Global InformationMaria of Bytom information
| Maria of Bytom | |
|---|---|
 The funeral of Maria of Bytom, miniature from the Chronicon Pictum | |
| Queen consort of Hungary | |
| Tenure | 1306–1317 |
| Born | before 1295 |
| Died | 15 December 1317 (aged 22) Temesvár, Hungary |
| Burial | Székesfehérvár Basilica |
| Spouse | Charles I of Hungary |
| Issue | Catherine, Duchess of Świdnica? Elisabeth, Duchess of Niemodlin? |
| House | Piast |
| Father | Casimir of Bytom |
| Mother | Helena |
Maria of Bytom (Polish: Maria bytomska; before 1295 – 15 December 1317) was a Queen of Hungary by marriage to Charles I of Hungary.
She was the third child and only daughter of Duke Casimir of Bytom by his wife Helena, whose origins are unknown, although the later historiography tends to recognize her as a daughter of Lev I of Galicia, from the Rurikid dynasty.[1]
Maria was the first or second wife[2] of Charles I Robert of Anjou, King of Hungary. This union was childless, but older literature claimed that they had two daughters. Little is known about the activities of Mary as Queen of Hungary. Her marriage to Charles I Robert consolidated the Polish-Hungarian agreement directed against the Kingdom of Bohemia, and also helped to establish a close Polish-Hungarian relations in the 14th century,[3] reflected in the ecclesiastical career in Hungary of Maria's brothers, Bolesław and Mieszko, and the later third marriage of Charles I Robert with Elizabeth of Kujavia.[4]
- ^ The identification of Duchess Helena of Bytom as daughter of Lev I of Halicz (further explained in K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, vol. III, ed. II, Kraków 2007, pp. 517–518) has been accepted and developed by Stanisław Sroka, it tended to Jerzy Sperka and J. Tęgowski. See also D. Dąbrowski, Rodowód Romanowiczów książąt halicko-wołyńskich, Poznań – Wrocław 2002, p. 218; in older literature can be found the view that Helena could be the daughter of Shvarn, Grand Duke of Lithuania and brother of Lev I of Halicz. See. J. Horwat, Helena, [in:] A. Barciak (ed.), Książęta i księżne Górnego Śląska, Katowice 1995, pp. 47–48, who in another study researcher reiterated this hypothesis, while recognizing this was the equivalent to the repeated view of a Rurikid origin to Helena in the Halicz branch. See: J. Horwat, Piastowie górnośląscy, Bytom 2007, pp. 37–41, here are exposed other hypotheses who attributed Helena a Lithuanian or Czech origin. See. S.A. Sroka, Kazimierz, [in:] K. Ożóg, S. Szczur (red.), Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny, Kraków 1999, p. 725.
- ^ The previous position is currently shared by all Polish literature. Hungarian historian Gyula Kristó, in his work Károly Róbert első felesége, [in:] Acta Universitatis Szegediensis de Attila József nominatae. Acta Historica, vol. 86, 1988, pp. 27–30 (followed by the native historiography), spoke in favor of the theory of a previous marriage of Charles I Robert with Maria, daughter of Lev II of Galicia. He supported this view in two sources. In a document dated 7 February 1326 Charles I Robert mentioned a trip to Russia with the purpose to bring his first wife, and the Anonymi Descriptio Europae Orientalis, who reported that the Russian ruler of Galicia had a daughter who married King Charles of Hungary. Gy. Kristó has identified this Russian ruler as Lev II of Galicia. In his work Aba Sámuel és Károly Róbert családi kapcsolatairól, [in:] Acta Universitatis Szegediensis de Attila József nominatae. Acta Historica, vol. 96, 1996, pp. 25–30, Gy. Kristó cited a document dated 12 December 1323, where he found that the Galician princess's name was Maria. According to his investigations, this marriage took place in 1306, although originally was presumed that could take place in 1307 or 1308. The marriage of Charles I Robert and Maria of Bytom was placed in 1310. The view of Gy. Kristó was questioned by S. Sroka in his work Wokół mariażu Karola Roberta z Piastówną śląską Marią, [in:] Górzyński S. (ed.), Biuletyn Polskiego Towarzystwa Heraldycznego, No. 11, London, 1994, pp. 1-5. The historian drew attention to the fact that, according to current findings, in 1306 Lev II was at most 14 years old, so was impossible that he could fathered at that point a growing up princess. Also, he rejected the possibility that the alleged father of Maria of Galicia could be Lev II, pointed that any daughter of a Prince with the notoriety and prestige that the Kings of Galicia-Volhynia had at that time, must to be married in early youth or be placed in a monastery. In order to justify the theory who established Maria of Bytom as the first wife of Charles I Robert, S. Sroka proposed a new interpretation of the sources exposed by Gy. Kristó. According to an anonymous researcher in the Europy Wschodniej (and published by O. Górka), the wife of Charles I Robert wasn't the daughter but granddaughter of a King of Galicia (Duchess Helena, Maria's mother, was probably the daughter of Lev I of Galicia). Also, Sroka presumed in the 1326 document, Charles I Robert could confused Poland with Russia, who could be easily explained for the almost twenty years of distance between the events mentioned and the document. However, Sroka (with K. Jasiński) admitted the possibility that Maria of Bytom could be raised in the court of her uncle Yuri I of Galicia, and Charles I Robert take her from there to Hungary. In addition, Sroka denied the theory that the Hungarian document issued by Queen Maria dated 23 June 1306 was issued by Maria of Galicia, presenting the following arguments in favor of the identification of the Hungarian Queen as Maria of Bytom: The unusual elevation of taxes made by Duke Casimir of Bytom over his lands around the previous year, probably with the purpose of obtaining for her daughter's wedding; the date of 1306 as the year of the marriage of Charles I Robert and Maria of Bytom, mentioned in the Chronicle of Jan Długosz; and the complete absence of 14th century Hungarian chronicles who mentioned the death of Maria of Galicia. Moreover, Sroka pointed out that the Hungarian chronicles called a Silesian princess of the Piast dynasty as the first wife of the King of Hungary. Gy. Kristó rebated the findings and arguments of S. Sroka. In the work Orosz hercegnő volt-e Károly Róbert első felesége?, [In:] Aetas, 1994, No 1, pp 194–199, he stated that the message showed in the Anonymi Descriptio Europae Orientalis concerns about Prince Lev of Galicia, could only refers to Lev II, because at the time of the established date of the creation of this document (February–March 1308) the only surviving Rurikid prince with this name was a Lev II. The historian pointed out, however, that at this time the Principality of Galicia was ruled by his father, Yuri I. Contrary to previous literature, he assumed that Lev II was born about 1273 from an unknown first marriage of Yuri I, under the assumption that Yuri I (born in the years 1252-1257 according to Nicolas de Baumgarten, Généalogies occidentaux Mariages et des Russes du Rurikides au Xe siècle XIII, [in:] Orientalia Christiana, Volume IX-1, no 35, Rome 1927, tab. 11) couldn't be married for the first time with 30 years-old. Under this assumption Leo II in 1306 could have a daughter at the right age to marry. Arguments Gy. Kristo did not convince S. Sroka. This same disagreed with the proposition that the passage of Anonymi Descriptio Europae Orientalis could refers to the Galician ruler Lev lived at the time. In addition, he noted that at this time Leo II wasn't the powerful ruler depicted here, and even he didn't held no power. An alliance with the Galician branch of the Rurikid dynasty at this point was useless for Charles I Robert in his fight for the Hungarian crown, contrary to an alliance with Władysław I the Elbow-high. The historian, however, presented another hypothesis in order to explain the 1326 of Charles I Robert: he supposed that in fact the King when to Russia and became engaged with the Galician princess, but for unknown reasons the marriage never took place. See: S.A. Sroka, Genealogia Andegawenów węgierskich, Kraków 1999, pp. 21–28; S.A. Sroka, Wokół mariażu Karola Roberta z Piastówną śląską Marią, [in:] S. Górzyński (red.), Biuletyn Polskiego Towarzystwa Heraldycznego, No. 11, Warsaw 1994, pp. 1-5, S.A. Sroka, Z dziejów stosunków polsko-węgierskich w późnym średniowieczu, Kraków 1995, pp. 29-38.
- ^ S.A. Sroka, Z dziejów stosunków polsko-węgierskich w późnym średniowieczu. Szkice, Kraków 1995, p. 47.
- ^ K. Jasiński, Maria, [in:] E. Rostworowski (red.), Polski Słownik Biograficzny, vol. XX, Wrocław 1975, p. 3.