Dorothy Garai

Dorothy Garai (Bosnian: Doroteja Gorjanska/Доротеја Горјанска, Hungarian: Garai Dorottya; died between 19 and 24 September 1438) was Queen of Bosnia as the spouse of King Tvrtko II from 1428 until her death.

Family and engagement

Dorothea was born into the highly influential Garai family of the Kingdom of Hungary, one of the daughters of John Garai, ispán (count) of the Temes County and ban (governor) of the Bosnian region of Usora. Nicholas I and Nicholas II Garai, Dorothea's grandfather and uncle respectively, served as palatines of Hungary, the highest-ranking officials in the kingdom.^[1][1] Her mother was Jadwiga, daughter of Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia.^[2]

In 1427, King Tvrtko II of Bosnia expressed his wish to marry Dorothy. As Dorothy was a religious Roman Catholic and Tvrtko II's subjects were heretics, the Church gave permission for the marriage only when Tvrtko convinced the Pope that he was a loyal follower of the Church.^[1] By marrying Dorothy, Tvrtko wanted to strengthen his relations with Hungary.^[1]

Queen

The wedding was held in the spring of 1428.^[1] Many Bosnian noblemen, including Grand Duke Sandalj Hranić Kosača, refused to attend the wedding.^[1]

Queen Dorothy was opposed to the reforms of the Franciscan Order, which were proposed by James of the Marches. James was sent to Bosnia by Pope Eugene IV to convert the followers of the Church of Bosnia to Roman Catholicism. He failed, but claimed that his failure was due to the lack of help from the King and Queen.^[3] He accused Queen Dorothy of trying to kill him on several occasions.^[4] Tvrtko and Dorothy became increasingly unpopular among the Franciscans, who referred to the Queen as an evil woman.^[4]

It is not clear whether Dorothy had children. Sources do not mention children of Tvrtko II and his queen, so it can be assumed that there weren't any. However, archeologists found a child's grave between the graves of Tvrtko and Dorothy.

Queen Dorothy died in September 1438. She is buried in Bobovac next to her husband.

Ancestry

See also

• Dorothy of Bulgaria, her (step)mother-in-law and namesake, wife of Tvrtko I

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Van Antwerp Fine, John (1994), The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, University of Michigan Press, p. 473, ISBN 0472082604 
2. ↑ Medieval Lands
3. ↑ Steven Runciman, The medieval Manichee: a study of the Christian dualist heresy, Cambridge University Press, 1982
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 John Van Antwerp Fine, The Bosnian Church: Its Place in State and Society from the Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Century, Saqi in association with The Bosnian Institute, 2007