Editing Hedwig of Silesia

{{Short description|High Duchess consort of Poland}}

{{Redirect|St. Hedwig|the 14th-century queen and saint|Jadwiga of Poland|other uses|St. Hedwig (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}

{{Infobox saint
|name=Hedwig of Silesia
|birth_date=1174
|death_date=15 October {{death year and age|1243|1174}}
|feast_day=16 October; moved to 20 October in Canada
|venerated_in=[[Catholic Church]]
|image=Hedwig von Schlesien.jpg
|imagesize=240px
|caption=Saint Hedwig of Silesia with Duke [[Louis I of Brzeg]] and Duchess Agnés, [[Hedwig Codex]], [[Lubin]], 1353 (now in the [[J. Paul Getty Museum]], [[California]]<ref>[http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=4364 "Saint Hedwig of Silesia with Duke Ludwig I of Liegnitz and Brieg and Duchess Agnes", The J. Paul Getty Museum]</ref>)
|birth_place=[[Andechs]], [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]], <br>[[Holy Roman Empire]]
|death_place=[[Sanctuary of St. Jadwiga in Trzebnica|Trzebnica Abbey]], [[Duchy of Silesia|Silesia]],<br>[[History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|Kingdom of Poland]]
|titles=
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=26 March 1267
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=[[Pope Clement IV]]
|attributes= holding a church or a pair of shoes in her hands<ref name=Drake>[https://books.google.combooksid=iwHMDwAAQBAJ&dq=Benignus+of+Dijon+dog+key&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q=Hemma%20of%20Gurk&f=false Drake, Maurice and Drake, Wilfred. ''Saints and their Emblems'', London, T. Werner Laurie Ltd., 1916, p.59]</ref>
|patronage=[[Andechs Abbey]], [[Brandenburg]], Dioceses of [[Archdiocese of Berlin|Berlin]] and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Görlitz|Görlitz]], [[Kraków]], [[Poland]], [[Silesia]],<ref>Knoblich, Augustin. ''Lebensgeschichte der heiligen Hedwig, Herzogin und Landespatronin von [[Schlesien]]. 1174-1243''. Schletter, Breslau 1860 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=DT8BAAAAQAAJ Digitalisat])</ref> its capital [[Wrocław]], [[Trzebnica]], [[orphan]]s
|major_shrine=[[Andechs Abbey]] and [[St. Hedwig's Cathedral]] in [[Berlin]]
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
|prayer=
|prayer_attrib=
|honorific_prefix=Saint}}

'''Hedwig of Silesia''' (also '''Hedwig of Andechs''' ({{langx|de|Heilige Hedwig von Andechs}}, {{Langx|pl|Święta Jadwiga Śląska}}, {{langx|la|Hedvigis}}; 1174 – 15 October 1243), a member of the [[Bavarians|Bavarian]] comital [[Counts of Andechs|House of Andechs]], was Duchess of [[Duchy of Silesia|Silesia]] from 1201 and of [[Duchy of Greater Poland|Greater Poland]] from 1231 as well as [[List of Polish consorts|High Duchess consort of Poland]] from 1232 until 1238.  She was [[Canonization|canonized]] by the [[Catholic Church]] in 1267 by Pope Clement IV.

==Life==
The daughter of Count [[Berthold, Duke of Merania|Berthold IV of Andechs]], [[margrave]] of [[March of Carniola|Carniola]] and [[March of Istria|Istria]] and his second wife [[Agnes of Rochlitz|Agnes of Wettin]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07189a.htm |last=Kirsch |first=Johann Peter |title=St. Hedwig |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |volume=7 |location=New York |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |date= 1910 |access-date=2007-02-18}}</ref> she was born at [[Andechs Abbey|Andechs Castle]] in the [[Duchy of Bavaria]]. Her elder sister, [[Agnes of Merania|Agnes]], married King [[Philip II of France]] (annulled in 1200) and her sister [[Gertrude of Merania|Gertrude]] (killed in 1213) married King [[Andrew II of Hungary]], while the youngest Matilda, (Mechtild) became abbess at the [[Benedictine]] Abbey of [[Kitzingen]] in [[Franconia]], where Hedwig also received her education. Hedwig's brother was Bishop [[Ekbert of Bamberg]], Count of Andechs-Meranien. Another brother was [[Berthold (patriarch of Aquileia)|Berthold]], Archbishop of Kalocsa and [[Patriarch of Aquileia]], while her brother [[Henry II, Margrave of Istria|Henry, Margrave of Istria]] was the first lord of [[Carniola]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.savel-hobi.net/leksikon/zgodovina_sl/nastanekm8.htm|title = Zgodovina Slovencev - NASTANEK MEST IN ENOTNEGA PODLOŽNIŠKEGA RAZREDA. ZDRUŽEVANJE SLOVENSKIH POKRAJIN - Boj za Kranjsko in Otokarjev poskus združitve slovenskih dežel s češkimi}}</ref>

Through her sister Gertrude, she was the aunt of [[Elizabeth of Hungary]].

===Duchess consort===
At the age of twelve, Hedwig married [[Henry I the Bearded]], son and heir of the [[Silesian Piasts|Piast]] duke [[Bolesław I the Tall|Boleslaus the Tall]] of [[Duchy of Silesia|Silesia]]. As soon as Henry succeeded his father in 1201, he had to struggle with his [[Piast dynasty|Piast]] relatives, at first with his uncle Duke [[Mieszko IV Tanglefoot]] who immediately seized the Upper Silesian [[Duchy of Opole]]. In 1206 Henry and his cousin Duke [[Władysław III Spindleshanks]] of [[Greater Poland]] agreed to swap the Silesian [[Lubusz Land]] against the [[Kalisz]] region, which met with fierce protest by Władysław's III nephew [[Władysław Odonic]]. When Henry went to [[Gąsawa]] in 1227 to meet his Piast cousins, he narrowly saved his life, while High Duke [[Leszek I the White]] was killed by the men of the [[Pomerelia]]n Duke [[Swietopelk II, Duke of Pomerania|Swietopelk II]], instigated by Władysław Odonic.

[[File:Sw Jadwiga godzi Henryka Brodatego z Konradem Mazowieckim.jpg|thumb|160px|left|Hedwig intercedes between Henry and Konrad, 19th century depiction]]

The next year Henry's ally [[Władysław III Spindleshanks]] succeeded Leszek I as [[Seniorate Province|High Duke]]; however as he was still contested by his nephew in Greater Poland, he made Henry his governor at [[Kraków]], whereby the Silesian duke once again became entangled in the dispute over the [[Seniorate Province]]. In 1229 he was captured and arrested at [[Płock]] Castle by rivaling Duke [[Konrad I of Masovia]]. Hedwig proceeded to Płock pleading for Henry and was able to have him released.

Her actions promoted the reign of her husband: upon the death of the Polish High Duke Władysław III Spindleshanks in 1231, Henry also became Duke of [[Greater Poland]] and the next year prevailed as High Duke at Kraków. He thereby was the first of the Silesian Piast descendants of [[Władysław II the Exile]] to gain the rule over Silesia and the Seniorate Province in accord with the 1138 [[Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty]].

===Widow===
[[File:Landkern St. Servatius 10418.JPG|thumb|right|Stained glass at St.Servatiuskirche Landkern]]
Upon his death in 1238, Henry was buried at a [[Cistercian]] monastery of nuns, [[Sanctuary of St. Jadwiga in Trzebnica|Trzebnica Abbey]] (''Kloster Trebnitz''), which he had established in 1202 at Hedwig's request. Hedwig accepted the death of her beloved husband with faith. She said:<ref name=SHMI>{{cite book|author=Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI|title=My First Book of Saints|year=1997|publisher=Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate - Quality Catholic Publications|isbn=971-91595-4-5|pages=243–244|chapter=St. Hedwig}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|"Would you oppose the will of God? Our lives are His."}}
The widow moved into the monastery, which was led by her daughter Gertrude, assuming the [[religious habit]] of a [[lay brother|lay sister]], but she did not take vows. She invited numerous [[Germans|German]] religious people from the [[Holy Roman Empire]] into the Silesian lands, as well as German settlers who founded numerous cities, towns and villages in the course of the ''[[Ostsiedlung]]'', while cultivating barren parts of Silesia for agriculture.

[[File:HedwigAltarXXX.jpg|thumb|160px|left|Scene from an altar of St. Hedwig of Silesia, [[Wrocław|Breslau]], around 1430, restored in 1929, [[National Museum, Warsaw|National Museum Warsaw]]]]
Hedwig and Henry had several daughters, though only one surviving son, [[Henry II the Pious]], who succeeded his father as Duke of Silesia and Polish High Duke. The widow, however, had to witness the killing of her son, vainly awaiting the support of Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], during the [[First Mongol invasion of Poland|Mongol invasion of Poland]] at the [[Battle of Legnica]] (''Wahlstatt'') in 1241. The hopes for a re-united Poland were lost, and even Silesia fragmented into numerous Piast [[Duchies of Silesia|duchies]] under Henry II's sons. Hedwig and her daughter-in-law, Henry II's widow [[Anne of Bohemia (1204–1265)|Anna of Bohemia]], established a [[Benedictine abbey]] at the site of the battle in [[Legnickie Pole]], settled with monks coming from [[Opatovice nad Labem|Opatovice]] in [[Bohemia]].

Hedwig and Henry had lived very pious lives, and Hedwig had great [[diligence|zeal]] for her faith. She had supported her husband in donating the [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] provostry at [[Nowogród Bobrzański]] (''Naumburg'') and the commandery of the [[Knights Templar]] at [[Oleśnica Mała]] (''Klein Oels''). Hedwig always helped the poor, the widows and the orphans, founded several hospitals for the sick and the lepers and donated all her fortune to the [[Catholic Church|Church]]. She allowed no one to leave her uncomforted, and one time she spent ten weeks teaching the [[Lord's Prayer|Our Father]] to a poor woman. According to legend, she went barefoot even in winter, and when she was urged by the [[Bishop of Wrocław]] to wear shoes, she carried them in her hands.<ref name=SHMI /> On 15 October 1243, Hedwig died and was buried in Trzebnica Abbey with her husband, while [[relic]]s of her are preserved at [[Andechs Abbey]] and [[St. Hedwig's Cathedral]] in [[Berlin]].

==Veneration==
[[File:Św. Jadwiga przy Moście Tumskim DSC00285.JPG|thumb|160px|Monument in Wrocław]]
[[File:HedwigAltarXXV.jpg|thumb|Scene XXV from the Altar of Saint Hedwig]]
Hedwig was [[Canonization|canonized]] in 1267 by [[Pope Clement IV]], a supporter of the Cistercian order, at the suggestion of her grandson Prince-Archbishop [[Ladislaus of Salzburg|Władysław of Salzburg]]. She is the [[patroness saint]] of [[Silesia]], of [[Andechs]], and of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław]] and the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Görlitz]]. Her [[feast day]] is celebrated on the [[General Roman Calendar]] on 16 October. The [[Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit]], who count her as a great benefactor, celebrate it on 8 June.<ref>{{cite web |title=Liturgical Calendar |url=https://paulinefathers.org.au/liturgical-calendar/ |website=The Australian Province of the Order Of Saint Paul The First Hermit |date=29 August 2022 |access-date=29 August 2022}}</ref> A 17th-century legend has it that Hedwig, while on a pilgrimage to [[Rome]], stopped at [[Bad Zell]] in [[Duchy of Austria|Austria]], where she had healing waters spring up at a source which today still bears her name.

In 1773 the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] king [[Frederick the Great]], having conquered and annexed the bulk of Silesia in the [[Silesian Wars|First Silesian War]], had [[St. Hedwig's Cathedral|St. Hedwig]] in Berlin built for the Catholic [[Upper Silesia]]n immigrants, since 1930 the cathedral of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin]]. After the [[Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II|expulsion of almost all Germans from Silesia]], German Silesians carried Hedwig's veneration to all over remaining Germany.<ref>''Schlesien heute'', vol. 25, 10/2022, page 68, No. 288, 2022, {{ISSN|1436-5022}}</ref>

In March 2020 the discovery of Hedwig's remains, that had been missing for centuries, was reported. The remains were found in [[Sanctuary of St. Jadwiga, Trzebnica|her sanctuary]] in [[Trzebnica]], in a silver casket bearing a lead tablet with an inscription confirming Hedwig's identity.<ref>[https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/bones-of-13th-century-saint-found-hidden-inside-small-silver-coffin-11195 "Bones of 13th century saint found hidden inside small silver coffin"], STUART DOWELL MARCH 16, 2020, ''The First News''</ref>

[[Hedwig glass]]es are named after Hedwig of Silesia.

==Children==
Hedwig and Henry I had seven children:
#Agnes (ca. 1190 – before 11 May 1214).
#Bolesław (ca. 1191 – 10 September 1206/08).
#[[Henry II the Pious]] (ca. 1196 – killed in [[Battle of Legnica]], 9 April 1241).
#[[Konrad the Curly]] (ca. 1198 – Czerwony Kosciol, 4 September 1213).
#Sophie (ca. 1200 – before 22/23 March 1214).
#Gertrude (ca. 1200 – Trebnitz, 6/30 December 1268), Abbess of Trebnitz.
#A son [Władysław?] (before 25 December 1208 – 1214/17).

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="210">
File:Szymon Czechowicz - Święta Jadwiga Śląska pod krzyżem.jpg|Saint Hedwig of Silesia under the Cross by [[Szymon Czechowicz]]
File:Feliks Sypniewski - Św. Jadwiga godzi Konrada Mazowieckiego z Henrykiem Brodatym Śląskim.jpg|Saint Hedwig reconciles Konrad of Mazowiecki with Henry the Bearded of Silesia, by [[Feliks Sypniewski]]
File:Puchnerova archa, sv. Hedvika, Národní galerie v Praze.jpg|Saint Hedwig depicted on [[Puchner's Ark]]
File:Obilman Saints.jpg|Legnica polyptych (reverse), depicting Saint Hedwig, Saint [[Elizabeth of Hungary]] and Saint [[Mary Magdalene]]
File:Brandenburg Katharinenkirche - Hedwigsaltar 3d Tod Hedwigs.jpg|Dying Saint Hedwig looking at a statue of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]], Saint Catherine's church, Brandenburg an der Havel
File:Engelszell Stiftskirche - Schutzengelaltar 2 Hedwig.jpg|Statue of Saint Hedwig in [[Engelszell Abbey]]
File:Trebnitz - Grabmal d. h. Hedwig. 1918 (71794358).jpg|Postcard of the Tomb of Saint Hedwig
File:Hedwigsmedaille.silber.1.jpg|Silver medal of Saint Hedwig
</gallery>

==See also==
{{portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|Saints|Poland|Germany}}
* [[Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/October 16|Saint Hedwig of Silesia, patron saint archive]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons and category-inline|Hedwig of Andechs}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Andechs]]||1174|15 October|1243|}}
{{s-roy|pl}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Agafia of Rus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Polish consorts|High Duchess consort of Poland]]|years=1232–1238}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Anne of Bohemia (1204–1265)|Anne of Bohemia]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Royal consorts of Poland}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedwig of Andechs}}
[[Category:1174 births]]
[[Category:1243 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Starnberg (district)]]
[[Category:German Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:Polish royal saints]]
[[Category:House of Andechs]]
[[Category:13th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Duchesses of Greater Poland]]
[[Category:Burials at the Sanctuary of St. Jadwiga, Trzebnica]]
[[Category:12th-century German nobility]]
[[Category:13th-century German nobility]]
[[Category:12th-century Polish nobility]]
[[Category:13th-century Polish nobility]]
[[Category:12th-century German women]]
[[Category:12th-century Polish women]]
[[Category:13th-century Polish women]]
[[Category:Medieval German saints]]
[[Category:Medieval Polish saints]]
[[Category:Female saints of medieval Poland]]
[[Category:Female saints of medieval Germany]]
[[Category:Mothers of Polish monarchs]]