Kunguta Czech

Origin

Kunigund was born in Prague in January 1265 ^[1] . She was the second child of four children born in the second marriage of the Czech king Przemysl Otakar II to Kunigunda Slavonska . The king’s first marriage to the Duchess of Margaret of Austria was childless.

Henry, the elder brother of Kunigunda, died in infancy. The younger brother, Wenceslas , after the death of his father in 1278, became the king of Bohemia under the name of Wenceslas II. The younger sister, Agnes married Rudolph II , Duke of Austria, and became the mother of Johann Parricida .

On the maternal side, Kunigunda’s grandfather and grandmother were Rostislav Mikhailovich and Anna Hungarian , daughter of Bela IV , King of Hungary, and Maria Laskarina , who, in turn, was the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Theodore I Laskaris from his first wife, Anna Angelina .

On the paternal side, the grandfather and grandmother of Kunigund were Wenceslas I , king of Bohemia and Kunigund von Hohenstaufen. Vaclav I was the son of Ottokar I , King of Bohemia from his second wife, Constance of Hungary .

Failed Betrothal

In 1277, Kunigund was engaged to Hartmann of Germany, the son of Rudolph I , King of Germany, from his first wife Gertrude Hochenberg . A dynastic marriage was supposed to strengthen the expected peace treaty between Germany and Bohemia. However, during the year the contract was not concluded, and the wedding did not take place. Instead of this marriage, in 1285, Wenceslas married Judit of Austria , and Agnes married Rudolph II, Duke of Austria. Rudolph and Juditta were Hartmann's brother and sister.

In the absence of other marriage proposals, Kunigund entered the monastery of the Order of the Poor Ladies in Prague and became a nun. She remained in the monastery for several years. Wenceslas, the brother of Kunigunda, ordered her to leave the monastery. He decided to marry her to Boleslav II , the Duke of Mazowiecki, in order to enlist his support in the fight against Vladislav I Locket for the throne of the Polish kingdom.

Duchess

The wedding of Boleslav and Kunigunda took place in 1291. For the duke, this was the second marriage. In 1288, he buried his first wife, Sofia Litovskaya , from whom he left three children: Boleslav , Zemovit and Anna. The sister's dynastic marriage strengthened Wenceslas in Poland. So, during the siege of the Sieradz fortress during the civil war that began in the kingdom, he, together with his son-in-law, successfully opposed the army of Vladislav.

From Boleslav II, Duke of Mazowiecki Kunigund Bohemian gave birth to a son and two daughters:

• Prince Vaclav Mazowiecki (1293 - 1336), became the Duke of Plotsky;
• Princess Euphrosyne of Mazowiecki (circa 1292 - 12.26.1328 / 29), married with Vladislav , Duke of Auschwitz;
• Princess Berta Mazowiecki (before 1299 - after 1311), became a nun in the monastery of St. George in Prague Castle.

The alliance between Wenceslas and Boleslav did not last long. Conrad , the eldest brother of Boleslav, died without leaving any heirs. He bequeathed part of his possessions to his younger brother, the rest of the land was transferred to Wenceslas. Boleslav demanded that Wenceslas give him the rest, but was refused. The union agreement was canceled. Boleslav no longer supported the interests of Wenceslas in Poland and sent Kunigund back to Prague. There was no divorce, so legally she remained the wife of the Duke of Mazowiecki until his death.

Abbess

Upon returning to Prague, the duchess returned to monastic life. Together with her youngest daughter Berta, she settled in the monastery of St. George. In this monastery Kunigunda, becoming an abbess, she lived all the following years. By her order, a beautifully illustrated book was created, called "The Passion of the Abbess of Kunigunda."

In 1305, her brother King Wenceslas II died. The new king of Bohemia and Poland under the name of Vaclav III was his son from his second wife, Elizabeth of Poland. He married her after the death of Judit Austrian, in order to strengthen ties with part of the Polish gentry, which supported his claim to the Polish throne. Soon, sixteen-year-old Wenceslas III died in one of the battles of the Civil War, and Vladislav Loketok became King of Poland under the name of Vladislav I.

Kunigunda took care of the orphaned grandniece, Elizabeth of Bohemia . She took her to her monastery of St. George. Then Elizabeth came under the care of her older sister, Anna of Bohemia, the grandmother of Elizabeth of Poland and the widow of Wenceslas III, Viola Elizabeth Cieszinski . Later, Elizabeth of Bohemia married John of Luxembourg and became Queen of Bohemia.

On April 20, 1313, Boleslav II died. The duke's legacy was divided between his three sons. Wenceslas, son of Kunigunda, became the Duke of Plotsky.

Kunigund Bohemian died in the monastery of St. George in Prague on November 27, 1321. She survived not only her husband, but also two older children - Vaclav and Euphrosyne. One of the descendants of Kunigund was Jadwiga агaganska , wife of Casimir III , king of Poland.

• Kateřina Charvátová: Václav II - Král český a polský . Nakladatelství Vyšehrad, Praha 2007, ISBN 978-80-7021-841-9 .
• Božena Kopičková: Eliška Přemyslovna . Vyšehrad 2008 (inaccessible link)
• Gia Toussaint: Das Passional der Kunigunde von Böhmen: Bildrhetorik und Spiritualität . Schöningh, Paderborn UA 2003, ISBN 3-506-79162-1 .

• Kunhuta Přemyslovna
• Cawley, Charles, BOHEMIA, Medieval Lands, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy