Margaret of Masovia

Margaret of Masovia Polish: Małgorzata (before 1358 – 14 May 1388/4 April 1396^[1]) was Duchess of Pomerania and Brzeg, by her marriages to Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania and then to Henryk VIII with a Scar. She was a member of the House of Piast.

Margaret was a daughter of Siemowit III of Masovia and his wife Euphemia of Opawa. Her paternal grandparents were Trojden I of Masovia and his wife Maria, daughter of Yuri I of Galicia and Euphemia of Kuyavia.

Life

In 1369 Margaret married her first husband Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania, son of Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania and Elizabeth of Poland. The marriage was arranged because Casimir was the grandson of Casimir III the Great and was a possible successor for his grandfather (who never had any sons). Therefore this marriage was a very important alliance and it had been hoped would possibly introduce the Masovian blood into the Polish royal family.

Casimir had been married once before to Johanna of Lithuania, who had died the year before Margaret's marriage, without any children.

After the death of Margaret's mother, Siemowit remarried to Anna of Ziębice. They had a couple of children who died young before Anna gave birth to a healthly son, Henry. Siemowit did not believe the child was his, he accused his wife of adultery and had her strangled. Henry was then cast away. After a few years it was reported that the child had physical similarities to his father. Margaret decided to rescue her half-brother and took him to her mansion in Słupsk. Siemowit later accepted that the child was his and made him Bishop of Płock.

Soon after her marriage, Margaret adopted an illegitimate son of King Casimir ^[2][3]

On January 2, 1377 Margaret's husband, Casimir died. They had no children.

Two years after the death of her first husband in 1379, Margaret remarried to Henryk VIII with a Scar.^[4] They were married for eight years and had two children:

1. Margareta (b. 1380/84 - d. aft. 2 October 1408); she was betrothed to the Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Bohemia and Emperor, but the marriage never took place.
2. Louis II (b. 1380/85 - d. 30 May 1436).

Margaret's date of death is disputed but it's believed that she died on either 14 May 1388 or 4 April 1396. Her husband died in 1399.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Margaret of Masovia

16. Siemowit I of Masovia               8. Boleslaus II of Masovia                       17. Pereyaslava of Galicia               4. Trojden I of Masovia                             18. Treniota               9. Sophie of Lithuania                       2. Siemowit III of Masovia                                   20. Lev I of Galicia               10. Yuri I of Galicia                       21. Constance of Hungary               5. Maria of Galicia                             22. Casimir I of Kuyavia               11. Euphemia of Kuyavia                       23. Euphrosyne of Opole               1. Margaret of Masovia                                         24. Ottokar II of Bohemia               12. Nicholas I, Duke of Troppau                       6. Nicholas II of Opawa                             13. Adelaide (of Habsburg?)                       3. Euphemia of Opawa                                   28. Henry III, Duke of Silesia-Glogau               14. Konrad I of Oleśnica                       29. Matilda of Brunswick-Lüneburg               7. Hedwig of Oleśnica                             30. Władysław of Bytom               15. Euphemia of Bytom                       31. Beatrice of Brandenburg

References

1. Cawley, Charles, Poland, Medieval Lands, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, retrieved August 2012,
2. Knoll (1972), p. 230.
3. Medieval Lands
4. Marek, Miroslav. "Complete Genealogy of the House of Piast: Silesia". Genealogy.EU. External link in |publisher= (help)