Elizabeth of Kuyavia

Elizabeth of Kuyavia (1315/20 – after 22 August 1345) was the only daughter of Casimir II of Kuyavia and his wife, whose name and origins are unknown.^[1] Elisabeth was Baness of Bosnia by her marriage.^[2]

Family

Elizabeth was a member of the House of Piast. Her only known surviving sibling was her brother, Władysław the White. Her paternal grandparents were Ziemomysl of Kuyavia and his wife Salome of Pomerania.

Elisabeth's mother is unknown and because of this, none of Elisabeth's maternal family are known.

Marriage

By 1323, King Charles I of Hungary wanted to increase influence over Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia. He offered Stephan the hand of Elizabeth, his wife's distant relative and namesake. By marrying Elizabeth, Stephen received (as a gift from the King of Hungary) the lands to the west formerly held by Mladen I Šubić Bribirski and Usora and Soli in the north formerly held by Stefan Dragutin and his son, Vladislav II of the House of Nemanja.

The marriage was legitimized by 1339. Up to 1339, Stephan was married to an unnamed daughter of a Bulgarian tsar. He needed to have the marriage with the Bulgarian princess annulled in order to be able to marry Elizabeth, otherwise Elizabeth's marriage to Stephen would have been considered bigamy. Elizabeth was a Roman Catholic, while her husband Stephen was a member of the Bosnian Church and a heretic in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church.

The only child which can be attributed to Elizabeth of Kuyavia without doubt is Elizabeth of Bosnia, born c. 1340, who married Hungarian King Louis I the Great.

Some ^[3] believe that Catherine of Bosnia, Countess of Cilli, was daughter of Elizabeth of Kuyavia and Stephen II, while others believe that Catherine was daughter of Stephen II's brother Vladislaus of Bosnia and his wife Jelena Šubić.

Elizabeth may have also had a son, Vuk who may have survived infancy but he did not outlive his father so never became Ban of Bosnia. Vuk may have been the son of one of Stephen's previous two wives.

Stephen outlived Elizabeth. It is unknown what Elizabeth died of, judging by the time, it is possible that she died of Black Death, which was sweeping across Europe during the 14th century. Banness Elizabeth was buried in Bobovac in a tomb which she shared with her husband, brother-in-law Vladislaus and sister-in-law Jelena.^[4]

Family legacy

After Elizabeth of Kuyavia's death, her daughter Elizabeth was fostered by Elisabeth of Poland and this soon led to Elizabeth's marriage to Louis I.

Elizabeth's known family lineage died out in 1399, with the death of her granddaughter, Jadwiga of Poland and great-granddaughter Elizabeth Bonifacia. If Elizabeth was mother of Catherine, her descendants are today on the thrones of all European kingdoms, grand duchies and principalities.

Ancestry

References

Kotromanić dynasty Bans of Bosnia (1254–1377) Prijezda I Prijezda II Stephen I Stephen II Tvrtko I Banitsas of Bosnia Elizabeth of Serbia Elizabeth of Kuyavia Dorothea of Bulgaria Kings of Bosnia (1377–1463) Stephen Tvrtko I Stephen Dabiša Stephen Ostoja Stephen Ostojić Stephen Tvrtko II Stephen Thomas Stephen Tomašević Queens of Bosnia Dorothea of Bulgaria Jelena Gruba Vitača Kujava Radinović Jelena Nelipić Dorothy Garai Vojača Katarina Kosača Jelena Branković Other significant members Catherine, Baness of Croatia Vladislav Kotromanić Jelena Šubić Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary and Poland Catherine, Countess of Cilli Helen, Duchess of Troppau Maria, Countess of Helfenstein Radivoj Ostojić Catherine Tomašević Matija Sabančić