No portrait of Jadwiga Żagańska has survived to our times. We can try to imagine it with the help of drawings of contemporary women's costumes by Jan Matejko (photo:public domain)
Jadwiga Żagańska (-1390) - fourth wife of Casimir the Great. Jadwiga was the daughter of the Duke of Żagań, Henryk V Żelazny, one of the most powerful Silesian Piasts, and Anna, the princess of Masovia. When she was about fifteen, she married Casimir the Great. The wedding took place in Wschowa on February 25, 1365. Thus, the king committed a double bigamy, because his two previous wives (the landgrafter Adelaide Heska and the townswoman Krystyna Rokiczana) were alive at that time. In these circumstances, Jadwiga's visit to Wawel took place without a pump.
The life of Jadwiga and the aging king was good. Kazimierz was attached to his young wife and most willingly stayed with her in Żarnowiec, a relatively new castle. Previously, the rightful Queen Adelaide, who left Poland and went to Hesse, lived there. The monarch had three daughters with his last wife - Anna, Kunegunda (who died before adulthood) and Jadwiga. Unfortunately, Kazimierz did not get the longed-for son and heir to the throne. Although the term "regina Poloniae" by Jadwiga Żagańska appears in the documents, it is not known whether it reflects the facts or is rather a polite expression. After all, Adelaide, who had been crowned earlier, was still alive.
Kazimierz died in 1370. Jadwiga participated in the funeral and coronation ceremonies of the next king, Ludwik of Hungary. In her chronicle, Janko of Czarnków mentions that the widow, under the ruler's will, was given a rich gift. Ludwik, just in case, took Kazimierz's wife and daughters out of the country so that they would not threaten his position. Pope Gregory XI legitimized Anna and Jadwiga, and then the emperor arranged them accordingly. In February 1372, Jadwiga Żagańska remarried Ruprecht I, the Duke of Legnica, with whom she had five children. She died in 1390.