"Domina terrae Sandecensis" : the political role of Queen Jadwiga, wife of Łokietek, with in the context of her relations with the dignitaries of Little Poland (1305-1339)

Afiljacja aut. na pub.: Instytut Historii PAN Kraków.

Jadwiga, the wife of Władysław Łokietek, appears both in sources and historiography as the eminence gris of the royal Piast court. The significance of Queen Jadwiga stemmed from her descent. As the daughter of Bolesław the Pious, the Duke of Greater Poland, she played an important role in the seizure of power by Łokietek in Greater Poland in 1314. The ties of blood linking her with the Hungarian Arpad dynasty proved to be of decisive importance for the origin and consolidation of the Polish-Hungarian alliance in 1320 and 1327. Up to her death, Jadwiga maintained contacts with Hungary, where the local queen was her daughter. Her position became most marked after the death of Władysław Łokietek and the coronation of Kazimierz the Great, when she opposed the inclusion into this ceremony of the then wife of the Prince - Anna, a princess from Lithuania. Only the intervention of her son inclined Jadwiga to concede, and to move from Cracow to her new residence in Sącz. Diplomatic sources make it possible to delve more deeply into the examined problem. The entourage of the Queen, especially after the death of Łokietek, included regularly Zbigniew of Szczyrzyc, the chancellor of Cracow, and Spycimir of Tarnów, the castellan of Cracow, both connected with the Anjou faction active at the royal court in Cracow. Further studies concerning members of this faction are rendered possible by an analysis of the political meaning of Jadwiga. Familiarity with biographies and the context of the source presence of the supreme officials of Little Poland demonstrates that in 1320, parallel with the coronation of Łokietek, the highest posts in the state were granted to persons closely associated with the court, who owed their political careers to a considerable degree to Jadwiga and Władysław. They included primarily Spycimir of Tarnów, Zbigniew of Szczyrzyc, Nawój of Morawica, as well as Tomisław and his brother Piotr of Mokrsko. Previously, the dominating role was performed by the magnates, who based their influence on the position obtained during the reign of Wacław II. It is characteristic that the majority of the above listed officials did not witness the changes which occurred on the throne in 1333, and that among those closest to the royal couple the only persons alive at the time were the chancellor and castellan of Cracow, who often appeared in the entourage of Jadwiga after the death of Łokietek. Presumably, it is through them that the Queen tried to exert an impact on the decisions of her son, and to ensure that he continue the policy of his father.