„Spadła Korona nasza z głowy tey białeygłowy, na ktorey z wielką ozdobą y pociechą Krolestwa wszystkiego postawiona świeciła”. Okoliczności śmierci i przebieg ceremonii pogrzebowych królowej Anny Austriaczki, żony Zygmunta III Wazy
„The crown fell off the lady’s head. It was the ornament and solace of the kingdom”. The Circumstances and the Course of the Funerary Ceremony of Queen Anne of Austria, the Wife of Sigismund III Vasa

Author(s): Aleksandra Barwicka-Makula
Subject(s): Middle Ages, 6th to 12th Centuries, 13th to 14th Centuries, 15th Century, 16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: death; funeral; queen; Habsburg; ceremonial; court
Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the last moments in the life of the Polish queen, Anne of Austria (1592-1598). It focuses on the reasons for her premature death on 10th February, 1598, and shows the reaction of the people closest to her: deep grief of the court (Urszula Meyerin, Fabian Quadrantinus, Piotr Skarga, Bernard Gołyński, Stanisław Fogelweder, Georg Schiechel, Barbara Warschenhauserin) and utter despair of king Sigismund III. The main part of the article concentrates on the funerary ceremony: lying in state at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the temporary burial in St. John’s Cathedral in Warsaw, the cortège to Cracow, the funerary ceremony on 16th October 1599. The author describes complicated preparations for the funeral (the expenses, diplomatic activities, devising the ceremonial) and its course, using different sources such as letters, sermons, bills, diplomatic instructions.

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