Elizabeth of Slavonia
Elizabeth of Slavonia (1352 – before 1380) was the second Empress consort of Philip II of Taranto, titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople. She was member of the Hungarian branch of the Capetian House of Anjou.
Heiress of the Crown of Hungary
Elizabeth was the only daughter of Stephen, Duke of Slavonia, and Margaret of Bavaria. Her only known sibling was John, Duke of Slavonia (1354–1360). John was designated heir presumptive to their granduncle Casimir III of Poland on 24 June 1355. He predeceased Casimir III.[1]
Elizabeth herself was regarded as heiress presumptive to the throne of Hungary after the death of her brother, for her uncle Louis had no children. Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, wanted her to marry his son and heir, the future King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. However, the marriage negotiations were ended in 1370, when a daughter named Catherine was born to Elizabeth's uncle. Catherine was followed by two sisters, which meant that Elizabeth would not inherit the Holy Crown of Hungary.[2]
Marriage
In October, 1370, Elizabeth married Philip II, Prince of Taranto. He was titular Emperor of the Latin Empire since 1364. His previous wife Maria of Calabria had died on 20 May 1366. Philip had just concluded a civil war against his former sister-in-law Marie of Bourbon. The two were struggling for control over the Principality of Achaea. Marie sold her rights to Philip II for 6,000 gold pieces.[3]
Philip was forty-one-years-old at the time of his second marriage, Elizabeth only eighteen. Philip had survived his children by his previous marriage and was in need of heirs. As a marriage gift, Philip granted her Corfu as her personal fiefdom.[1] They only had one known son:
- Philip of Taranto (1371). Died young.
Succession
In 1373, Philip II resigned his rights to the Principality of Achaea to Queen Joan I of Naples. He died on 25 November 1374 in Taranto. Elizabeth survived him and seems to have died before the end of the 1370s.
Their heir in the Principality of Taranto and the Latin Empire was James of Baux, a nephew of Philip II.
References
- ^ a b Profile of Elisabeth in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley
- ^ Engel, Pal; Ayton, Andrew; Pálosfalvi, Tamás (1999). The realm of St. Stephen: a history of medieval Hungary, 895-1526 Volume 19 of International Library of Historical Studies. Penn State Press. ISBN 0-271-01758-9. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza, Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople (1983), p. 500.