Elizaveta Ostrogska

Princess Elizaveta Ostrogska (1539 – 1582), olso known as "Halszka", was only one child of Prince Ilia Ostrogski and Beata Kościelecka.

Biography

Born in the Ostrog castle 1539 year, soon after her father died. She inherited great fortune which becomed tasty bite for possible husbands and reason of her misery.

When she was 14, uncle Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski (against will of her mother) made her to marry Dymitr Sanguszko, starost of Kaniv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr. Soon Dymitr needed to flee because of Infamy and conflict with Sigismund II Augustus I, but was captured and killed by Marcin Zborowski in the Jaroměř 1533 year. [ [http://www.google.pl/books?id=A_YKAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA52&dq=daniel+Ostrogski&lr=&hl=en Opis starożytnéy Polski by Tomasz Święcki] ] In 1555 King made her to marry Łukasz III Górka, voivod of Poznań, Kalisz, Łęczyca and Brześć Kujawski again against her and her mothers` will, who wanted "Halszka" to marry Siemion Olelkowicz, Prince of Slutsk. Both, mother and daughter, fled to Lviv and hid in the Dominican Church. Prince Siemon slip there dressed like beggar and secretly married Princess Ostrogska in 1559. King however didn't recognized it and ordered to give Elizaveta back to Górka. Church was besieged, mother and daughter were made to surrender and accept Kings will. [ [http://www.ub.es/tig/GWBNet/MinhoPapers/Marzena%20Liedke.pdf Marriage Strategies and Inheritance Systems in Europe] ]

Beata Kościelecka for many years tryied to cancell marriage with Łukasz Górka, in the meantime died Prince Siemion Olelkowicz Slutski. When she died, Elizaveta started to participate in social affairs with her husband "de jure".Elżbieta lived with Górka in his castle in Szamotuły until his death in January 1573. When she becomed widow for the third time, her uncle Konstanty Wasyl made her to give him and his son Janusz part of her fortune.

Died alone as an insane in age of 43, 1582 year.

Inspirations

Her tragic fate was a base for the book of Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, titled "Halszka"(Vilnius 1838}.

Jan Matejko pictured her in the background of "Kazanie Skargi".
There is a legend about one of Szamotuły castle towers, that it was the prison for "dark princess", whose face was hidden behind the iron mask by husband.

Ancestry

familytree/startfamilytree/end

ee also

*House of Ostrogski
*Lithuanian nobility
*List of szlachta

External links

* [http://www.genealogy.euweb.cz/poland/ostrog.html Tree of Ostrogski house]
* [http://fabpedigree.com/s088/f568234.htm Alternative tree]

References