Elizabeth of Bosnia - Marriage

Marriage

Louis married Elizabeth in Buda on 20 June 1353, hoping to defeat Tsar Dušan either with her father's help or as his eventual successor. He was dismayed when, upon his father-in-law's death later the same year, Elizabeth's young and ambitious cousin Tvrtko succeeded as ban. In 1357, Louis summoned the young ban to Požega and compelled him to surrender most of western Zachlumia as Elizabeth's dowry.

The new queen of Hungary subjected herself entirely to her controlling mother-in-law. She did not have her own court and her retinue included the same individuals who had served the queen mother. Elizabeth was completely powerless early in the marriage, with her mother-in-law's influence prevailing until 1370, when Louis succeeded his maternal uncle, Casimir III the Great, as king of Poland, and sent his mother to govern the kingdom as regent. Elizabeth, though queen of Poland, was never crowned as such. On his return from Poland, Louis brought Casimir's underage daughters, Anne and Hedwig, to be raised at her court. Elizabeth's own maternal uncle, Vladislaus the White, was also a candidate for the throne of Poland. As the queen's uncle, he remained closely tied to the royal court despite failing to gain control of at least a small part of the kingdom.

The problem of the succession marked Louis' reign. Elizabeth was long considered barren, and a succession crisis was expected after the childless king's death. Her brother-in-law Stephen was officially heir presumptive until his death, in 1354, when his son John replaced him. John's own death, in 1360, made the extinction of the dynasty a real possibility. A daughter was born to the queen and king in 1365, but the child died the next year. For a couple of years, John's sister, Elizabeth, was promoted to heiress presumptive and a suitable marriage for her was being negotiated. Things suddenly took a different course when the queen had three daughters in quick succession; Catherine was born in July 1370, Mary in 1371, and Hedwig in 1373 or 1374. Elizabeth is known to have written a book for the education of her daughters, a copy of which was sent to France in 1374. However, all copies have been lost.

Securing marriage to one of the princesses soon became a priority in European royal courts. Mary was scarcely one year old when she was promised to Sigismund of Luxembourg. In 1374, Catherine was betrothed to Louis of France, but died towards the end of 1378, sometime after Hedwig's betrothal to William of Austria.

The king, weakened by illness, became progressively less active in the last years of his reign, devoting an increasing amount of time to prayer, as did his aging mother, who had returned from Poland in 1374. These circumstances allowed Elizabeth to assume a more prominent role at court. Her influence had grown steadily since she had given her husband three possible heiresses. It appeared probable that the crowns would pass to one of Elizabeth's underage daughters and by 1374, it became certain. Behind the scenes, Elizabeth began ensuring that the succession would be as smooth as possible by encouraging a slow but decisive change in the personnel of the government. Warlike and illiterate barons were gradually replaced by a small group of noblemen who excelled in their professional skills but were not distinguished by birth or military ability. Palatine Nicholas I Garay led the movement and enjoyed the full support of the queen, and their power eventually became virtually unrestricted.