Royal seal of Casimir III the Great.

Aldona (baptized Ona or Anna; her pagan name Aldona is known only from the writings of Maciej Stryjkowski;^[1] ca. Maciej Stryjkowski (also referred to as Strykowski and Strycovius; ca 1309 – May 26, 1339) was the Queen of Poland (1333–1339), and the Princess of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Events 451 - The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place A queen consort is the title given to the wife of a reigning king. In the first centuries of its existence the Polish nation was led by a series of strong rulers who converted the Poles to Christendom, created a strong Central European The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje She was the daughter of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. Gediminas (ca 1275 – winter 1341 was the Monarch of medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the title lt didysis kunigaikštis (вялікі князь

She married Casimir III of Poland, when he was 15 or 16 years old. Casimir III the Great (Kazimierz Wielki April 30 1310 – November 5 1370 last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty (1333–1370 was the son of King Władysław The bride was probably of about the same age. The marriage took place on April 30 or October 16, 1325 and was a purely political maneuver to strengthen the first Polish–Lithuanian coalition against the Teutonic Knights. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western The Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order. ^[2] Casimir was seeking allies over the dispute of Pomerania with the Knights. Gediminas just underwent an unsuccessful attempt at Christianization of Lithuania. The Christianization of Lithuania (Lietuvos krikštas was the event that took place in 1387 initiated by the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland This coalition was a prelude to Union of Krewo in 1385 and Union of Lublin in 1569 that resulted in the new state, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Union of Krewo, also known as Krėva Act (other names Union of Krevo, Act of Kreva) was a set of promises of Jogaila, Grand Duke The Union of Lublin (Liublino unija Belarusian: Лю́блінская ву́нія Polish: Unia The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic ^[1] The details of the agreement are not known; however, it is known that Gediminas released all Polish prisoners, numbering some 25,000. ^[2] The importance of the marriage was attested by the fact that Casimir abandoned his earlier plans to marry Jutta of Bohemia. Bonne of Luxemburg (also Bona ( May 20, 1315 &ndash September 11, 1349) was born Jutta the daughter of John the Blind of Luxemburg ^[3] The alliance was put in practice when joint forces organized an attack against Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1326. The Margraviate of Brandenburg (Markgrafschaft Brandenburg was a major Principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 ^[3] However, the coalition was not strong and collapsed ca. 1330, but there is no evidence of fights between Poland and Lithuania while Aldona was alive. ^[2] The marriage into the Lithuanian dynasty that ruled since ca. 1289 might have brought some legitimacy to Władysław I from the Piast dynasty who was crowned in 1320 replacing the Přemyslid dynasty. Piast dynasty is the name used since the 17th century for Polish Royal Dynasty that ruled Poland from its beginnings as Duchy ruled by Mieszko The Přemyslids ( Czech: Přemyslovci, Polish: Przemyślidzi, German: Premysliden) were a Czech royal dynasty which ^[4] Aldona died suddenly at the end of May of 1339 and was buried in Kraków. Kraków, in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow (ˈkrækaʊ M-W: krăk'ou krāk'ō is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland

Aldona was remembered for her piety and devotion to music. Everywhere she went, she took court musicians with her. It was even suggested by Jan Długosz that cymbals which were played in procession before her represented some pagan Lithuanian tradition. Jan Długosz ( December 1 1415 - May 19, 1480) also known as Joannes Ioannes or Johannes Longinus or Dlugossius Cymbals are a modern percussion instrument Cymbals consist of thin normally round plates of various Cymbal alloys; see Cymbal making for a discussion of their Lithuanian mythology is an example of pagan Mythology containing archaic elements developed by Lithuanians throughout the centuries ^[5] Her husband Casimir is known for his romantic affairs: after Aldona's death he married three more times. Aldona had two daughters, Cunigunde (died in 1357), who married Louis VI the Roman, the son of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, on January 1, 1345, and Elisabeth (died in 1361), who was married to Duke Bogislaus V of Pomerania. Louis VI the Roman (Ludwig VI der Römer May 7, 1328 &ndash May 17, 1365) was the first son of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian from Louis IV ( 1 April[[ 282]] &ndash 11 October 1347) called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the Duke of Bavaria New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Bogislaw V (Bogusław Bogislaus (c 1318 &ndash 23 April 1374) was a Duke of Pomerania. ^[6] Elisabeth's daughter, Elizabeth of Pomerania, was the fourth wife of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Elizabeth of Pomerania (1347 &ndash 15 April, 1393) was the fourth and final wife of Charles IV Holy Roman Emperor and king of Bohemia Charles IV ( Czech: Karel IV, German: Karl IV, Hungarian: IV Károly; 14 May 1316 &ndash

References

See also

• House of Gediminas – family tree of Aldona
• Gediminids