In the history of Europe, you can count no more than a dozen real historical persons, whose name is associated with the same number of legends as the wife of King Sigismund II Augustus.
Barbara Radziwill, whose biography is presented below, has become the main character of many ballads, poems and plays. Later, in the 20th century, the love story of the Polish monarch for her more than once inspired filmmakers to create romantic films about the fate of this "Lithuanian Juliet".
Young years
Barbara was born in December 1520 and was the daughter of the powerful Lithuanian magnate Yuri Radziwill. Her family was so we althy that they were able to provide beloved Basya with a dowry equivalent to what many European kings left as a legacy to the Dauphins.
Parents took care of the education of the girl. In particular, it is known that she spoke 6 languages, including Latin and Greek. In addition, Barbara was taught drawing, mathematics, horseback riding, geography, playing musical instruments, theology, etc. Thus, by the time she began to be considered a girl onmarriage, Barbara Radziwill was one of the most educated women of her time, possessing knowledge that meets all the requirements of the European Renaissance.
First marriage
In the spring of 1537, at the age of 17, Barbara Radziwill became the wife of Count Stanislav Gashtold. Her husband was the son of the State Chancellor of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, and they even said about him that he was more influential than his monarch.
For 5 years, while this marriage lasted, the young wife believed that her husband was unfair to her, although she herself also treated him rather coldly. Be that as it may, she did not give birth to children, so rumors spread about her infertility and that she was a witch, so the Lord does not give her offspring. Moreover, when the father-in-law, mother-in-law, and then the husband of Countess Gashtold died suddenly and unexpectedly in a few years, they began to gossip at court that she was a poisoner.
At the court of Sigismund Augustus
According to the laws of that time, the widow had to retire from the world and mourn her husband alone. During this period, many became interested in the question of where and with whom Barbara Radziwill lived, after burying Stanislav Gashtold. As it turned out, she left her husband's house and went to Vilna, where she settled in the castle of her brother, Nikolai Ryzhy.
After 5 years of widowhood, Barbara Radziwill began attending evenings and balls and met the son of the Polish King Sigismund August. The Grand Duke immediately fell head over heels in love with the beautiful Barbara and made her a lady-in-waiting to his wife Elisabeth Habsburg. Young beauty for a short timeresisted and soon became his mistress, especially since he completely charmed her with his manners and constant signs of attention. In order to have a reason to meet with Baseya more often, the king brought not only the widow's brother closer to him, but also her cousin, Nikolai the Black Radziwill.
Scandal
It was not easy to hide a love affair from the eyes of the courtiers, so Barbara left Vilna for her husband's castle, which she inherited. The departure of his beloved did not cool the ardor of Sigismund, and he began to go on dates, spending many hours in the saddle, regardless of the weather and season.
When the novel of Barbara and the heir to the throne began to be talked about even in the most remote corners of the kingdom, the woman's brothers met with her lover and demanded that they refuse to meet with her, as they damage her reputation and the honor of their family.
Sigismund was forced to give his word not to compromise Barbara, but lost his appetite and interest in life. In addition, he heard rumors about her novels, which he tried not to believe. As for Barbara, she feared the wrath of the all-powerful and dangerous Queen Bona Sforza, Sigismund's mother, who was known as a poisoner and intriguer.
The situation became even more complicated when it became known that while the wife of the Grand Duke was still alive, his mother began to send messengers in search of a new wife for the heir, since he had no children in his marriage to Elizabeth Habsburg.
Barbara told her brothers about her feelings for Sigismund, and they warned her that if she was goingto compete for her beloved, she will face severe trials.
Death of the Grand Duchess
It must be said that Sigismund's marriage to Elizabeth of Habsburg was dynastic, but the bride's relatives at one time hid from him that the bride was an epileptic. It has not yet been established whether this was an accident or a carefully planned assassination attempt, but one day a young woman fell from her horse and died a few months later. Many said that the death of Elizabeth is the result of the machinations of her mother-in-law.
Now nothing prevented Sigismund from marrying again and continuing the Jagiellonian dynasty, since he was its last male representative. At the same time, he knew that his mother as a daughter-in-law would not be satisfied with such a woman as Barbara Radziwill, who was not distinguished by meekness and the desire to obey the will of anyone, with the exception of her beloved man.
Wedding
To push Sigismund Jagiellon to take decisive steps, her brothers intervened. They allegedly went hunting and made sure that he found out about it. The Grand Duke, in love, hastened to meet Basya, and then two Radziwills burst into the bedroom with drawn swords. They demanded that he marry her immediately and took her into the priest's room. Sigismund had to comply, but he demanded that the marriage be kept secret.
However, the newlyweds failed to hide the fact of the wedding for a long time. A real storm broke out when Bona Sforza found out about her son's marriage. She persuaded her consort-king to do everythingpossible to annul Sigismund's marriage. What followed was something that the parents did not expect from their son: he refused to obey their will and announced that he was going to live to old age with Barbara Radziwill.
Ascension to the throne
It is not known how events would have developed further if Sigmund I had not died on April 1, 1548. A few days later, the new king appeared at a meeting of the Lithuanian Seimas and announced his marriage, demanding that Barbara Radziwill be recognized as the Grand Duchess of Lithuania. The deputies happily agreed, as this meant strengthening their influence in the Commonwe alth, and Sigismund and his wife left for Poland for the coronation. There, the newly minted monarch needed to again achieve recognition of Barbara's status. However, this turned out to be more difficult. The fact is that the members of the Seim of the Commonwe alth considered the marriage of the king impossible and humiliating for Poland. In particular, the three largest magnates opposed such a decision. One of them even called the queen a whore, insulting her husband.
Then all the members of the Sejm knelt down and began to beg Sigismund (Sigmund) Augustus to refuse this marriage. The weak-willed and timid king unexpectedly showed unprecedented firmness and refused to part with his beloved.
Mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
Even Bona Sforza, who, as always, was plotting against her son's second wife, could not upset this union. Despite all her efforts, the only thing she achieved was to completely ruin her relationship with Sigismund August.
Those who have seen the portrait of Barbara Radziwill will agree that she does not give the impression of a determined woman. However, having learned about the resistance of the Polish gentry, she proudly renounced her rights to the throne. Over time, the members of the Sejm and the nobles resisted less and less, and Barbara was crowned.
Death
Unfortunately, the romantic story of Barbara Radziwill is not a fairy tale with a happy ending.
Just 5 months after her coronation, at the age of 30, she passed away from an unknown illness in Wawel Castle. Since the woman was strong and distinguished by good he alth, everyone began to wonder why Barbara Radziwill died. Most of the nobility were of the opinion that Bona Sforza had poisoned her. This version is extremely plausible, especially considering that the latter came from a noble Italian family, known for its love for poisons and drugs.
In addition, the young queen died a painful death. The first signs of the disease appeared already 2 months after the wedding, but they were attributed to taking drugs for infertility. Then the disease began to progress and ended in a long agony that lasted several hours, during which she writhed in severe pain. In the last days of her life, the entire body of the queen was covered with terrible purulent abscesses, from which a stench emanated. Nevertheless, the husband did not leave the bed of his beloved Basenka, hoping for her healing. He called for help from all the medical luminaries of Europe, but no one could not only save Barbara, but even alleviate her inhuman suffering.
Burial
Before her death, Barbara herself asked her husband not to bury her body in the Krakow Wawel Cathedral, like other Polish monarchs and their wives. That is why the church of St. Stanislav in Vilna.
The Spirit of Barbara Radziwill
The king could not forget his priceless Basya and became close to her brothers who lived in the castle in Nesvizh. The legend about Barbara Radziwill says that once he brought with him a spiritualist Pan Twardowski, who promised to summon the spirit of his dead wife.
The magician forbade the king to touch the ghost if it appears. The spirit of Barbara appeared to Sigismund in fact, however, the overjoyed husband, despite all the pleas of the sorcerer, tried to wrap the vision in his arms.
According to legend, due to the violation of the spiritist's ban, Barbara's soul forever became a prisoner of the castle in Nesvizh. At the same time, Pan Tvardovsky told the king that if he died in the same place, their souls would unite forever. He was incredibly happy and firmly decided that it would be so. However, death overtook him unexpectedly in another castle, and the ghost of Barbara, nicknamed the Black Lady, still frightens people to this day. The soul of Sigismund Augustus, who wanders alone around the Krakow Castle, did not find rest, dreaming of reuniting with her beloved.
The fate of the king
It is interesting that Sigismund's mother managed to marry him for the third time and chose Elizabeth Habsburg's sister-in-law, Katerina, as her daughter-in-law. The marriage was short-lived and did not give offspring, although the next wifeI even tried to fake pregnancy. Because of the deceit, the king began the divorce proceedings, sending his wife home.
In the last years of his life, Sigismund August II surrounded himself with magicians and sorcerers and died in a room that was draped with black fabrics, as in it he continued to grieve for his beloved, with whom he dreamed of reuniting after death.
Epitaph for Barbara Radziwill
As already mentioned, in the 20th century, they repeatedly tried to film the romantic story of Sigismund's love for the beautiful Basya. One of the most famous was the picture in which Barbara Radziwill (see photo from the film above) appeared before the audience in the guise of one of the most beautiful actresses in Poland of the 80s - Anna Dymna. The film was released in 1982 and was a short film version of the popular television series Queen Bona. The painting was called "Epitaph for Barbara Radziwill" and was a great success.
Many people of the older generation believed that the image created on the screen by Anna Smoky is not the best Barbara Radziwill. The film, shot in Poland in 1936, in their opinion, was more successful, since the main role in it went to the beautiful Jadwiga Smosarska, and Sigismund August II was played by Witold Zakharevich. The latter died in Auschwitz, where he ended up for helping Jews during the Holocaust.
Image in art
Barbara Radziwill, a photo from the film about which you have already seen, has been exciting the imagination of artists, poets and writers for more than 5 centuries. The works of Polish playwrights F. Venzhik andA. Felinsky, dramas by J. Grinius and Lithuanian prose writer and playwright J. Hrushas.
Besides, museums of different countries are decorated with paintings by Wojciech Gerson and Jan Matejko and others, as well as busts of Barbara Radziwiłł of unknown authors, which can be seen in the Ursynov Palace in the Polish capital and the Olesko Castle.
Now you know where Barbara Radziwill lived and how she met her royal lover, you also know the details of their romance, which are still of interest to sensitive natures.
