Sidonie of Poděbrady
Encyclopedia
Sidonie of Poděbrady was a daughter of George of Poděbrady
, King of Bohemia, and his first wife Kunigunde of Sternberg
. She was the twin sister of Catherine of Poděbrady
, wife of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
.
.
Sidonie had four older siblings, but none of her brothers inherited Bohemia
from their father, since they had all died before their father's death in 1471. The crown passed instead to Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary
.
Sidonie's paternal grandparents were Vitek of Poděbrady and his wife Anna of Wartenberg. Her maternal grandparents were Smil of Sternberg and his wife Barbara Freiin of Pardubice
. The couple married on 11 May 1464. Sidonie followed her husband to Meissen
, and the consummation of their marriage took place in May 1464 at Castle Tharandt. Four months after their marriage, Albert's father died, and he became Duke of Saxony with Sidonie as Duchess consort.
Sidonie was a pious Catholic woman who abhorred violence. She therefore refused to accompany her husband during his wars in Groningen
and Friesland
. In protest, she took her children to Albrechtsburg
.
In 1495 she founded the religious festival of the Holy Lance
, after being freed from a stone disease.
Many of her letters of correspondence have been preserved, in which she pleads for the release of prisoners. On 12 September 1500, Albert died, leaving Sidonie a widow. She withdrew from the Saxon court and spent the rest of her years in Tharandt
. On 1 February 1510 she died there. Sidonie was buried at the cathedral of Meissen
.
Sidonie and Albert were married for thirty-six years, during which time they had nine children:
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George of Podebrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady , also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad , was King of Bohemia...
, King of Bohemia, and his first wife Kunigunde of Sternberg
Kunigunde of Sternberg
Kunigunde of Sternberg was the first wife of George of Poděbrady, who later became King of Bohemia.- Life :Kunigunde's parents were the Bohemian nobles Smil of Sternberg and Barbara of Pardubice . In 1441 she married then 21-year-old George of Poděbrady, who had been captain of the old Bohemian...
. She was the twin sister of Catherine of Poděbrady
Catherine of Poděbrady
Catherine of Poděbrady was the first wife of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary.-Biography:Catherine and her twin sister Sidonie were born at Poděbrady, to the Bohemian king George of Poděbrady and his first wife, Kunigunde of Šternberk. Kunigunde died from complications of the birth...
, wife of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus , also called the Just in folk tales, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, at the age of 14 until his death...
.
Early life
Sidonie and Catherine were born on 11 November 1449 to the Bohemian king. The girl's mother, Kunigunde, died from complications of the birth. Sidonie's father eventually remarried; his second wife, Johana of Rožmitál, bore George more children, including Ludmila of PoděbradyLudmila of Podebrady
Ludmila of Poděbrady , was a member of the House of Poděbrady and by marriage Duchess of Chojnów-Oława-Legnica-Brzeg-Lubin.She was the youngest daughter of George of Poděbrady by his second wife, Johana of Rožmitál...
.
Sidonie had four older siblings, but none of her brothers inherited Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
from their father, since they had all died before their father's death in 1471. The crown passed instead to Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary
Vladislaus II, also known as Ladislaus Jagiellon ; was King of Bohemia from 1471 and King of Hungary from 1490 until his death in 1516...
.
Sidonie's paternal grandparents were Vitek of Poděbrady and his wife Anna of Wartenberg. Her maternal grandparents were Smil of Sternberg and his wife Barbara Freiin of Pardubice
Marriage
A marriage contract was signed on 11 November 1459 for Sidonie's marriage to Albert, son of Frederick II, Elector of SaxonyFrederick II, Elector of Saxony
Frederick II was Elector of Saxony and was Landgrave of Thuringia .-Biography:...
. The couple married on 11 May 1464. Sidonie followed her husband to Meissen
Meissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
, and the consummation of their marriage took place in May 1464 at Castle Tharandt. Four months after their marriage, Albert's father died, and he became Duke of Saxony with Sidonie as Duchess consort.
Sidonie was a pious Catholic woman who abhorred violence. She therefore refused to accompany her husband during his wars in Groningen
Groningen (province)
Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...
and Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
. In protest, she took her children to Albrechtsburg
Albrechtsburg
The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic castle that dominates the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony.-History:By 929 King Henry I of Germany had finally subdued the Slavic Glomacze tribe and built a fortress within their settlement area, situated on a rock high above the Elbe river...
.
In 1495 she founded the religious festival of the Holy Lance
Holy Lance
The Holy Lance is the name given to the lance that pierced Jesus' side as he hung on the cross in John's account of the Crucifixion.-Biblical references:The lance is mentioned only in the Gospel of John and not in any of the...
, after being freed from a stone disease.
Many of her letters of correspondence have been preserved, in which she pleads for the release of prisoners. On 12 September 1500, Albert died, leaving Sidonie a widow. She withdrew from the Saxon court and spent the rest of her years in Tharandt
Tharandt
Tharandt is a municipality in Saxony, Germany, situated on the Weißeritz, 9 miles southwest of Dresden, on the Dresden-Reichenbach railway.It has a Protestant Church, a hydropathic establishment, and the oldest academy of forestry in Germany, founded by Heinrich Cotta in 1811 together with its...
. On 1 February 1510 she died there. Sidonie was buried at the cathedral of Meissen
Meissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
.
Sidonie and Albert were married for thirty-six years, during which time they had nine children:
- Katharina (b. Meissen, 24 July 1468 - d. Göttingen, 10 February 1524), married firstly on 24 February 1484 in Innsbruck to Duke Sigismund of Austria, and secondly on 1497 to Duke Eric I of Brunswick-CalenbergEric I, Duke of Brunswick-LüneburgEric I, the Elder was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1495 and the reigning prince of Calenberg-Göttingen.- Ancestry :Eric I was born on 16 February 1470 in Neustadt am Rübenberge at the castle of Rovenburg....
. - Georg "the Bearded"George, Duke of SaxonyGeorge the Bearded, Duke of Saxony , was duke of Saxony from 1500 to 1539.Duke George was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece.-Early life:...
(b. Meissen, 27 August 1471 - d. Dresden, 17 April 1539). - Heinrich V "der Fromme"Henry IV, Duke of SaxonyHenry IV the Pious, Duke of Saxony was a Duke of Saxony from the House of Wettin.-Biography:Heinrich was the second son of Albert, Duke of Saxony and his wife Sidonie Podiebrad, princess of Bohemia...
(b. Dresden, 16 March 1473 - d. Dresden, 18 August 1541). - Frederick (b. Torgau, 26 October 1474 - d. Rochlitz, 14 December 1510), Grand Master of the Teutonic KnightsTeutonic KnightsThe Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
. - Anna (b. Dresden, 3 August 1478 - d. Dresden, 1479).
- Stillborn child (1479).
- Ludwig (b. Torgau, 28 September 1481 - d. Torgau?, some days later / d. Torgau?, young after 1498) [?].
- Johann (b. and d. Torgau, 24 June 1484).
- Johann (b. Torgau, 2 December 1498 - d. Torgau?, some days later / d. Torgau?, young in September of the same year as his brother Ludwig) [?].
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