Elizabeth of Kuyavia - Marriage

Marriage

By 1323, King Charles I of Hungary wanted to increase influence over Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia. He offered Stephan the hand of Elizabeth, his wife's distant relative and namesake. By marrying Elizabeth, Stephen received (as a gift from the King of Hungary) the lands to the west formerly held by Mladen I Šubić Bribirski and Usora and Soli in the north formerly held by Stefan Dragutin and his son, Vladislav II of the House of Nemanja.

The marriage was legitimized by 1339. Up to 1339, Stephan was married to an unnamed daughter of a Bulgarian tsar. He needed to have the marriage with the Bulgarian princess annulled in order to be able to marry Elizabeth, otherwise Elizabeth's marriage to Stephen would have been considered bigamy. Elizabeth was a Roman Catholic, while her husband Stephen was a member of the Bosnian Church and a heretic in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church.

The only child which can be attributed to Elizabeth of Kuyavia without doubt is Elizabeth of Bosnia, born c. 1340, who married Hungarian King Louis I the Great.

Some believe that Catherine of Bosnia, Countess of Cilli, was daughter of Elizabeth of Kuyavia and Stephen II, while others believe that Catherine was daughter of Stephen II's brother Vladislaus of Bosnia and his wife Jelena Šubić.

Elizabeth may have also had a son, Vuk who may have survived infancy but he did not outlive his father so never became Ban of Bosnia. Vuk may have been the son of one of Stephen's previous two wives.

Stephen outlived Elizabeth. It is unknown what Elizabeth died of, judging by the time, it is possible that she died of Black Death, which was sweeping across Europe during the 14th century. Banness Elizabeth was buried in Bobovac in a tomb which she shared with her husband, brother-in-law Vladislaus and sister-in-law Jelena.