Elizabeth of Austria (1526–1545)

Queen of Poland from 1543 to 1545

For other uses, see Elisabeth of Austria (disambiguation).

Elizabeth of Austria

Portrait by the circle of Lucas Cranach the Younger

Queen consort of Poland
Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania
Tenure| 5 May 1543 – 15 June 1545
Coronation| 8 May 1543

Born| (1526-07-09)9 July 1526
Linz, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
Died| 15 June 1545(1545-06-15) (aged 18)
Vilnius, Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Burial| 24 July 1545

Vilnius Cathedral

Spouse| Sigismund II Augustus
House| House of Habsburg
Father| Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother| Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
Wives of
Sigismund II Augustus

* Elisabeth of Austria
* Barbara Radziwiłł
* Catherine of Austria

Elizabeth of Austria (Polish: Elżbieta Habsburżanka, Lithuanian: Elžbieta Habsburgaitė; 9 July 1526 – 15 June 1545) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania by marriage. She was the eldest of fifteen children of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and his wife Anne of Bohemia and Hungary.[1] A member of the House of Habsburg, she was married to Sigismund II Augustus, who was already crowned as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania even though both of his parents were still alive and well. The marriage was short and unhappy. Elizabeth was of frail health, experiencing epileptic seizures, and died at age 18.

## Life

[edit]

Elizabeth at age four by Jakob Seisenegger

Elizabeth was the first born child of Anna and Ferdinand, the couple had been married for five years before giving birth.

Elizabeth spent most of her childhood in the Hofburg, Innsbruck.

As both of Elizabeth's parents had a love of learning, she and her siblings received a strict and thorough education from the humanist Kaspar Ursinus Velius.[1] Learning German, Italian and French,[2] as well as receiving a Catholic religious education.[3] Both Elizabeth's parents were devout Catholics. Ferdinand, on one occasion threatened to have anyone who exposed his children to Lutheranism executed after he discovered that a tutor of Elizabeth's had Lutheran sympathies and had joked about cardinals. Elizabeth and her sisters were also taught to play keyboard instruments[4] and to dance.[4]

Elizabeth was not taught the Polish language despite her early arranged marriage to Sigismund II Augustus.[5] The marriage plan was first discussed when Elizabeth was only one year old. Louis, King of Hungary and Bohemia, died in August 1526 without leaving an heir. The Hungarian throne was contested between Louis' brother-in-law Ferdinand I and John Zápolya.[5] Louis's uncle Sigismund I the Old and Hungarian nobility supported Zápolya. The marriage of Elizabeth to Sigismund's son was proposed as the means to end Polish support to Zápolya.[5] The Polish Queen and Lithuanian Grand Duchess Bona Sforza opposed the wedding as she opposed the growing influence of the Habsburgs.[6]

In February 1530, ten-year-old Sigismund II Augustus was co-crowned vivente rege as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (his father was still alive and in good health) to secure his inheritance in Poland.[7] Envoys of George, Duke of Saxony, attended the coronation ceremony and negotiated the marriage between Elizabeth and Sigismund August on behalf of Ferdinand.[8] Great Chancellor of the Crown Krzysztof Szydłowiecki supported the match and organized a preliminary marriage treaty, signed on 10–11 November 1530 in Poznań.[8] According to the treaty, the marriage was to take place in 1533 when Elizabeth reached the age of seven. Her dowry was 100,000 ducats. In exchange, the Poles would grant her the cities of Nowy Sącz, Sanok, Przemyśl, Biecz as her dower.[8]

Sigismund Augustus and Elizabeth were first cousins once removed. (Casimir IV Jagiellon was a great-grandfather of Elizabeth and a grandfather of Sigismund August). This close relationship required a matrimonial dispensation, which was issued by Pope Clement VII on 24 August 1531.[8] The final marriage treaty, delayed mostly due to the opposition by Bona Sforza, was signed only on 16 June 1538 in Breslau (now Wrocław) by Johannes Dantiscus.[8] The treaty did not differ from the preliminary treaty of 1530 other than the age of the bride which was now set at 16. The betrothal ceremony took place on 17 July 1538 in Innsbruck.[8] Bona continued to lobby against the marriage and instead proposed Princess Margaret of France.[9]

In October the same year, Elizabeth and her younger siblings Maximilian, Ferdinand and Anna traveled with their father to Linz before traveling on to Vienna. This so that they could gain some experience in handling themselves in a formal court environment and also prepare for being confirmed in the Catholic faith. The confirmation took place in October 1539 in the royal chapel, with a Venetian envoy acting as Elizabeth's godfather. The cardinal Girolamo Aleandro, who conducted the ceremony, thought the young archdukes and archduchesses resembled "a chorus of angels".[citation needed]

Elizabeth and her family would return to Innsbruck in 1541.

## Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania

[edit]

Elizabeth and a twelve-person escort departed Vienna on 21 April 1543.[10] She was met at Olomouc by Samuel Maciejowski, Bishop of Płock and a retinue of 1,500 knights. On 5 May 1543, Elizabeth entered Kraków and met Sigismund Augustus for the first time.[10] The same day, 16-year-old Elizabeth married 22-year-old Sigismund Augustus in Wawel Cathedral. The wedding celebrations continued for two weeks. She was also crowned as Grand Duchess of Lithuania and Queen of Poland, which only increased the ire of Bona Sforza, who detested her title of "Old Queen".[10]

Elizabeth's sarcophagus (on the right) on display in Vilnius Cathedral in 1930s

The marriage was not a happy one. Sigismund Augustus, who already had several mistresses, did not find Elizabeth attractive and continued to have extramarital affairs.[11] Raised in a strict household to be obedient, Elizabeth was too timid and meek to object to this.[12] The long journey from Austria to Poland had further deteriorated her already frail state of health. She was diagnosed with epilepsy and started having seizures.[12] At the same time Bona openly expressed her dislike of Elizabeth and continued to search for ways to destroy the marriage. Bona questioned the wording of the matrimonial dispensation; a new dispensation was issued on 17 May 1544.[13] On the other hand, Polish nobility liked and sympathized with Elizabeth – a young, pleasant woman who was ignored by her husband and taunted by her ambitious mother-in-law.[14] Her father-in-law Sigismund I the Old was also sympathetic to her, but was too weak to protect her from Bona.[15]

Two months after the wedding, plague reached Kraków and the royal family departed the capital city.[12] Sigismund Augustus left for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, while Sigismund I the Old, Bona, and Elizabeth toured various cities in Poland. After a year of separation, the couple met again in Brest.[16] Sigismund Augustus liked living independently in Lithuania and convinced his father to entrust him with ruling the grand duchy.[16] In fall 1544, Elizabeth and Sigismund Augustus moved to Vilnius. For a few months Sigismund Augustus attempted to keep up appearances of a successful marriage to appease the Habsburgs, but soon started ignoring his wife and continued his affair with Barbara Radziwiłł.[16]

In April 1545, Elizabeth's health deteriorated and she was tormented by her increasingly frequent seizures. On 8 June 1545, Sigismund Augustus went to Kraków to receive Elizabeth's dowry, leaving his wife alone in Vilnius.[16] In Kraków, Sigismund Augustus inquired about treatments and asked Ferdinand I to send his own doctors.[16] But it was too late. On 15 June, the young queen-grand duchess died exhausted by her many epileptic seizures. She was buried on 24 July 1545 (after her husband returned from Kraków) in Vilnius Cathedral next to her husband's uncle, King Alexander Jagiellon.[16]

After Elizabeth's death Sigismund Augustus married his mistress Barbara Radziwiłł and, after her death, Elizabeth's younger sister, Catherine of Austria. Sigismund had no children with any his three wives.[citation needed]

## Ancestors

[edit]

|  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor[21]

|
|
|
|
|
|
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| 4\. Philip I of Castile[17]|

|  |  |
| 9\. Mary, Duchess of Burgundy[22]

| 2\. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Ferdinand II of Aragon[23]

| 5\. Joanna I of Castile[18]|

|  |  |
| 11\. Isabella I of Castile[24]

| 1\. Elizabeth of Austria|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Casimir IV Jagiellon[25]

| 6\. Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary[19]|

|  |  |
| 13\. Elisabeth of Austria[26]

| 3\. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale[27]

| 7\. Anne of Foix-Candale[20]|

|  |  |
| 15\. Catherine of Foix[28]

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Duczmal (2012), p. 164
2. ^ Dairsie, Heather R. (2023). Children of the House of Cleves. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445699431.
3. ^ Gu, Jenny; Bourne, Philip (16 June 2009). "The uses of humanism". SciVee. doi:10.4016/11616.01. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
4. ^ a b Weaver, Andrew H. (2020). A Companion to Music at the Habsburg Courts in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Brill. p. 156\. ISBN 9789004435032.
5. ^ a b c Duczmal (2012), p. 165
6. ^ Duczmal (2012), pp. 165–167
7. ^ Duczmal (2012), p. 525
8. ^ a b c d e f Duczmal (2012), p. 166
9. ^ Duczmal (2012), pp. 166–167
10. ^ a b c Duczmal (2012), p. 167
11. ^ Duczmal (2012), pp. 167–168
12. ^ a b c Duczmal (2012), p. 168
13. ^ Duczmal (2012), p. 168–169
14. ^ Duczmal (2012), p. 170
15. ^ Duczmal (2012), p. 171
16. ^ a b c d e f Duczmal (2012), p. 169
17. ^ von Wurzbach, Constantin, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Philipp I. der Schöne von Oesterreich" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 7\. p. 112 - via Wikisource.
18. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Joanna" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
19. ^ Vladislas II, King of Bohemia and Hungary at the Encyclopædia Britannica
20. ^ Cazacu, Matei (2017). Reinert, Stephen W. (ed.). Dracula. Brill. p. 204.
21. ^ Holland, Arthur William (1911). "Maximilian I. (emperor)" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
22. ^ Poupardin, René (1911). "Charles, called The Bold, duke of Burgundy" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
23. ^ Ferdinand II, King of Spain at the Encyclopædia Britannica
24. ^ Isabella I, Queen of Spain at the Encyclopædia Britannica
25. ^ Casimir IV, King of Poland at the Encyclopædia Britannica
26. ^ von Wurzbach, Constantin, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Elisabeth von Oesterreich (Königin von Polen)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6\. p. 167 - via Wikisource.
27. ^ Boureau, Alain (1995). The Lord's First Night: The Myth of the Droit de Cuissage. Translated by Cochrane, Lydia G. The University of Chicago Press. p. 96.
28. ^ Noubel, P., ed. (1877). Revue de l'Agenais [Review of the Agenais]. Vol. 4\. Société académique d'Agen. p. 497.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Duczmal, Małgorzata (2012). Jogailaičiai (in Lithuanian). Translated by Birutė Mikalonienė; Vyturys Jarutis. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras. ISBN 978-5-420-01703-6.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of Poland (1545).

* Przemysław Jędrzejewski, ELŻBIETA AUSTRIACZKA – KRÓLOWA POLSKA I WIELKA KSIĘŻNA LITEWSKA (1526–1545)

Elizabeth of Austria

House of Habsburg

Born: 9 July 1526 Died: 15 June 1545

Royal titles
Preceded by

Bona Sforza

as sole queen  |  Queen consort of Poland
Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania
1543–1545
with Bona Sforza | Succeeded by

Bona Sforza

as sole queen

* v
* t
* e

Royal consorts of Poland

Piast dynasty|

* Doubravka of Bohemia
* Oda of Haldensleben
* Emnilda
* Oda of Meissen
* Richeza of Lotharingia
* Maria Dobroniega of Kiev
* Wyszesława of Kiev
* Judith of Bohemia
* Judith of Swabia
* Zbyslava of Kiev
* Salomea of Berg

Fragmentation
period|

* Agnes of Babenberg
* Viacheslava of Novgorod
* Maria
* Eudoxia of Kiev
* Helena of Znojmo
* Lucia of Rügen
* Grzymisława of Łuck
* Ludmila
* Agafia of Rus
* Hedwig of Silesia
* Anne of Bohemia
* Kinga of Poland
* Gryfina of Halych
* Matilda of Brandenburg
* Richeza of Sweden
* Margaret of Brandenburg

Přemyslid dynasty|

* Judith of Habsburg
* Elizabeth Richeza of Poland
* Viola of Teschen

Restored Piast dynasty|

* Jadwiga of Kalisz
* Aldona of Lithuania
* Adelaide of Hesse
* Hedwig of Sagan

Capet-Anjou dynasty|

* Elizabeth of Bosnia

Jagiellonian dynasty|

* Anna of Cilli
* Elizabeth Granowska
* Sophia of Halshany
* Elizabeth of Austria
* Helena of Moscow
* Barbara Zápolya
* Bona Sforza
* Elizabeth of Austria
* Barbara Radziwiłł
* Catherine of Austria

Elective monarchy|

* Louise of Lorraine
* Anne of Austria
* Constance of Austria
* Cecilia Renata of Austria
* Marie Louise Gonzaga
* Eleonore of Austria
* Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien
* Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
* Catherine Opalińska
* Maria Josepha of Austria

First Lady of Poland

* v
* t
* e

Royal consorts of Lithuania

Kingdom of Lithuania|

| House of Mindaugas (1236–1263)|

* Morta

|

Grand Duchy of Lithuania|

| House of Gediminids (1285–1440)|

* Jaunė
* Maria of Vitebsk
* Uliana of Tver
* Jadwiga of Poland
* Birutė
* Anna
* Uliana Olshanska
* Anna of Tver

|

House of Jagiellon (1440–1569)|

* Elizabeth of Austria
* Helena of Moscow
* Barbara Zápolya
* Bona Sforza
* Elizabeth of Austria
* Barbara Radziwiłł
* Catherine of Austria

Polish–Lithuanian
Commonwealth|

| Elected (1569–1795)|

* Louise of Lorraine
* Anne of Austria
* Constance of Austria
* Cecilia Renata of Austria
* Marie Louise Gonzaga
* Eleonore of Austria
* Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien
* Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
* Catherine Opalińska
* Maria Josepha of Austria

|

* v
* t
* e

Austrian archduchesses by descent

Generations are numbered by male-line descent from Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. Later generations are included although Austrian titles of nobility were abolished and outlawed in 1919.

1st generation|

* Kunigunde, Duchess of Bavaria

2nd generation|

* Margaret, Duchess of Savoy

3rd generation|

* Eleanor, Queen of Portugal and France*
* Isabella, Queen of Denmark and Norway*
* Maria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia*
* Catherine, Queen of Portugal*

4th generation|

* Maria, Holy Roman Empress*
* Joanna, Princess of Portugal*
* Elisabeth, Queen of Poland
* Anna, Duchess of Bavaria
* Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
* Magdalena
* Catherine, Queen of Poland
* Eleanor, Duchess of Mantua
* Margaret
* Barbara, Duchess of Ferrara
* Helena
* Joanna, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

5th generation|

* Isabella Clara Eugenia, Co-sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands**
* Catalina Micaela, Duchess of Savoy**
* Anna, Queen of Spain
* Elisabeth, Queen of France
* Margaret (1567–1633)
* Maria (1584–1649)
* Anna, Holy Roman Empress
* Anna, Queen of Poland
* Maria Christina, Princess of Transylvania
* Catherine Renata
* Gregoria Maximiliana
* Eleanor (1582–1620)
* Margaret, Queen of Spain
* Constance, Queen of Poland
* Maria Maddalena, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

6th generation|

* Anna, Queen of France**
* María**
* Maria Anna, Holy Roman Empress**
* Margarita**
* Maria Anna, Electress of Bavaria
* Cecilia Renata, Queen of Poland
* Isabella Clara, Duchess of Mantua
* Maria Leopoldine, Holy Roman Empress

7th generation|

* Maria Theresa, Queen of France**
* Margarita Teresa, Holy Roman Empress*
* Maria Anna, Queen of Spain
* Eleanor, Queen of Poland, Duchess of Lorraine
* Maria Anna Josepha, Electoral Princess of the Palatinate
* Claudia Felicitas, Holy Roman Empress

8th generation|

* Maria Antonia, Electress of Bavaria
* Maria Elisabeth
* Maria Anna, Queen of Portugal
* Maria Theresa
* Maria Josepha
* Maria Magdalena

9th generation|

* Maria Josepha, Queen of Poland
* Maria Amalia, Holy Roman Empress
* Maria Theresa
* Princess Maria Anna of Lorraine

10th generation|

* Maria Elisabeth^
* Maria Anna^
* Maria Carolina^
* Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen^
* Maria Elisabeth^
* Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma^
* Johanna^
* Maria Josepha^
* Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples^
* Maria Antonia, Queen of France^

11th generation|

* Maria Theresa
* Maria Theresia, Queen of Saxony^
* Maria Anna^
* Maria Clementina, Duchess of Calabria^
* Maria Amalia^
* Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia#
* Maria Leopoldine, Electress of Bavaria#
* Maria Ludovika, Empress of Austria#

12th generation|

* Marie Louise, Empress of the French
* Maria Leopoldina, Empress of Brazil
* Clementina, Princess of Salerno
* Marie Caroline, Crown Princess of Saxony
* Maria Anna
* Maria Luisa^
* Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia^
* Maria Theresa, Queen of the Two Sicilies
* Maria Caroline
* Hermine
* Elisabeth Franziska
* Marie Henriette, Queen of the Belgians
* Adelaide, Queen of Sardinia
* Maria Theresa, Countess of Chambord#
* Maria Beatrix, Countess of Montizón#

13th generation|

* Maria Anna
* Princess Auguste Ferdinande of Bavaria^
* Maria Isabella, Countess of Trapani^
* Maria Luisa, Princess of Isenburg-Büdingen^
* Mathilda
* Maria Christina, Queen of Spain
* Maria Dorothea, Duchess of Orléans
* Margaretha Klementine, Princess of Thurn and Taxis
* Maria Theresa, Queen of Bavaria#

14th generation|

* Sophie
* Princess Gisela of Bavaria
* Marie Valerie
* Margarete Sophie, Duchess of Württemberg
* Maria Annunciata
* Princess Elisabeth of Liechtenstein
* Maria Antonietta^
* Luise, Crown Princess of Saxony^
* Maria Theresa^
* Princess Karoline Marie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha^
* Princess Maria Christina of Salm-Salm
* Princess Maria Anna of Bourbon Parma
* Maria Henrietta, Princess of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst
* Princess Isabella of Bavaria
* Eleonora
* Renata, Princess Radziwill
* Mechthildis, Princess Czartoryski

15th generation|

* Elisabeth Marie, Princess of Windisch-Graetz
* Helena, Duchess of Württemberg^
* Rosa, Duchess of Württemberg^
* Dolores^
* Maria Inmaculata^
* Margarita, Marchioness Taliani di Marchio^
* Princess Maria Antonia^
* Assunta^
* Elisabeth, Countess of Waldburg-Zeil^
* Hedwig, Countess of Stolberg-Stolberg^
* Margaret, Princess of Monteleone
* Ilona, Duchess of Mecklenburg

16th generation|

* Adelheid
* Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburg
* Princess Elisabeth of Liechtenstein

17th generation|

* Gabriela
* Walburga, Countess Douglas
* Maria-Anna, Princess Piotr Galitzine
* Sophie, Princess of Windisch-Graetz

18th generation|

* Eleonore

* * also an infanta of Spain
* ** also an infanta of Spain and Portugal
* ^ also a princess of Tuscany
* # also a princess of Modena

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Poland

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

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