Hungarian Heritage Review, 1989 (18. évfolyam, 1-9. szám)
1989-02-01 / 2. szám
Hungarian Heritage Calendar In the historical annals of the Catholic Church, she is recorded as one of the "Blessed". In some books on the history of Hungary, she is mentioned briefly in passing. But, on the 28th day of this month of February, most of the people of Poland will remember her as the "Little Mother of Poland". She is the "Blessed Hedwig of Hungary" and was Queen Jadwiga of Poland (1373- 1399). Born in Buda in 1373, Hedwig was the youngest of the two daughters of King Louis the Great of Hungary (1342-1382), who, from 1370 to 1382, was also the absentee King of Poland. Her grandfather was Charles Robert of Anjou (1308-1342), a member of thefamily of Saint Louis of France and King of Naples who, after a series of three crownings, was finally proclaimed King of Hungary. Her grandmother was the sister of King Casimir the Great of Poland. Thus, Hedwig embodied the dynasticlinkagebetween Hungary and Poland during the latter days of the 14th century. In 1378, when Hedwig was only five-years-old, a "false marriage" was arranged for her by her royal parents with William, the son of Duke Leopold of Austria. Meanwhile, her grandmother ruled Poland as Regent; her sister, Mary, was betrothed to Sigismund of Luxemburg; and the "Krakow Lords" of Poland were beginning to rebel against absentee rule by a Hungarian king. What’s more, they vehemently opposed the possibility of Sigismund becoming the King of Poland after marrying Mary, who was destined to become Queen of Hungary after her father’s death. Consequently, after Hedwig’s grandmother died in 1379, a triumvir of "Krakow Lords" assumed the regency of Poland. Then, when King Louis the Great of Hungary and Poland died suddenly in 183 during a dinner with a Polish delegation, the self-appointed Regents of Poland refused to acknowledge his oldest daughter and heir, Mary, as queen, and under no circumstances whatever, would they agree to accept her husband-to-be as king. Moreover, they "The Pole and the Magyar like brothers stand, whether with sword or tankard in hand."- From an anthem composed in 1880 in honor of General Bem, the Polish General of Louis Kossuth’s Hungarian Army in Transylvania in 1849. THE "BLESSED HEDWIG OF HUNGARY" WHO BECAME "JADWIGA" THE GREATEST QUEEN AND "LITTLE MOTHER" OF POLAND would never again permit rule by an absentee sovereign. The result of this transigence was political and economic chaos in Poland to such an extent that civil war was threatened from within and invasion from without. But reason prevailed and these dire catastrophes were avoided. Meeting at Radom in 1382, the Polish nobility decidéd to honor their promise to the late King Louis to accept his heir to the dual throne of Hungary and Poland. But, not his daughter, Mary, because of Sigismund. Instead, they demanded that, if Hedwig would come to Poland and solemnly promise to remain there forever, they would accept her as queen. When these demands were delivered to Hedwig’s mother, she tried to stall for time. But, this tactic annoyed the "Krakow Lords", who issued a final ultimatum: "either send Hedwig to Poland forthwith, or forfeit the crown of Poland!" The Queen Mother of Hungary and Poland had no choice but to give in, and Hedwig was escorted to Poland by a large retinue and a heavily-armed contingent of Hungarian and Polish cavalry. When Hedwig arrived in Krakow in 1384, she received a tumultuous welcome as she passed through the "Kazimierz Gate" to the cathedral and the royal castle on Wawel Hill. On October 15th (1384), she was actually crowned as King of Poland, because the proper diadem remained in Buda and a king’s crown was hurriedly fasioned by craftsmen by mistake. The splendid reign of Queen Jadwiga of Poland had begun. Soon, her capability, religiosity, and sincere concern for her subjects spread far and wide and the people of Poland adored her. But, then, the crafty "Krakow Lords" were faced with another puzzler: "who would reign with her as the King of Poland?" As far as Queen Jadwiga was concerned, there was no problem. She "sacredly betrothed" to William of Austria. She would marry him and he wold rule with her (continued next page) FEBRUARY 1989 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 11
