- Aldona of Lithuania
Aldona (baptized "Ona" or "Anna"; her pagan name Aldona is known only from the writings of
Maciej Stryjkowski ; ca. 1309 –May 26 1339 ) was the Queen of Poland (1333–1339), and the Princess of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania . She was the daughter ofGediminas , 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 onApril 30 orOctober 16 1325 and was a purely political maneuver to strengthen the first Polish–Lithuanian coalition against theTeutonic Knights .lt icon cite encyclopedia | last=Jonynas | first=Ignas | editor=Vaclovas Biržiška | encyclopedia=Lietuviškoji enciklopedija | title=Aldona | year=1933 | publisher=Spaudos Fondas | volume=I | location=Kaunas | pages=208–211] Casimir was seeking allies over the dispute ofPomerania with the Knights. Gediminas just underwent an unsuccessful attempt atChristianization of Lithuania . This coalition was a prelude toUnion of Krewo in 1385 andUnion of Lublin in 1569 that resulted in the new state,Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth .lt icon cite encyclopedia |first=Edvardas |last=Gudavičius | authorlink=Edvardas Gudavičius | editor= Vytautas Spečiūnas |encyclopedia= Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas |title=Aldona |year=2004 |publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas |location=Vilnius |id=ISBN 5-420-01535-8 |pages=40] The details of the agreement are not known; however, it is known that Gediminas released all Polish prisoners, numbering some 25,000. The importance of the marriage was attested by the fact that Casimir abandoned his earlier plans to marryJutta of Bohemia .cite journal | first=S. C. |last=Rowell |title=Pious Princesses or Daughters of Belial: Pagan Lithuanian Dynastic Diplomacy, 1279–1423 |pages=47 | date=Spring 1994 |journal=Medieval Prosopography | volume=15 |issue=1 |issn=0198-9405 ] The alliance was put in practice when joint forces organized an attack againstMargraviate of Brandenburg in 1326. However, the coalition was not strong and collapsed ca. 1330, but there is no evidence of fights between Poland and Lithuania while Aldona was alive. The marriage into the Lithuanian dynasty that ruled since ca. 1289 might have brought some legitimacy to Władysław I from thePiast dynasty who was crowned in 1320 replacing thePřemyslid dynasty . [cite book | title=Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345 | first=C. S. | last=Rowell | pages=87 | year=1994 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | series=Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series| isbn=9780521450119 ] Aldona died suddenly at the end of May of 1339 and was buried inKraków .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 thatcymbal s which were played in procession before her represented some pagan Lithuanian tradition. [Rowell, C. S. "Lithuania Ascending", 232] Her husband Casimir is known for his romantic affairs: after Aldona's death he married three more times. Aldona had two daughters, Cunigunde (died in 1357), who marriedLouis VI the Roman , the son ofLouis IV, Holy Roman Emperor , onJanuary 1 1345 , and Elisabeth (died in 1361), who was married to DukeBogislaus V ofPomerania . [Rowell, C. S. "Lithuania Ascending", xxxvi] Elisabeth's daughter,Elizabeth of Pomerania , was the fourth wife ofCharles IV, Holy Roman Emperor .References
ee also
*
House of Gediminas – family tree of Aldona
*Gediminids
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