Sophia Jagiellon (Polish: Zofia Jagiellonka; Lithuanian: Sofija Jogailaitė; 6 May 1464 – 5 October 1512) was a princess of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, great-granddaughter of Emperor Sigismund and by marriage Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach.
Born in Kraków, she was the second daughter of Grand Duke of Lithuania and King Casimir IV of Poland and his wife Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of the German king Albrecht. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Sophia of Halshany, Queen of Poland.
Sophia was baptised by John Gruszczynski, Bishop of Kraków. There is no information available concerning Sophia's upbringing or education.
Contents
Life
Betrothals
In 1468, Sophia was first betrothed to Archduke Maximilian of Austria, son and heir of Emperor Frederick III. Then, on 8 April of the same year, Protas Černohorský of Boskovice, Bishop of Olomouc, appeared as a representative of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, asking the hand of Sophia, although soon Matthias preferred the hand of Sophia's elder sister, Hedwig. A marriage to Maximilian seemed more likely for Sophia, mostly because she and her sisters were all attractive brides for European nobility, since they all had claims to the thrones of Austria and Luxembourg through their mother Elisabeth. There could have been a chance that one could become Duchess of Austria or Luxembourg and transfer their patrimony to a husband and his family.