Adelajda Heska, image by Jan Matejka (photo:public domain)
Adelaide Heska (1324-1371) - the second wife of Casimir the Great. Adelaide was the daughter of the Landgraf of Hesse - Henryk II Żelazny and Elżbieta of the Wettin dynasty. The then Hesse was small (it consisted of only two districts), in addition, it was divided between different branches of the family. Adelaide came from an old family descended from the dukes of Brabant, which, however, was severely dilapidated. When Kazimierz decided - on the advice of the Czech ruler John of Luxembourg - to enter into a relationship with the daughter of the local landgraf, he could provide the future bride with a small dowry, which Długosz in his chronicle simply called poor and which was never paid. Nevertheless, Adelaide was greeted with a wonderful welcome in Poland. Her wedding to the Polish king and the coronation took place on September 29, 1341 in Poznań. Kazimierz provided his wife with a rich setting, the ruler had a separate court and lived either in Wawel or in her estate - Sandomierz. Unfortunately, the marriage failed.
The king was famous for having a weakness for beautiful women, while Adelaide shone more with qualities than beauty. In addition, the ruler did not have the desired offspring with her. Kazimierz decided to divorce his wife. He imprisoned her in the castle in Żarnowiec, hoping that the captivity would persuade her to agree to divorce. When in 1356 the king entered into a bigamous wedding with a Rokiczanka woman, Adelaide left Poland - although it is impossible to say whether she was expelled by her own free will or by her husband.
After returning to her homeland, Adelaide launched a campaign against the Polish king, in which she engaged the Pope, informing that she had been unlawfully sent back and deprived of her income, and demanded that the matter be investigated and restored to the rights of her legal spouse. Urban V complied with her request and sent his man to Poland to investigate the circumstances of the queen's departure. The trial went on for a long time because Kazimierz, on his part, was constantly making efforts to annul his marriage with Adelaide. He was never fully successful. Adelaide lived in Hesse until the end of her life, where she died in 1371, having outlived the king for a year.