Święta Jadwiga Śląska – patronka polskiej królowej Jadwigi
Saint Hedwig of Silesia (Polish: “Jadwiga”) – patron saint of the queen of Poland

Summary/Abstract: As part of the 650th anniversary celebrations of the birth of Queen Jadwiga of Poland and Lithuania (Hedwig) of the Angevin line (also: House of An- jou), this presentation discusses the ideological significance of her Patron Saint: the Silesian duchess from the Bavarian house of Andechs, who died in 1243. From 1186 she was the wife of a Silesian ruler, Duke Henry the Bearded. She became famous for her extensive charitable activities and supported her husband in many political endeavours. Pre-eminently, she led an ascetic religious life thus contributing to the deepening of Chris- tianisation of Silesian society. She founded a number of monasteries, including the one in Trzebnica for Cistercian nuns, where she settled after her husband’s death. She died in the aura of sanctity in 1243 and was canonised in 1267. Thanks to her dynastic connections with many European families, including the House of Anjou, the fame of her achieve- ments resulted in her canonisation. She represented the spiritual ideal of a Christian female ruler. King Louis the Great, King of Hungary and Poland, named his younger daughter, canonised in 1997, after her.

• Details
• Contents