Folia historica 24
II. Közlemények - Ewa Letkiewicz: The Jewels of Queen Isabella of Hungary
Ewa Letkiewicz The Jewels of Queen Isabella of Hungary Not much is known about the jewels owned by Isabella, the eldest daughter of King Sigismunde I and Queen Bona. She was bom on 18 t h January 1519 and was the pet of her mother, who had high hopes of her. From her early childhood Isabella was the subject of political horse trading, aiming at giving her away into a marriage that would guarantee the most profitable alliances. The first proposals, with great approval from Queen Bona, were made by the envoys of the French King Francois I as early as in March 1519, when the princess was merely two months old.' However, Bona's plans to marry her daughter to some French prince or Italian duke failed and when the plans of entering connections with the house of Habsburg, the Krakow court decided to give the Princess's hand in marriage to the 53-year old John Zapolya, King of Hungary. The 20-ycar old Isabella's wedding per procura took place on 28 t h January 1539. During the lavish wedding feast, the envoys of the Hungarian King gave Isabella the following expensive gifts: a necklace with a large, emerald pendant, priced for 2000 ducats, a mirror in the setting of precious stones and a gold ring. 2 As dowry she received from her parents 32 000 ducats, and her trousseau cost 38 000 ducats which amounted to the enormous sum of 70 000 ducats. 3 The inventory of Isabella's trousseaus is unknown. We can only suppose, on the basis of the preserved list of valuables belonging to her younger sister, Katarzyna (who took with her to Finland more than 2000 jewels) that Isabella's own trousseau was not at all worse, considering the fact that Isabella was her mother's favourite. 4 Isabella's marriage lasted less than a year and a half and ended in the death of the sickly king. For 20 years, until her death in 1559, Isabella was the queen regent and exercised power on behalf of her minor son John Sigismundus. The Hungarian subjects criticized her liking for expensive dresses and the extravagance that she got accustomed to at her parents' court. 5 In Hungary three jewels are related to her name: a ring (formerly in the collection of Isabella, the Queen of Hungary, now in the private possession of Diana Scarisbrick), 6 a pendant, called „ násfa " in Hungary (in the collection of Na1 Duczmal, Malgorzata: Jagiellonowie. Krakow, 1996. 264. 2 Duczmat, Malgorzata: Izabela Jagiellonka. królowa W?gier. Warsaw, 2000. 185-186. 3 To show how large a fortune that was, we can quote the amount of 3000 zlotys, which Hieronim Laski got in 1526 for selling three villages, cf. Duczmal, M.: Jagiellonowie. op. cit. 18. 4 Duczmal, M. : Izabela Jagiellonka op. cit., 188-189. 5 Ibidem 273. 6 Princely Magnificence. Court Jewels of the Renaissance, 1500-1630. London, 1981. 16. photo on 12. 1. photo Diamond ring of Isabella, the Queen of Hungary, between 1539-1569. Repro from Princely Magnificence. Court Jewels of the Renaissance. 1500-1630. 197
