Jadwiga (Polish: [jadˈviɡa] ⓘ; 1373 or 1374 – 17 July 1399), also known as Hedwig (from German) and in Hungarian: Hedvig, was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland.

Her coronation either reflected the Polish nobility's opposition to her intended husband, William, becoming king without further negotiation or simply emphasized her status as queen regnant.

[11] The envoys of the Polish nobles acknowledged that one of Louis's daughters would succeed him in Poland after he confirmed and extended their liberties in the Privilege of Koszyce on 17 September 1374.

[23][24] The Poles believed that Louis planned also to persuade the Hungarian lords and prelates to accept Jadwiga and William of Austria as his heirs in Hungary.

[24] Antipope Clement VII, whom King Louis had refused to recognize against Pope Urban VI,[32] released Władysław from his vows, but he did not leave his monastery.

[36] They also demanded that Dobrzyń and Gniewków (two fiefdoms which her father had granted to Vladislaus II of Opole), and "Ruthenia" (that had passed to Hungary in accordance with a previous treaty)[37] be restored to the Polish Crown.

[42] Sędziwój Pałuka, who was the castellan of Kalisz and starosta of Kraków, led a delegation to Zadar in Dalmatia to negotiate with Queen Elizabeth, but she had him imprisoned instead.

[44] At a general assembly in Radomsko in early March, the delegates of all the Polish provinces and towns decided to elect Siemowit king, if Jadwiga did not come to Poland within two months.

[44] The exact date of Jadwiga's arrival is unknown because the main source for the history of Poland during this period – Jan of Czarnków's chronicle – ended prior to this event.

[47][48] A large crowd of clerics, noblemen and burghers gathered at Kraków "to greet her with a display of affection",[49] according to the 15th-century Polish historian, Jan Długosz.

[56][57] They thought that the inexperienced William and his Austrian kinsmen could not safeguard Poland's interests against its powerful neighbours, especially the Luxemburgs which controlled Bohemia and Brandenburg, and had a strong claim on Hungary.

[60] Jogaila sent his envoys – including his brother, Skirgaila, and a German burgher from Riga, Hanul – to Kraków to request Jadwiga's hand in January 1385.

[68][69] According to canon law, Jadwiga's marriage sacrament could only be completed before her twelfth birthday if the competent prelate testified her precocious maturity.

[72][68] The official accounts of the municipal authorities of Kraków record that on 23 August 1385, an amnesty was granted to the prisoners in the city jail on the occasion of the celebration of the Queen's marriage.

[80] Jogaila signed the Union of Krewo in August 1385, promising Queen Elizabeth's representatives and the Polish lords' envoys that he would convert to Catholicism, together with his pagan kinsmen and subjects, if Jadwiga married him.

[84] The Aeltere Hochmeisterchronik and other chronicles written in the Knights' territory accused the Polish prelates and lords of forcing Jadwiga to accept Jogaila's offer.

[85] According to a Polish legend, Jadwiga agreed to marry Jogaila due to divine inspiration during her long prayers before a crucifix in Wawel Cathedral.

[93][92][94] Władysław-Jogaila styled himself as dominus et tutor regni Poloniae ("lord and guardian of the Kingdom of Poland") in his first charter issued after the marriage.

[109] In his letter to Bishop Dobrogost, Pope Urban jointly mentioned the royal couple in March 1388, which implied that he had already acknowledged the legality of their marriage.

[111] Jadwiga's brother-in-law, Sigismund, who had been crowned King of Hungary,[112] started negotiations with the Teutonic Knights about partitioning Poland in early 1392.

[120] Soon after the Hungarian troops left Moldavia, Stephen sent his envoys to Jadwiga and Jogaila, promising to assist Poland against Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and the Teutonic Knights.

[122] Vlad I of Wallachia, a Hungarian vassal, issued an act of submission on 28 May, acknowledging Jadwiga and her husband as Mary's legitimate successors.

[121][124] In September, Konrad von Jungingen told the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire that the union of Poland, Lithuania, and Hungary under Władysław-Jogaila's rule would endanger Christendom.

[129] Jadwiga and her Polish advisers invited the Grand Master, Konrad von Jungingen, to Poland to open new negotiations in June 1396.

[139] Władysław-Jogaila's cousin Vytautas also entered into negotiations with the Teutonic Knights because he wanted to unite Lithuania and Ruthenia under his rule and to receive a royal crown from the Holy See.

[140] According to the chronicle of John of Posilge, who was an official of the Teutonic Order, Jadwiga sent a letter to Vytautas, reminding him to pay the annual tribute that Władysław-Jogaila had granted her as dower.

[146] According to Jan Długosz's chronicle, Jadwiga warned the Polish noblemen not to join Vytautas' campaign because it would end in failure.

Two leading historians, Oscar Halecki and S. Harrison Thomson, agree that Jadwiga was one of the greatest rulers of Poland, comparable to Bolesław the Brave and Casimir the Great.

[8] Her biographers emphasize Jadwiga's efforts to preserve the peace with the Teutonic Order, which enabled Poland to make preparations for a decisive war against the Knights.

[173] On 8 June 1979 Pope John Paul II prayed at her sarcophagus, and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments officially affirmed her beatification on 8 August 1986.