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Viola of Teschen, later known as Viola Elizabeth (Polish: Wiola Elżbieta cieszyńska, Czech: Viola Alžběta Těšínská) (c. 1291 – 21 September 1317), was Queen of Bohemia and Poland by marriage to Wenceslaus III of Bohemia.

She was the daughter of Mieszko I, Duke of Cieszyn, by his unknown wife. She was named after her paternal great-grandmother Viola, wife of Duke Casimir I of Opole.

Queen of Bohemia and Poland

Viola married young King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia and Poland on 5 October 1305 in Brno. The reasons for the marriage are not obvious: although later chroniclers describe her beauty Viola, her father Duke Mieszko I was only one of many Wenceslaus' vassals. The main reason may have been the strategic position of Cieszyn between the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Poland. Four days after the wedding on 9 October, Wenceslaus III annulled his long-time engagement to Elizabeth, daughter of King Andrew III of Hungary and with this renounced his claims over the Hungarian crown.

After her marriage, Viola took the name Elizabeth, but her union with the King wasn't completely happy, because of her husband's lifestyle and the strong opposition of the Bohemian nobility, who wanted to prevent this "lower" union. Ten months later, on 4 August 1306, King Wenceslaus III was murdered in Olomouc under mysterious circumstances, leaving Viola as a fifteen-year-old widow. The union failed to produce an heir.

With little money and nowhere to go, Viola probably stayed with her sisters-in-law, Anna and Elisabeth, in a nunnery. The princesses were fighting for the throne of Bohemia, but Viola stayed away. Later, she mainly resided in Moravia, where she had dowry towns.

Second marriage and death

After the arrest of Henry of Lipá, Queen Elisabeth of Bohemia and her husband John of Luxembourg tried to draw to their side the powerful nobleman Peter I of Rosenberg (Petr I. z Rožmberka), who, at the time, was engaged to Henry of Lipá's daughter. Soon, Peter I of Rosenberg cancelled his betrothal and entered in an alliance with the Bohemian King and Queen. In order to reinforce his bonds with his new ally, King John gave him the hand of Dowager Queen Viola. The marriage came in 1316, but was childless and short-lived: Viola died on 21 September 1317, and was buried in the vault of the House of Rosenberg in the Vyšší Brod Monastery.

Notes

References

• Józef Golec, Stefania Bojda: Słownik biograficzny ziemi cieszyńskiej, vol. 1, Cieszyn 1993, p. 91.
• Kazimierz Jasiński: Rodowód Piastów śląskich, vol. 3, Wrocław 1977.
• Idzi Panic: Poczet Piastów i Piastówien cieszyńskich, Cieszyn , p. 8.

v t e Royal consorts of Bohemia
Přemyslid	c. 870–1198 (Duchesses) Ludmila of Bohemia Drahomíra Biagota Emma of Mělník Božena Judith of Schweinfurt Ida of Wettin Adelaide of Hungary Świętosława of Poland Wirpirk of Tengling Lukarta of Bogen Helbirga of Austria Richeza of Berg Adelaide of Hungary Gertrude of Babenberg Judith of Thuringia Elizabeth of Hungary Elisabeth of Greater Poland Hellicha of Wittelsbach 1198–1306 (Queens) Adelaide of Meissen Constance of Hungary Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen Margaret of Austria Kunigunda of Halych Judith of Habsburg Elizabeth Richeza of Poland Viola of Teschen
Non-dynastic	1306–1310 Anne of Bohemia Elizabeth Richeza of Poland
Luxembourg	1310–1437 Elizabeth of Bohemia Beatrice of Bourbon Blanche of Valois Anne of Bavaria Anna von Schweidnitz Elizabeth of Pomerania Joanna of Bavaria Sophia of Bavaria Barbara of Cilli
Habsburg	1437–1457 Elizabeth of Luxembourg
Non-dynastic	1457–1471 Joanna of Rožmitál
Jagiellonian	1471–1526 Barbara of Brandenburg Beatrice of Naples Anne of Foix-Candale Mary of Hungary
Habsburg	1526–1780 Anne of Bohemia and Hungary Maria of Austria Anna of Tyrol Elizabeth Stuart Eleonora Gonzaga Maria Anna of Spain Maria Leopoldine of Austria Eleonora Gonzaga Margaret Theresa of Spain Claudia Felicitas of Austria Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Maria Amalia
Habsburg-Lorraine	1780–1918 Maria Luisa of Spain Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este Caroline Augusta of Bavaria Maria Anna of Savoy Elisabeth of Bavaria Zita of Bourbon-Parma
also titled Queen of Bohemia

• 1290s births
• 1317 deaths
• Piast dynasty
• Queens consort of Bohemia
• Queens consort of Hungary
• Queens consort of Poland
• Remarried queens consort
• 14th-century people from Bohemia
• 14th-century women from Bohemia
• 14th-century Polish women
• 14th-century Polish people
• 14th-century Hungarian people
• 14th-century Hungarian women