his absences in 1412, 1414, 1416 and 1418. In 1429, she participated at the congress of Łuck. She was crowned queen of Hungary in 1408, queen of Germany in 1414, Holy Roman Empress in 1433 and queen of Bohemia in 1433.
Barbara attempted to convince the Czechs to place King Władysław III of Poland or Casimir of Poland upon the throne of Bohemia after the death of Sigismund instead of her son-in-law Albert II of Germany; in exchange, Wladyslaw would marry her. When Sigismund found out about this, he ordered her imprisoned at Bratislava on 5 December 1437.
At the death of Sigismund, Barbara was released, had all her property confiscated and was thereafter exiled from Hungary. She moved to Poland, where she was given Sandomierz as a fief, according to Pagal Dlugošą. In 1441, she moved to Mělník in Bohemia. She spent the rest of her life as dowager queen in Bohemia, where she was accused of plotting against the regime.[2] She spent her last years pursuing her interests in alchemy and the occult. She died of the plague.
References
- ↑ Jadwiga and her sister Mary were the daughters of Louis I, King of Hungary and his wife Elizabeth of Bosnia, whose elder sister Catherine was the wife of Herman I, Count of Celje, and mother of Herman II.
- ↑ Duggan, Anne J. (2002). Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe: Proceedings of a Conference Held at King's College London, April 1995. Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-881-1.
Further reading
- Sandi Sitar: Sto slovenskih znanstvenikov, zdravnikov in tehnikov (Hundert slowenische Wissenschaftler, Ärzte und Techniker), Ljubljana 1987, Beitrag 8. Barbara Celjska – Cesarica z retortami – astrologinja in alkimistka (ok. 1387–1451) (Barbara von Cilli – Kaiserin mit Retorten – Astrologin und Alchimistin (um 1387–1451))
- BAUM, Wilhelm. Císař Zikmund. Kostnice, Hus a války proti Turkům. Praha : Mladá fronta, 1996. 405 s. ISBN 80-204-0543-7.
- ČECHURA, Jaroslav. České země v letech 1378-1437. Lucemburkové na českém trůně II. Praha : Libri, 2000. 438 s. ISBN 80-85983-98-2.
- ČORNEJ, Petr. Velké dějiny zemí Koruny české V. 1402-1437. Praha : Paseka, 2000. 790 s. ISBN 80-7185-296-1.
- HOENSCH, Jörg Konrad. Lucemburkové. Pozdně středověká dynastie celoevropského významu 1308–1437. Praha : Argo, 2003. 304 s. ISBN 80-7203-518-5.
- KAVKA, František. Poslední Lucemburk na českém trůně. Králem uprostřed revoluce. Praha : Mladá fronta, 1998. 290 s. ISBN 80-204-0680-8.
- Engel Pál – C. Tóth Norbert: Borbála királyné itineráriuma (1405–1438), Itineraria Regum et Reginarum (1382–1438), MTA Támogatott Kutatóhelyek Irodája, Budapest, 169-187, 2005
- Hoensch, Jörg K.: Kaiser Sigismund. Herrscher an der Schwelle zur Neuzeit 1368-1437, Verlag C.H. Beck, München, 1996 URL: Lásd Külső hivatkozások
- Mályusz Elemér: Zsigmond király uralma Magyarországon 1387–1437, Gondolat, Budapest, 1984.
- Pálosfalvi Tamás: Borbála és a Cilleiek, História, 2006 URL: Lásd Külső hivatkozások
- Schönherr Gyula: Az Anjou-ház örökösei, in: Szilágyi Sándor szerk.: A magyar nemzet története III., Budapest, Athenaeum, 1895. URL: Lásd Külső hivatkozások
- Szathmáry László: Alkémisták a magyar királyi udvarban, Természettudományi Közlöny, 60. kötet, 1928. február 1. URL: Lásd Külső hivatkozások
- Wertner Mór: A középkori délszláv uralkodók genealogiai története, Temesvár, 1891.
- Windecke Eberhard: Eberhard Windecke emlékirata Zsigmond királyról és koráról (ford.: Skorka Renáta) = História Könyvtár – Elbeszélő források 1. (sorozatszerkesztő: Glatz Ferenc), MTA Történettudományi Intézete, História Alapítvány, 2008.
External links
Royal titles | ||
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Preceded by Elizabeth of Pomerania |
Holy Roman Empress 1433–1437 |
Succeeded by Eleanor of Portugal |
Preceded by Elisabeth of Nuremberg |
German Queen 1411–1437 |
Succeeded by Elisabeth of Bohemia |
Preceded by Sofia of Bavaria |
Queen consort of Bohemia 1419/36–1437 | |
Preceded by Margaret of Durazzo |
Queen consort of Hungary 1405–1437 | |
German nobility | ||
Preceded by Agnes of Opole |
Electress consort of Brandenburg 1411–1415 |
Succeeded by Elisabeth of Bavaria |
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