Hedwig of Poland - Definition and Overview

Hedwig was born most probably on February 18, 1374 as the youngest daughter of Louis the Great, King of Hungary and Poland of the House of Angevin, and Elizabeth of Bosnia. Both Hedwig's mother and Louis's mother, Elizabeth Łokietkówna, were descended from the House of Piasts, an ancient Polish dynasty. Hedwig was a great granddaughter of King Ladislaus the Short who had reunited Poland in 1320.

Hedwig was being brought up at the royal court in Buda. In 1378 she was betrothed to William Habsburg and spent about a year at the imperial court in Vienna. Her father had also made an arrangement with the future Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg for the latter to marry either Hedwig or her sister Mary (Sigismund eventually married Mary).

Hedwig was well educated and polyglot, interested in arts, music, science and court life. She was also known for her piety, and admiration for Saints Mary and Martha, Saint Bridget of Sweden, and her patron saint, Hedwig of Andechs.

Reign

When Louis died in 1382, the Hungarian throne was inherited by Mary. In Poland, however, the lords of Lesser Poland, the virtual rulers of Poland, did not want to continue the personal union with Hungary, nor to accept Sigismund as a regent. Therefore they chose Mary's younger sister, Hedwig, as their new monarch. After two years of negotiations with Hedwig's mother and a civil war in Greater Poland (1383), Hedwig finally came to Kraków and was crowned King (sic) of Poland on November 16, 1384. The masculine gender in her title was supposed to stress that she was a monarch in her own right, not a queen consort.

Hedwig was said to be a blonde, blue-eyed beauty, and an exhumation performed in 1976 showed that she was unusually tall for a medieval woman (180 cm), without physical evidence of any deformity or disability. Soon after her coronation, new pretenders to Hedwig's hand appeared: Duke Siemowit IV of Masovia and Grand Duke Jogaila (Jagiełło) of Lithuania, the latter supported by the lords of Lesser Poland. In 1385 (when Hedwig was eleven years old) William Habsburg came to Kraków to consumate the marriage and present the lords with a fait accompli. His plan, however, failed and William was expelled from Poland while Polish bishops announced his engagement to Hedwig invalid. In the same year Jogaila and the lords of Lesser Poland signed the Union of Krewo in which Jogaila pledged to adopt Latin Christianity and unite Lithuania with Poland in exchange for Hedwig's hand and the Polish crown. Hedwig (12) and Jogaila (36) – who had been earlier baptized Ladislaus – were wed in March 1386 in Kraków. This was followed by Jogaila's coronation as king of Poland, although Hedwig retained her royal rights.

As a monarch, Hedwig probably had very little actual power. Nevertheless, she was actively engaged in her kingdom's political, diplomatic and cultural life. In 1387 she led a military expedition to reconquer the Duchy of Halych and in 1390 she began to correspond with the Teutonic Knights. She had many Latin books translated for her into Polish. She also gave much of her wealth to charity, including foundation of hospitals. Among Hedwig's accomplishments there was the founding of a bishopric in Vilnius. Most of all, she donated her jewelry, dresses and even her royal insignia to restore the Academy of Kraków, since called Jagiellonian University in honor of her and her husband.

Death

On June 22, 1399 Hedwig gave birth to a daughter, baptized Elizabeth Bonifacia. Both the girl and her mother died within a month due to birth complications. Hedwig died on July 17, 1399. She was buried together with her baby in the Wawel Cathedral. Her death undermined Jogaila's position as a Polish king, but he managed to stay on the throne until his death 35 years later.

Kings, Dukes and High-Dukes of Poland

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Coat of Arms of Poland

Legends and veneration

Legends

Ever since her death, Hedwig was widely considered saint. Numerous legends about alleged miracles were told to justify her sainthood. The two best known are those of Hedwig's cross and Hedwig's foot.

Hedwig often prayed in front of a large black crucifix hanging in the northern aisle of the Wawel Cathedral. Christ hanging on the cross is said to have talked to her during one of such prayers. The crucifix, often called "Saint Hedwig's cross", is still there, with Hedwig's relics placed below.

According to another legend, Hedwig took a piece of jewelry off her foot and gave it to a poor stonemason who begged her for help. When the queen left, he noticed her foot imprinted in plaster. Her alleged footprint, known as "Hedwig's foot", can be still seen in one of Kraków's churches.

Exhumations and sarcophagus

Hedwig's body was exhumed at least three times. The first time was in the 17th century, for the purpose of construction of a bishop's sarcophagus next to Hedwig's grave. The next exhumation took place in 1887. Hedwig's complete skeleton together with a mantle and a hat were found. Elizabeth Bonifacia's remains were not preserved. Jan Matejko made a sketch of Hedwig's skull, which later helped him to paint her portrait (see above).

On July 12, 1949 her grave was opened again. This time Hedwig was buried in a new sarcophagus founded by Karol Lanckoroński and sculptured in 1902 by Antoni Madeyski in white marble. The queen is depicted with a dog at her feet, a symbol of fidelity. The sarcophagus is oriented with Hedwig's feet pointing westwards, unlike all other sarcophagi in the cathedral. Next to the sarcophagus, a wooden orb and a wooden scepter are on display, symbols of the queen's modesty and charity.

Veneration

Despite widespread veneration for Hedwig in Poland, it was only on June 8, 1979 that Pope John Paul II prayed at her sarcophagus, and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments officially affirmed her beatification on August 8, 1986. Finally, the pope canonized her in Kraków on June 8, 1997.