- Margaret of Masovia
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Margaret of Masovia (before 1358 – 14 May 1388/4 April 1396[1]) was Duchess of Pomerania and Brzeg, by her marriages to Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania and then to Henryk VIII with a Scar. She was a member of the House of Piast.
Margaret was a daughter of Siemowit III of Masovia and his wife Euphemia of Opawa. Her paternal grandparents were Trojden I of Masovia and his wife Maria, daughter of Yuri I of Galicia and Euphemia of Kuyavia.
Life
In 1369 Margaret married her first husband Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania, son of Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania and Elizabeth of Poland. The marriage was arranged because Casimir was the grandson of Casimir III the Great and was a possible successor for his grandfather (who never had any sons). Therefore this marriage was a very important alliance and it had been hoped would possibly introduce the Masovian blood into the Polish royal family.
Casimir had been married once before to Johanna of Lithuania, who had died the year before Margaret's marriage, without any children.
After the death of Margaret's mother, Siemowit remarried to Anna of Ziębice. They had a couple of children who died young before Anna gave birth to a healthly son, Henry. Siemowit did not believe the child was his, he accused his wife of adultery and had her strangled. Henry was then cast away. After a few years it was reported that the child had physical similarities to his father. Margaret decided to rescue her half-brother and took him to her mansion in Słupsk. Siemowit later accepted that the child was his and made him Bishop of Płock.
Soon after her marriage, Margaret adopted an illegitimate son of King Casimir [2][3]
On January 2, 1377 Margaret's husband, Casimir died. They had no children.
Two years after the death of her first husband in 1379, Margaret remarried to Henryk VIII with a Scar[4]. They were married for eight years and had two children:
- Margareta (b. 1380/84 - d. aft. 2 October 1408); she was betrothed to the Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Bohemia and Emperor, but the marriage never took place.
- Louis II (b. 1380/85 - d. 30 May 1436).
Margaret's date of death is disputed but it's believed that she died on either 14 May 1388 or 4 April 1396. Her husband died in 1399.
Ancestors
Ancestors of Margaret of Masovia 16. Siemowit I of Masovia 8. Boleslaus II of Masovia 17. Pereyaslava of Galicia 4. Trojden I of Masovia 18. Treniota 9. Sophie of Lithuania 2. Siemowit III of Masovia 20. Lev I of Galicia 10. Yuri I of Galicia 21. Constance of Hungary 5. Maria of Galicia 22. Casimir I of Kuyavia 11. Euphemia of Kuyavia 23. Euphrosyne of Opole 1. Margaret of Masovia 24. Ottokar II of Bohemia 12. Nicholas I, Duke of Troppau 6. Nicholas II of Opawa 13. Adelaide (of Habsburg?) 3. Euphemia of Opawa 28. Henry III, Duke of Silesia-Glogau 14. Konrad I of Oleśnica 29. Matilda of Brunswick-Lüneburg 7. Hedwig of Oleśnica 30. Władysław of Bytom 15. Euphemia of Bytom 31. Beatrice of Brandenburg References
- ^ Poland, Medieval Lands
- ^ Knoll (1972), p. 230.
- ^ Medieval Lands
- ^ Complete Genealogy of the House of Piast: Silesia
Categories:- Medieval women
- House of Piast
- Polish nobility
- Year of birth uncertain
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