Jadwiga of Poland
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Jadwiga (Polish: [jadˈviɡa] ; 1373 or 1374 – 17 July 1399), also known as Hedwig (from German, Hungarian: Hedvig), was the first female monarch of the Kingdom of Poland, as well its last hereditary ruler. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. Born in Buda, she was the youngest daughter of Louis I of Hungary and Poland, and his wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia. Jadwiga was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou, and had forebears among the Polish Piasts. In 1375, it was planned that when becoming old enough, Jadwiga would marry William of Austria and she lived in Vienna from 1378 to 1380. Louis I is often thought to have regarded her and William as his favoured successors in Hungary after the 1378 death of her eldest sister, Catherine, since the following year the Polish nobility had pledged their homage to Louis' second daughter, Mary, and Mary's fiancé, Sigismund of Luxembourg. However, Louis died, and in 1382, at her mother's insistence, Mary was crowned "King of Hungary". Sigismund of Luxembourg tried to take control of Poland, but the Polish nobility countered that they would be obedient to a daughter of Louis only if she settled in Poland. Queen Elizabeth then chose Jadwiga to reign in Poland but did not send her to Kraków to be crowned. During the interregnum, Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia, became a candidate for the Polish throne. The nobility of Greater Poland favoured him and proposed that he marry Jadwiga. However, Lesser Poland's nobility opposed him, and they persuaded Elizabeth to send Jadwiga to Poland. Jadwiga was crowned "king" in Poland's capital, Kraków, on 16 October 1384. Her coronation either reflected the Polish nobility's opposition to her intended husband, William, becoming king without further negotiation or simply emphasized her status as queen regnant. With her mother's consent, Jadwiga's advisors opened negotiations with Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was still a pagan, concerning his potential marriage to Jadwiga. Jogaila signed the Union of Krewo, pledging to convert to Catholicism and to promote the conversion of his pagan subjects. Meanwhile, William hastened to Kraków, hoping to marry Jadwiga, but in late August 1385, the Polish nobles expelled him. Jogaila, who took the Catholic baptismal name Władysław, married Jadwiga on 15 February 1386. Legend says that she had agreed to marry him only after a lengthy prayer, seeking divine inspiration. Jogaila, now styled in Polish as Władysław Jagiełło was crowned King of Poland on 4 March 1386 as Jadwiga's co-ruler. Jogaila worked closely with his wife in that role. In any case, her real political power was limited. She remained passive when the rebellious nobles of the Kingdom of Hungary-Croatia murdered her mother in early 1387. After that, Jadwiga marched into the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which had been under Hungarian rule, and persuaded most of the inhabitants to become subjects of the Polish Crown. She mediated between her husband's quarrelling kin and between Poland and the Teutonic Order. After her sister Mary died in 1395, Jadwiga and Jogaila laid claim to Hungary against the widowed Sigismund of Luxembourg, but the Hungarian lords did not support their claim and Sigismund easily retained his Hungarian throne. Jadwiga died four years later due to postpartum complications. As her only daughter predeceased her, the Queen was the last hereditary monarch of Poland, and with her death, the throne of Poland became elective. In 1997, she was canonized by the Catholic Church.