Hedwig Jagiellon (1513–1573)
| Hedwig Jagiellon | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Electress consort of Brandenburg | |
| Tenure | 1535–1571 |
| Born | 15 March 1513 Poznań |
| Died | 7 February 1573 (aged 59) Neuruppin |
| Spouse | Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg |
| Issue more... |
Elisabeth Magdalena, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg Sigismund, Bishop of Magdeburg Hedwig, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg Sophia, Countess of Rosenberg |
| House |
House of Jagiellon (by birth) House of Hohenzollern (by marriage) |
| Father | Sigismund I the Old |
| Mother | Barbara Zápolya |
Hedwig Jagiellon (Lithuanian: Jadvyga Jogailaitė, Polish: Jadwiga Jagiellonka, German: Hedwig Jagiellonica; 15 March 1513 – 7 February 1573) was a member of the Polish Jagiellon dynasty and an Electress of Brandenburg.
Hedwig was born on March 15, 1513 in Poznań. She was the eldest daughter of King Sigismund I the Old of Poland and his first wife, Hungarian Countess Barbara Zápolya, sister of the later King John I of Hungary. Her only full sibling, Anna, died at age 5. Her father remarried and had six children with his second wife. Although she grew up with her half brothers and sisters, she had personal tutors, and in the court she received the nickname of "reginula".
Hedwig was described by Olaus Magnus, who met her in 1528, as a "very beautiful, wise maiden [...] finer than all the riches I have just mentioned, and worthy of a glorious realm."
Her hand was first sought by King Gustav I of Sweden, who was determined to make her his first queen. In 1526, Johannes Magnus was sent to Poland by the King of Sweden to negotiate the marriage. Despite the suitor's decision to moderate the religious reforms in his kingdom, Hedwig's father declined Gustav's offer after hearing about Gustav's ill relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, and the opportunity to become Queen of Sweden perished (only to be presented later to Hedwig's half-sister Catherine).
The next suitor was from Brandenburg. The intensely Catholic Georg von Blumenthal, Bishop of Lebus, was sent to negotiate the marriage. On 29 August or 1 September 1535 Hedwig married Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg. The wedding was held in Kraków. As the Jagiellon dynasty was Catholic, Joachim II promised Sigismund he would not make Hedwig change her religion and gave her as a dower the county of Ruppin as well as the cities Alt Ruppin and Neuruppin. The marriage contract, signed on 21 March 1535, stipulated that Hedwig would be allowed to bring a Polish priest with her and always be free in the exercise of Catholic prayers.
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