When they entered the royal chambers all heads turned after them. They were able to charm many with their grace, and then ruthlessly use their delight. Beauty provided them as many enemies as allies. Do you know all the most beautiful Jagiellonian wives?
Jadwiga Andegaweńska
At the very beginning - a controversy. The case with Jadwiga Andegaweńska, the first wife of the ancestor of the Jagiellonian dynasty, is quite complicated. Two camps have formed in terms of assessing her beauty. One of them, following Jan Długosz, sees her as the most beautiful woman in Europe.
Jadwiga Andegaweńska on canvas by Aleksander Augustynowicz (photo:public domain)
The second, analyzing the chronicle of Janek from Czarnków, is of the opinion that silence ... says more than a thousand words. The usually quite talkative Janko describes Anjou only as a "virgin", without mentioning her appearance. Was he afraid to say outright that she was not a beauty? Meanwhile, Długosz even writes that Jagiełło was encouraged to marry by all and in the eyes of the glorified beauty of the bride:
Jagiełło, having heard the news that was loud among people, as well as numerous reports, after which he sent that the princess was a virgin of such a strange beauty that she was similar in At that time, the world didn't have all of it …
Stanisław Cat Mackiewicz emphasized that the chronicler often returned to the issue of the queen's beauty, emphasizing her uniqueness. The results of the exhumation of her remains, buried in Wawel, also allow us to make sure that Jadwiga had regular, though quite sharp features, as well as… very healthy and strong teeth. It is worth noting that she also had a slightly masculine physique, which confused researchers and forced them to conduct a detailed investigation to ascertain her actual gender.
Sonka Holaszańska
When Sonka Holszańska, who came from the impoverished Lithuanian family, married King Władysław Jagiełło, she brought him her youth and beauty as the only significant dowry. She was then seventeen years old, and the Polish ruler (according to the latest findings) about sixty. According to the beliefs of the time, this age difference was to give hope for numerous offspring. According to the sources, this was what Jagiełło counted on when he asked Semen, the Prince of Druki, for the girl's hand
Władysław Jagiełło and his wives - Jadwiga Andegaweńska, Anna Cylejska, Elżbieta Granowska and Zofia Holszańska marked with a circle (photo:public domain)
The king has already had three marriages behind him, two of which were driven by political and dynastic reasons. He concluded the third with a woman whom he probably sincerely devoted to, in spite of the Polish gentlemen. Now he just decided to find a pretty face that would make the rest of his life pleasant. The Polish lords were not convinced that the king should marry her at all. As Długosz commented:
Maciej, the bishop of Vilnius, completed the rite, blessing a marriage unpleasant to Poles, and unnecessary and inappropriate to the king, already leaning towards old age; it was the marriage of spouses of unequal age, Władysław, the late king, and the said Zofia, a flourishing virgin at that time , and with beauty more than the virtues prescribed ”.
Bona Sforza
Although in her most popular widows portraits, Queen Bona Sforza is simply ugly in the world, in her youth she was simply delightful. When Sigismund the Old received her portrait sent by his mother Izabela, the Polish ruler had considerable doubts as to whether the beautiful image was even partially covered by the facts. Therefore, one of the first "reports" sent to him after Polish MPs came to match their king was to assure him that the reality was ... even better. The beauty of the young Bona was simply admired. In her biography, Kamil Janicki cites a description of the queen that leaves no doubt in this matter:
The hair has a lovely pale tan, while (oddly enough) the eyelashes and eyebrows are completely black. Eyes angelic rather than human, forehead radiant and cheerful. Straight nose, no hump or curve.
The faces are browned with an innate modesty. The mouth is the reddest coral, the teeth are even and extraordinarily white, the neck is straight and round. The chest of snow white, the arms the most beautiful, the hands more beautiful.
Everything taken together, whether the whole figure or each member separately, make up the loveliest and most charming whole.
Izabela's opponents accused her and Bona of practicing debauchery. However, there is no evidence for this. The illustration shows a woodcut from 1521 showing Bona.
Zygmunt the Old married Bona Sforza having two serious relationships behind him. The first was with Katarzyna Telniczanka, a townswoman, with whom he lived for many years and had children with her. The second was a marriage with Barbara Zapolya, who was also considered a beauty and whom the ruler loved sincerely. Nevertheless, Bona managed - thanks to her extraordinary beauty, sharp mind and southern temperament - to charm the king.
Barbara Radziwiłłówna
It is said about this woman that it was her beauty that finished the dynasty. Some historians even call her the second Trojan Helen in memory of the mythical queen that Paris won by handing Aphrodite the apple of discord. Historical sources say little about the appearance of Barbara Radziwiłłówna. But according to one of the texts:
By the composition of her body and face she was so beautiful that out of jealousy people despised her innocence.
She was an attentive woman, and perhaps her greatest asset was her eyes. There is one theme recurring in every portrait of the queen - big dark eyes, deep-set. People whispered in the corners of the palace that it was with the help of these eyes that she casts spells and it was thanks to them that she ensnared the last Jagiellonian.
The face of the dying Barbara Radziwiłłówna in Józef Simmler's painting.
Otherwise, it was impossible to explain the fact that Sigismund Augustus, for her charms, was ready to stand against the whole world and, against all odds, fight for their marriage. The essence of Barbara's magnetism, however, lay elsewhere. Yes, the widow of Gasztołd was pretty. The strength of her attraction was the combination of a pretty face with ... an extraordinary personality.
This is what inspires authors who interweave with their works with her person to this day. The elusive essence of Barbara is trying to capture in her new novel from the series "Twilight of the Jagiellonians" Magdalena Niedźwiedzka . To what extent is the picture of Radziwiłłówna outlined by her consistent with this historical one? See for yourself.
Inspiration:
This article was inspired by a novel by Magdalena Niedźwiedzka "Barbara Radziwiłłówna" from the series "Twilight of the Jagiellons", which was published by the publishing house Prószyński i S-ka. It is a colorful story of the tragic life of Zygmunt August's second wife.
Information sources:
- Besala J., Uncomfortable relationships. A tale of the end of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Bellona 2017.
- Besala J., Zygmunt August and his wives, Zysk i S-ka 2015 publishing house.
- Janicki K., Ladies of the Golden Age 2014.
- Kuchowicz Z., Barbara Radziwiłłówna Wydawnictwo Łódzkie 1985.
- Mackieicz "Cat" S., Herezje i prawdy, Pax Publishing Institute 1962.