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Albert II of Germany, Albert V of Austria, Antipope Clement VII, Ban of Macsó, Barbara of Celje, Bishop of Zagreb, Charles of Durazzo, Count of Luxembourg, Elizabeth of Luxembourg, Emperor Sigismund, Helvis of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, House of Habsburg, House of Luxembourg, John Horvat, King Casimir III of Poland, King Charles II of Hungary, King James I of Cyprus, King of the Romans, Kingdom of Bohemia, Kingdom of Croatia, Ladislaus of Naples, Louis I of Anjou, Louis the Great of Poland, Mary of Anjou, Mary of Lusignan, Paul Horvat, Pope Eugenius IV, Queen Joanna I of Naples, Queen Mary of Hungary, Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia
From The Emperor’s Desk: We have come full circle. I began this series wanting to do a biography of Elizabeth of Luxembourg. However, her life needed to be seen in the context of her father’s reign and that of his first wife, Queen Mary I of Hungary.
Elizabeth of Luxembourg was born into the powerful House of Luxembourg. Her parents were the 41-year-old King Sigismund of Hungary and Croatia and his second wife, the 17-year-old Barbara of Celje.
The year after her birth, Elizabeth’s father King Sigismund was elected King of the Romans and Germany. As the king’s only child, Elizabeth was seen as de facto heir presumptive to the throne, but since these crowns barred women due to the Salic Law, Elizabeth was seen as the Princess whose eventual marriage would provide a King of the Romans and King of Germany.
However, despite Elizabeth’s ineligibility for the German crowns, in 1411, Sigismund managed to have the Hungarian estates promise that they would recognize Elizabeth’s right to the Holy Crown of Hungary and Croatia and that they and elect her future husband as King –an agreement that would have great consequences after Sigismund’s death.
Although Elizabeth’s hereditary right was in fact rather slim in Hungary, and Croatia, as her father had not inherited these thrones but acquired them by marrying his first wife, Queen Mary I of Hungary, from whom Elizabeth was not descended.
On September 28, 1421, the enduring friendship between King Sigismund of Hungary and Croatia and the House of Habsburg culminated in a marriage treaty signed in Vienna. The treaty confirmed Elizabeth of Luxembourg’s status as heiress presumptive of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia, but only for as long as she remained Sigismund’s only child.
The Treaty stipulated that the birth of another daughter to Sigismund would leave Elizabeth with the right to choose one of her father’s kingdoms, while the younger sister would inherit the other. Should she gain a brother, however, she would be deprived of all crowns in his favour.
Elizabeth’s betrothed was Prince Albrecht the Magnanimous a member of the House of Habsburg and the son of Albrecht IV, Duke of Austria, and Joanna Sophia of Bavaria, who was the youngest daughter of Albrect I, Duke of Bavaria and his first wife Margaret of Brieg. She was a member of the House of Wittelsbach.
Albrecht of Austria succeeded to the Duchy of Austria at the age of seven on his father’s death in 1404 and by inheritance he became Albrecht V, Duke of Austria.
The Margraviate of Moravia was ceded to Albrecht as part of Elizabeth’s dowry. The treaty was controversial in both Hungary and Bohemia, as the nobility of both countries claimed the right to elect their monarch, even though their choice was normally the heir-in-blood.
Elizabeth of Luxembourg formally married Duke Albrecht V of Austria in a splendid ceremony held on April 19, 1422 in Vienna. Elizabeth, now Duchess of Austria, moved to the Viennese court of her husband. The papal dispensation for the marriage, necessary due to the couple’s common descent from Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Judith of Habsburg, was not sought until 1431, but was easily granted by Pope Eugene IV.
After the death of Emperor Sigismund, Elizabeth’s father, Elizabeth and her husband Albrecht were elected by the Hungarian estates as de facto equal rulers as King and Queen of Hungary and Croatia and we’re crowned jointly on January 1, 1438. Albrecht also inherited a claim to the Duchy of Luxembourg through his wife, through his wife (jure uxoris).
When Emperor Sigismund died in 1437, Albrecht was crowned King of Hungary and Croatia on January 1, 1438, and just as his predecessor did, he moved his court to the Hungarian Kingdom from where he later oversaw his other domains. Although crowned King of Bohemia six months after ascending to the Hungarian throne, he was unable to obtain possession of the country.
Albrecht was engaged in warfare with the Bohemians and their Polish allies, when on March 18, 1438, he was chosen “King of the Romans” at Frankfurt, an honour which he does not appear to have sought. He was never crowned as Holy Roman Emperor.
Queen Elizabeth could not completely assert her position as Queen of Hungary and Croatia though, because the Veszprém bishop refused to give up on his right to crown the Queen (the monarch was traditionally crowned by the Esztergom bishop). She was however recognized as co-ruler and played an active part in the government.
King Albrecht II’s reign was brief and he died on October 27, 1439 (aged 42) leaving Elizabeth a pregnant Dowager with two daughters, Anne and Elizabeth. Bohemian nobility proclaimed an interregnum, while King Vladislaus III of Poland was crowned as the new King of Hungary and Croatia in May 1440, three months after Queen Elizabeth delivered a son, Ladislaus the Posthumous.
Dowager Queen Elizabeth was determined to contend for her patrimony on her son’s behalf, which led to a civil war between hers and Vladislaus III’s supporters. The conflict ended with the Queen’s death on December 19, 1442 at the age of 33.