Anna of Cilli

The first ruling dynasty of Poland was the House of Piast, starting c.960 with Duke Mieszko and ending in 1370 with the death of Casimir the Great. Branches of the Piast dynasty were extensive, and intermarriage with them was a way to strengthen your standing with the Polish people.

Therefore, when Jadwiga of Poland was on her deathbed due to complications from delivering her only child (who had died shortly after birth), she advised her husband, Jogaila of Lithuania, Supreme Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland by virtue of marriage, to marry into the Piast dynasty to help his standing with the Polish people. Her suggestion was Anna of Cilli (also known as Anne of Celje).

Anna was born in 1386, making her only 13 years old at the time. Jogaila waited until 1401 to request Anna's hand in marriage from Herman II, Count of Celje. (Anna's father had died when she was ten, and she was raised by his cousin, Herman.) Herman was related to Jadwiga on his mother's side, and Anna and Jadwiga were cousins, both being descended from Casimir. Herman saw that not only would this match benefit Jogaila, it would bring the House of Celje higher standing, if Anna were to become Queen of Poland and Lithuania.

Anna arrived in Krakow on 16 July 1401, and was met at the gates by Jogaila (the pair are pictured above). Whether it was the 30-year age gap between them, Anna's reported lack of beauty, or some other reason, Jogaila was supposedly not pleased with the choice of bride. The wedding was postponed until January 1402 so that Anna could learn Polish. She lived in a monastery prior to the wedding, which took place at Wawel Cathedral, the site of Jadwiga's burial. She was not crowned queen until the following year.

King Jogaila was frequently traveling, leaving her alone at Wawel Castle. It was five years before Anna became pregnant. She was accused of infidelity by the castellan, with fingers pointing to a couple of knights. One of them was imprisoned, but Polish nobles defended the queen and the prisoner was freed. Other accusations of infidelity arose, but none came to anything substantial.

Anna bore a child on 8 April 1408. It was a daughter, Hedwig (Jadwiga); when Hedwig was five years old she was declared heir presumptive, since it did not appear likely that a male heir would come along. Having finally produced an heir, Anna's life changed somewhat: she started becoming more involved in state functions. She started traveling with Jogaila for diplomatic meetings. Hedwig at five years old went with her parents to Lithuania to be presented to the Lithuanian nobles as their Supreme Duke's heir. Anna even wrote a report to the Council of Constance after observing the Christianization of Samogitia (now called Žemaitija), one of the cultural regions of Lithuania.

In February of 1416, messengers were sent to Jogaila in Lithuania to inform him that Anna was gravely ill in Krakow. He arrived in Krakow in May (he did not hurry), a few days prior to her death. She was buried ai Wawel Cathedral...

...and Jogaila went looking for another wife ... and then another, until he finally got what he wanted: a male heir. But what to do about Hedwig? All will be revealed ... next time.

Dealing with Pagans

The Council of Constance (illustrated here) in 1414 has been mentioned before—or, at least, its outcomes. It was at this, the 16th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, that Jan Hus and John Wycliffe were both condemned as heretics. There was more to the Council than that, however.

It also dealt with the Three Popes Controversy, forcing the ouster of antipopes John XXIII, Gregory XII, and Benedict XIII; they elected Pope Martin V.

One of the largest debates at the Council took place over the subject of how to deal with pagans. A few years earlier, the Teutonic Knights had fought against Poland and Lithuania; an uneasy and oft-broken peace existed between the players in that conflict, turning into another war in 1414. The Council of Constance was chosen as the place to decide the matter between the groups. The debate blossomed into a larger issue than where the borders should be: did the Teutonic Knights have a right to start the war in 1411? They had done so as a Crusade against the pagan inhabitants of those regions, intending to force them to convert to Christianity.

A doctor of canon law named Paulus Vladimir delivered an essay called Tractatus de potestate papa et imperatoris respect infidelium [Treatise on the power of the pope and emperor respecting infidels], in which he argued that a forced conversion was a violation of the right of free will granted by God. Free will was necessary for a true conversion. He claimed the Teutonic Knights could only wage a war if the enemy had done something to violate natural rights of Christians.

The opposing view said that the pope had every right to condemn pagans simply for being non-Christians. The loudest proponent of this view, John of Falkenburg, was condemned and imprisoned for his views, and for calling the Polish king a "mad dog."

The Council could not come to a conclusion, however. They established a diocese in Poland so that Christianity could be introduced more peacefully. The Polish-Teutonic wars resumed, on and off, for another century.

Updates

My research (or just day-to-day life) sometimes bring me details that I wish I'd known when I wrote a certain blog post, or that I think are interesting tidbits that tie into posts. Occasionally, I will throw these updates together with links to the originals.

May 19
The Domus Conversorum, the "House of Converts" in London for Jews who converted to Christianity (or else be banished from England). A picture of what is on the modern site is here. (The photographer's caption is a little misleading.)
Also, there was a building called "Domus Conversorum" in Oxford, and for awhile it was thought that Oxford (which had a large Jewish population pre-Expulsion) had its own Converts' Inn. It is accepted now, however, that the property was called thus because the rents from it went to supporting the Domus in London.

July 2, 3, and 5
John Wycliffe was a fascinating character for many reasons, but I may have been remiss in "finishing him off" by not giving you the whole story (one of this blog's followers commented on this on Facebook).
Wycliffe died 31 December, 1384, after suffering a stroke a few days earlier while saying Mass. It wasn't until 4 May 1415 that the Council of Constance declared him a heretic (prior to this, only some of his writings were proscribed). His books were to be gathered and destroyed. The Church—never one to do things by halves when defending the faith was involved—exhumed his body in 1428, burned it, and scattered the ashes in the nearby River Swift near Lutterworth.

July 21
Update on the Greenland/Medieval Warm Period topic
Just this week it was reported that satellites have seen a sudden and massive melting of the ice on Greenland. The specific/immediate cause is unknown. This may make archaeological digs for Erik the Red's settlements easier to examine. The report is here.

(Also, I want to say "hi" to any visitors from reddit.com. Yesterday saw a large influx of visitors from that site to yesterday's post on vocabulary first found in Chaucer's writings. Thanks for visiting anc creating a pleasant spike in my site traffic!)

Jan Hus, Part 2 (of 2)

[The first part to this is here.]

Jan Hus (c.1369-6 July 1415) was enamored of the ideas of John Wycliffe, creating controversy for Bohemia when the church hierarchy decided that Wycliffe's ideas were heretical. King Wenceslaus IV—perhaps alarmed that Prague was becoming the center of church controversy—tried to reconcile the opposition with a synod in 1412. The synod was a failure: arguments persisted, and Hus and his followers refused to accept the absolute authority of the pope.

Hus, never one to lie low, wrote De Ecclesia (On the Church, much of which was lifted from Wycliffe's writings) in 1413, in which (among other things) he challenged the authority of the pope. (Somewhere, Wenceslaus IV was sighing; but he had worse ahead for him.)

Ultimately, the Council of Constance (1 November 1414) was assembled to deal with the ongoing papal schism and other issues. It was called by Wenceslaus' brother, Sigismund of Hungary. The debates began. After several weeks the rumor was spread that Hus intended to flee; in December he was imprisoned by the church. Sigismund was angry because he had promised Hus he would be safe, but the church officials convinced Sigismund that a promise to a heretic wasn't binding.

Hus was passed around, finally spending two and a half months in chains. His trials for heresy took place in June 1415, during which (as was customary) he was not allowed to have any defense. He offered to recant if he could be proven to be in error. Of the several points on which they demanded he recant, he asked that they not expect him to recant things he had never espoused; also, as a matter of conscience, he refused to recant points they said—but could not convince him—were errors.

On 6 July, 1415, Hus was led into the cathedral where, after a High Mass and a sermon on the need to eradicate heresy, he was condemned publicly and led outside, where he was clothed in his priestly vestments so that they could strip them from him. Still refusing to recant, he was burned at the stake and his ashes were thrown into the river.