Barbara Jagiellon (, ; 15 July 1478 – 15 February 1534) was a princess of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

and of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, member of the

Jagiellonian dynasty The Jagiellonian ( ) or Jagellonian dynasty ( ; ; ), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (), the House of Jagiellon (), or simply the Jagiellons (; ; ), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon recep ...

and by marriage Duchess of Saxony. Born in

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

, she was the sixth daughter of King Casimir IV of Poland and Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria. She was named after her great-grandmother, Barbara of Cilli,

Holy Roman Empress The Holy Roman Empress or Empress of the Holy Roman Empire (''Kaiserin des Heiligen Römischen Reiches'') was the wife or widow of the Holy Roman Emperor. The elective dignity of Holy Roman emperor was restricted to males only, but some empresse ...

Life

Barbara was married on 21 November 1496 in a glittering ceremony in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

to George, Duke of Saxony (1471–1539). At the wedding, 6,286 German and Polish nobles were said to be present. This marriage was a key part of maintaining good diplomatic relations between

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. For Barbara's family, the marriage was also important due to their rivalry with the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

. In 1513, Barbara and her husband founded

Meissen Cathedral Meissen Cathedral or the Church of St John and St Donatus () is a Gothic church in Meissen in Saxony. It is situated on the castle hill of Meissen, adjacent to the Albrechtsburg castle and forms a critical centrepiece of the iconic Meissen skyli ...

; several Masses and liturgical celebration of

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

have been recorded to have taken place since then. Barbara sent letters to her husband while he was at battles. Witnesses say the couple had a very loving and happy marriage. Barbara died in

aged 55. Her husband was so stricken by grief that he grew a beard during this time, which was why he was nicknamed "the Bearded". She was buried in the cathedral of Meissen in her husband's funeral chapel, built between 1521 and 1524. Barbara and George were the last Prince and Princess of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

to be buried at the cathedral. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

in the funerary chapel was the work of

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder ( ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German ...

. They are surrounded by apostles and saints. Translation from German Wikipedia

Issue

# Christoph of Saxony (8 September 1497 – 5 December 1497). # Johann of Saxony (24 August 1498 – 11 January 1537); married on 20 May 1516 to Elisabeth of Hesse. This union was childless. # Wolfgang of Saxony (1499 – 12 January 1500). # Anna of Saxony (21 January 1500 – 23 January 1500). # Christoph of Saxony (born and died 27 May 1501). # Agnes of Saxony (7 January 1503 – 16 April 1503). # Frederick of Saxony (15 March 1504 – 26 February 1539); married on 27 January 1539 to Elisabeth of Mansfeld. This union was childless. #

Christine of Saxony Christine of Saxony (25 December 1505 – 15 April 1549) was a German noblewoman, landgravine consort of Hesse by her marriage to Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. She was the regent of Hesse during the absence of her spouse in 1547–1549. Life S ...

(25 December 1505 – 15 April 1549); married on 11 December 1523 to

Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany. He was ...

. # Magdalena of Saxony (7 March 1507 – 25 January 1534); married on 6 November 1524 to Joachim Hector, then Electoral Prince of Brandenburg. # Margarethe of Saxony (7 September 1508 – d. Dresden, 19 December 1510).

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

*Z. Wdowiszewski: ''Genealogia Jagiellonów i Domu Wazów w Polsce'', Avalon, Kraków 2005, pp. 131–132 and genealogical table in p. 210. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbara Jagiellon Jagiellonian dynasty House of Wettin 1478 births 1534 deaths Princesses of Poland Duchesses of Saxony Margravines of Meissen ⚭Barbara Jagiellon Daughters of kings