Gryfina of Halych

Gryfina
High Duchess consort of Poland
Tenure	1279–30 September 1288
Born	c. 1248
Died	1305–1309
Spouse	Leszek II the Black
House	Rurikid Dynasty (by birth) House of Piast (by marriage)
Father	Rostislav Mikhailovich
Mother	Anna of Hungary

Gryfina, or Agrippina (c. 1248 – between 1305 and 1309) was a Princess of Kraków by her marriage to Leszek the Black in 1265.

Biography

She was the daughter of Rostislav Mikhailovich (1225–1262) Prince of Halych, and his wife Anna of Hungary (1226–c. 1270), daughter of Béla IV of Hungary. Agrippina's sister was Kunigunda, who married Ottakar II of Bohemia and was the mother of Wenceslaus II of Bohemia. After losing the throne of Halych, Rostislav fled to Hungary and was received at the court of King Béla IV. Rostislav was married to Béla IV's daughter Anna, and was granted the administration of the region of Slavonia, one of the most important regions of the Hungarian Medieval Kingdom.

The marital dispute between Agrippina and Leszek

Agrippina was born in Hungary, where she was raised with her sisters. In 1265, at the age of seventeen, she was married to Leszek, son of Casimir I of Kuyavia ^[1] was in 1265.^[2] The wedding was organized by Bolesław V the Chaste. Between 1271 and 1274 the spouses separated, Agrippina having publicly accused her husband of impotency. Leszek sought treatment, but the marriage remained childless. After four years, Bolesław V forced a reconciliation between the spouses.

During the revolt against her husband in 1285, Agrippina took refuge in Wawel under the care of citizens. During the third Tatar raid of 1287 she escaped with her husband to Hungary, where many of her family members lived. After the death of her husband in 1288, her nephew, Wenceslaus II of Bohemia claimed Poland, because his aunt had been Queen consort of Poland. Agrippina retired to the monastery of the Poor Clares in Stary Sącz. The Prioress there was her mother's sister, Kunigunda, the widow of Boleslaw the Chaste. After the death of Kunigunda, Agrippina took the title of Abbess.

In 1300, she visited Bohemia and cared for Elisabeth Richeza of Poland, daughter of Przemysł II and fiancee of her nephew, Wenceslaus since the death of his first wife Judith of Habsburg. Agrippina died between 1305 and 1309, most likely in 1309. She is buried in the St. Agnes Monastery in Prague.

Ancestors

Notes and references