Katharina Šubic
Encyclopedia
Katharina Šubić, also known as Katharina of Croatia , was a Croatia
n noblewoman and by marriage, Duchess of Legnica
-Brzeg
.
She was the daughter of Mladen III Šubić
, Ban of Croatia
, by his wife Jelena
, daughter of King Stefan Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia
.
Through her father, Katharina was also a first cousin of Stjepan Tvrtko I
, the first King of Bosnia.
After the abdication of her husband in 1342, Katharina retired with him to Brzeg, where they remained until Bolesław III's death ten years later, on 21 April 1352.
In his will, Bolesław III left the Duchies of Brzeg
and Oława to Katharina as her widow's seat . This was the second documented case where a Piast ruler granted his widow lands in her own right; the first was Salome of Berg, who received Łęczyca from her husband Bolesław III Wrymouth when he died in 1138. The terms of the Oprawa wdowia stated that the beneficiary could obtain the full sovereignty over the land for her life, and could lose it in two cases: if she remarried or became a nun (resignation wasn't counted).
Katharina reigned as Duchess of Brzeg for six years until her own death, in 1358. Brzeg returned to the hands of her stepsons, Wenceslaus I and Louis I.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n noblewoman and by marriage, Duchess of Legnica
Legnica
Legnica is a town in south-western Poland, in Silesia, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the plain of Legnica, riverside: Kaczawa and Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is currently the seat of the county...
-Brzeg
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
.
She was the daughter of Mladen III Šubić
Šubic
The Šubić were one of the twelve tribes which constituted Croatian statehood in the Middle Ages; they held the county of Bribir in inland Dalmatia.-Origins:...
, Ban of Croatia
Ban of Croatia
Ban of Croatia was the title of local rulers and after 1102 viceroys of Croatia. From earliest periods of Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Bans as a rulers representative and supreme military commander. In the 18th century, Croatian bans eventually become chief government officials in...
, by his wife Jelena
Jelena Šubic (Nemanjic)
Jelena Šubić was the daughter of Stefan Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia and the half-sister of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia. She was married to the Croatian magnate Mladen III Šubić, Prince of Bribir from noble Šubić family. They ruled from Klis Fortress in Dalmatia...
, daughter of King Stefan Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia
Stefan Uroš III Decanski of Serbia
Stephen Uroš III of Dečani was King of Serbia from January 6, 1322 to 8 September 1331. He defeated and killed several of his family members who wanted to take the throne from him. He took his epithet Dečanski from the great monastery he built at Dečani.-Early:He was the son of King Stefan Uroš II...
.
Through her father, Katharina was also a first cousin of Stjepan Tvrtko I
Tvrtko I of Bosnia
Stjepan Tvrtko I was a ruler of medieval Bosnia. He ruled in 1353–1366 and again in 1367–1377 as Ban and in 1377–1391 as the first Bosnian King....
, the first King of Bosnia.
Life
Katharina married Bolesław III the Generous, Duke of Legnica-Brzeg, in 1326, four years after the death of his first wife, Princess Margareta of Bohemia. The marriage, which lasted almost twenty-six years, was childless.After the abdication of her husband in 1342, Katharina retired with him to Brzeg, where they remained until Bolesław III's death ten years later, on 21 April 1352.
In his will, Bolesław III left the Duchies of Brzeg
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
and Oława to Katharina as her widow's seat . This was the second documented case where a Piast ruler granted his widow lands in her own right; the first was Salome of Berg, who received Łęczyca from her husband Bolesław III Wrymouth when he died in 1138. The terms of the Oprawa wdowia stated that the beneficiary could obtain the full sovereignty over the land for her life, and could lose it in two cases: if she remarried or became a nun (resignation wasn't counted).
Katharina reigned as Duchess of Brzeg for six years until her own death, in 1358. Brzeg returned to the hands of her stepsons, Wenceslaus I and Louis I.