Barbara of Celje
Encyclopedia
Barbara of Cilli was the spouse of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund and as such Holy Roman Empress. She was by marriage also Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and also Holy Roman Empress. She received the sobriquet "Messalina
Messalina
Valeria Messalina, sometimes spelled Messallina, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Claudius. She was also a paternal cousin of the Emperor Nero, second cousin of the Emperor Caligula, and great-grandniece of the Emperor Augustus...

 of Germany" for her political intrigues, and was instrumental in creating the Order of the Dragon
Order of the Dragon
The Order of the Dragon was a monarchical chivalric order for selected nobility,founded in 1408 by Sigismund, King of Hungary and later Holy Roman Emperor The Order of the Dragon (Latin Societas Draconistrarum) was a monarchical chivalric order for selected nobility,founded in 1408 by Sigismund,...

. She served as the regent of Hungary in the absence of her husband.

Family Genealogy

Barbara was the daughter of Herman II, Count of Celje, and Countess Anna of Schaunberg
Countess Anna of Schaunberg
Countess Anna of Schaunberg was the Countess of Celje as spouse of Hermann II, Count of Celje.Anna was born in Celje, Slovenia. Countess Anna married the Count of Celje in 1377...

. Barbara's paternal grandparents were Hermann I, Count of Cilli, and his wife, Catherine of Bosnia
Catherine of Bosnia, Countess of Cilli
Catherine of Bosnia was a Bosnian noblewoman. She was Countess of Cilli by her marriage to Hermann I, Count of Cilli, and a member of the House of Kotromanić by birth.- Family :...

, a possible sister of Elizabeth of Bosnia. Barbara's maternal grandparents were Henry III of Schaunberg and his wife Ursula of Görz.

Both Barbara and her cousin and adopted sister Anna
Anna of Celje
Anne of Celje was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, 1402–1416 as second wife of Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....

 married ruling kings whose recently deceased wives were sisters and relatives of the Celje family. Anna
Anna of Celje
Anne of Celje was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, 1402–1416 as second wife of Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....

 married Władysław, King of Poland and Lithuania, in 1402 after the death of Jadwiga of Poland
Jadwiga of Poland
Jadwiga was monarch of Poland from 1384 to her death. Her official title was 'king' rather than 'queen', reflecting that she was a sovereign in her own right and not merely a royal consort. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou, the daughter of King Louis I of Hungary and Elizabeth of...

, while Barbara married King Sigismund of Hungary (years later also Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

) in 1405 after the death of Mary of Hungary.

Barbara lived to see the birth of three grandchildren, Anne, Elisabeth
Elisabeth of Austria (d. 1505)
Elisabeth of Austria , , was a Polish-Lithuanian queen...

 and Ladislas. She is one of the ancestresses of modern European royal families.

Biography

Barbara was engaged in 1401 and married in 1405 or 1408 to Sigismund, King of Hungary, a younger son of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....

 who later succeeded to the rule in Germany (1410), Bohemia (1419) and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 himself in 1433. The marriage likely took place in 1405, but there is no clear confirmation until 1408, when she was crowned to queen of Hungary.

Barbara gave birth to a daughter, Elisabeth, Sigismund's only surviving issue and heiress, who married King Albert II of Germany
Albert II of Germany
Albert the Magnanimous KG was King of Hungary from 1438 until his death. He was also King of Bohemia, elected King of Germany as Albert II, duke of Luxembourg and, as Albert V, archduke of Austria from 1404.-Biography:Albert was born in Vienna as the son of Albert IV, Duke of Austria, and Johanna...

.

Barbara spent most of her time in Hungary, while her spouse devoted his time elsewhere. She served as the regent of Hungary during his absences in 1412, 1414, 1416 and 1418. In 1429, she participated at the congress of Łuck. She was crowned queen of Hungary in 1408, queen of Germany in 1414, Holy Roman Empress in 1433 and queen of Bohemia in 1433.

Barbara attempted to convince the Bohemians to place King Władysław III of Poland or Casimir of Poland
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna....

 upon the throne of Bohemia after the death of Sigismund instead of her son-in-law Albert II of Germany
Albert II of Germany
Albert the Magnanimous KG was King of Hungary from 1438 until his death. He was also King of Bohemia, elected King of Germany as Albert II, duke of Luxembourg and, as Albert V, archduke of Austria from 1404.-Biography:Albert was born in Vienna as the son of Albert IV, Duke of Austria, and Johanna...

; in exchange, Wladyslaw would marry her. When Sigismund found out about this, he ordered to have her imprisoned at Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

 on 5 December 1437.

At the death of Sigismund, Barbara was released, had all her property confiscated and was thereafter exiled from Hungary. She moved to Poland, where she was given Sandomierz as a fief, according to Pagal Dlugošą. In 1441, she moved to Melnik
Melnik
-Places:Bulgaria* Melnik, Bulgaria, a town in Bulgaria* Shiroka Melnishka Losa, a Bulgarian wine grape also known as MelnikCzech Republic* Mělník, a townUnited States* Melnik, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community...

 in Bohemia. She spent the rest of her life as dowager queen in Bohemia, where she was accused of plotting against the regime.
She spent her last years pursuing her interests in alchemy and the occult. She died of the plague.

Further reading

  • Sandi Sitar: Sto slovenskih znanstvenikov, zdravnikov in tehnikov (Hundert slowenische Wissenschaftler, Ärzte und Techniker), Ljubljana 1987, Beitrag 8. Barbara Celjska – Cesarica z retortami – astrologinja in alkimistka (ok. 1387–1451) (Barbara von Cilli – Kaiserin mit Retorten – Astrologin und Alchimistin (um 1387–1451))
  • BAUM, Wilhelm. Císař Zikmund. Kostnice, Hus a války proti Turkům. Praha : Mladá fronta, 1996. 405 s. ISBN 80-204-0543-7.
  • ČECHURA, Jaroslav. České země v letech 1378-1437. Lucemburkové na českém trůně II. Praha : Libri, 2000. 438 s. ISBN 80-85983-98-2.
  • ČORNEJ, Petr. Velké dějiny zemí Koruny české V. 1402-1437. Praha : Paseka, 2000. 790 s. ISBN 80-7185-296-1.
  • HOENSCH, Jörg Konrad. Lucemburkové. Pozdně středověká dynastie celoevropského významu 1308–1437. Praha : Argo, 2003. 304 s. ISBN 80-7203-518-5.
  • KAVKA, František. Poslední Lucemburk na českém trůně. Králem uprostřed revoluce. Praha : Mladá fronta, 1998. 290 s. ISBN 80-204-0680-8.
  • Engel Pál – C. Tóth Norbert: Borbála királyné itineráriuma (1405–1438), Itineraria Regum et Reginarum (1382–1438), MTA Támogatott Kutatóhelyek Irodája, Budapest, 169-187, 2005
  • Hoensch, Jörg K.: Kaiser Sigismund. Herrscher an der Schwelle zur Neuzeit 1368-1437, Verlag C.H. Beck, München, 1996 URL: Lásd Külső hivatkozások
  • Mályusz Elemér: Zsigmond király uralma Magyarországon 1387–1437, Gondolat, Budapest, 1984.
  • Pálosfalvi Tamás: Borbála és a Cilleiek, História, 2006 URL: Lásd Külső hivatkozások
  • Schönherr Gyula: Az Anjou-ház örökösei, in: Szilágyi Sándor szerk.: A magyar nemzet története III., Budapest, Athenaeum, 1895. URL: Lásd Külső hivatkozások
  • Szathmáry László: Alkémisták a magyar királyi udvarban, Természettudományi Közlöny, 60. kötet, 1928. február 1. URL: Lásd Külső hivatkozások
  • Wertner Mór: A középkori délszláv uralkodók genealogiai története, Temesvár, 1891.
  • Windecke Eberhard: Eberhard Windecke emlékirata Zsigmond királyról és koráról (ford.: Skorka Renáta) = História Könyvtár – Elbeszélő források 1. (sorozatszerkesztő: Glatz Ferenc), MTA Történettudományi Intézete, História Alapítvány, 2008.

External links


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