Aldona of Lithuania was born circa 1309 to Gediminas (c1275-1341) and Jewna of Polotsk (c1280-c1344) and died 26 May 1339 of unspecified causes. She married Casimir III the Great of Poland (1310-1370) 1325 JL .
Aldona (baptized Ona or Anna; her pagan name, Aldona, is known only from the writings of Maciej Stryjkowski;[1] c. 1309 – 26 May 1339) was Queen consort of Poland (1333–1339), and a princess of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. She was the daughter of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Biography
Aldona married Casimir III of Poland, when he was 15 or 16 years-old. The bride was probably of about the same age. The marriage took place on 30 April or 16 October 1325 and was a purely political maneuver to strengthen the first Polish–Lithuanian coalition against the State of the Teutonic Order.[2] Casimir was seeking allies over the dispute of Pomerania with the Knights. Gediminas had just undertaken an unsuccessful attempt at Christianization of Lithuania. This coalition was a prelude to Union of Krewo in 1385 and Union of Lublin in 1569 that resulted in the new state, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[1] The details of the agreement are not known; however, it is known that Gediminas released all Polish prisoners, numbering some 25,000.[2] The importance of the marriage was attested by the fact that Casimir abandoned his earlier plans to marry Jutta of Bohemia.[3] The alliance was put in practice when joint forces organized an attack against Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1326.[3] However, the coalition was not strong and collapsed c. 1330, but there is no evidence of fights between Poland and Lithuania while Aldona was alive.[2] The marriage into the Lithuanian dynasty that ruled since c. 1289 might have brought some legitimacy to Władysław I--from the Piast dynasty—who was crowned in 1320, replacing the Přemyslid dynasty.[4] Aldona died suddenly at the end of May 1339 and was buried in Kraków.
Aldona was remembered for her piety and devotion to music. Everywhere she went, she took court musicians with her. It was even suggested by Jan Długosz that cymbals which were played in procession before her represented some pagan Lithuanian tradition.[5] Her husband Casimir is known for his romantic affairs: after Aldona's death he married three more times. Aldona had two daughters:
- Cunigunde of Poland (died in 1357); married on 1 January 1345 Louis VI the Roman, the son of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
- Elisabeth (1326-1361); married Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania.[6] Elisabeth's daughter, Elizabeth of Pomerania, was the fourth wife of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Elisabeth of Poland (c1326-1361) | 1326 | 1361 | Bogislaw V. von Pommern-Wolgast (c1326-1374) |
| Cunigunde of Poland (1334-1357) | 16 May 1335 | 26 April 1357 Berlin, Germany | Ludwig VI. von Bayern (1328-1365) |
See also
- Family of Gediminas – family tree of Aldona
- Gediminids
References
- ^ a b (Lithuanian) Gudavičius, Edvardas (2004). "Aldona". In Vytautas Spečiūnas. Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. pp. 40. ISBN 5-420-01535-8.
- ^ a b c (Lithuanian) Jonynas, Ignas (1933). "Aldona". In Vaclovas Biržiška. Lietuviškoji enciklopedija. I. Kaunas: Spaudos Fondas. pp. 208–211.
- ^ a b Rowell, S. C. (Spring 1994). "Pious Princesses or Daughters of Belial: Pagan Lithuanian Dynastic Diplomacy, 1279–1423". Medieval Prosopography 15 (1): 47. ISSN 0198-9405.
- ^ Rowell, C. S. (1994). Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series. Cambridge University Press. pp. 87. ISBN 978-0-521-45011-9.
- ^ Rowell, C. S. Lithuania Ascending, 232.
- ^ Rowell, C. S. Lithuania Ascending, xxxvi
Aldona of Lithuania (c1309-1339) House of Gediminas Born: 1309 Died: 26 May 1339
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| Royal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Hedwig of Kalisz |
Queen consort of Poland 1333–1339 |
Vacant Title next held by Adelaide of Hesse
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Footnotes (including sources)
| ₪ Wedding |
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| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Aldona of Lithuania. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |
