Elizabeth of Frankopan

Elizabeth of Frankopan
Countess of Celje
Actress Marija Vera in the role of Elizabeth of Frankopan in Oton Župančič's play Veronika of Desenice (1924)
Born	1386 Modruš
Died	1422 Krapina
Noble family	Frankopan
Spouse(s)	Frederick II of Celje
Issue	Ulrich II of Celje
Father	Stephen II of Krk
Mother	Catherine of Carrara

Elizabeth of Frankopan (Template:Lang-sl, Template:Lang-hr, Template:Lang-hu, 1386–1422 or 1423), was the first wife of Frederick II of Celje, son and heir to Count Hermann II, Ban of Slavonia. By virtue of her marriage, she became the sister-in-law of the Hungarian Queen Barbara of Celje. Her marriage was troubled by disagreements with her housband, and in 1422 or 1423 she was found killed in her bed. The main suspect for the murder was her husband, who later married Veronika of Desenice, a woman of humble origin. The affair deteriorated the relations between the Houses of Celje and Frankopan, and led to a long-lasting feud between Elizabeth widower Frederick and her cousin Ivan of Frankopan. In the 19th and 20th century, Elizabeth's fate became the source of many literary and artistic adaptations in Slovenian, Croatian, and Hungarian culture.

Early life and betrothal

Elizabeth was born as the daughter of Stephen, lord of Krk, Modruš and Senj in Croatia, then a kingdom in personal union with Hungary. Her mother was Catherine of Carrara, daughter of Francesco I da Carrara, Lord of Padua. When she was two, she was betrothed to Frederick, the firstborn son of Count Hermann II of Celje, the powerful captain (governor) of Carniola and cousin of Queen Mary of Hungary. Her father set aside a dowery of 40.000 (or 32.000, according to other sources) golden ducats, an enormous sum for the time. In addition, the dowry would include half of the island of Krk, the town of Bakar and the nearby fortresses of Trsat, Bribir, and Vinodol. The unsually large dowry can be explained with Elizabeth being Stephen's only child, and was thus a way to transfer as much land and wealth to his descendands.

After Stephen's death in 1390, Elizabeth came under the tutelage of her paternal uncle Ivan (John) V of Frankopan, while her mother was forced into exile to the Windic March, which was under the control of the Celje dynasty. The negotiations around Elizabeth's marriage with Fredercik became incresingly complicated, as it was clear that her uncle was trying to lower the promised sum, and thus keep more of his late brother's inheritance for himself. Finally, the initial sum of money was cut in half, but Elizabeth was to receive the estate of Steničnjak in Slavonia, with the strategically important castle of Skrad, instead.

Elizabeth was married to the Celje scion around 1405, probably in one of the Celje estates in Carniola. Count Hermann bestowed the young couple with the castles of Samobor, Kostanjevica, Novo Mesto, Mehovo, and Krško, where they set residence.

Troublesome marriage and death

Elizabeth and Frederick had two sons, Ulrich II of Celje and Frederick III; the latter would die as a child, while the former would inherit the entire Celje legacy. The marriage seems to have been an unhappy one, since the spouses lived separately from at least 1414 onward. The situation deteriorated to the extent that Hermann, Elizabeth father-in-law intervened in an attempt to reconcile the spouses. In 1422 (or 1423, according to other sources), Elizabeth and Frederick met at Krapina, in the County of Zagorje. Instead of a reconciliation, however, Elizabeth was murdered during the night in her chambers. Soon, the rumor that she was killed by her husband spread in Slavonia and beyond, as attested by the anonymous chronist at the Celje court.

Elizabeth's murder caused a serious rift in the already precarious alliance between the Houses of Celje and Frankopan. Frederick went on to marry Veronika of Desenice, a woman of much lower social standing, which caused the wrath of his father Hermann II, and led to Frederick's imprisonment and Veronika's murder.