One father, two kingdoms and three daughters

In 1370, Louis I of Hungary also inherits the Polish crown. The kingdoms share a monarch but retain their institutions and interests. His wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia, and their daughters stand at the centre of a succession policy that must satisfy two nobilities. Catherine is the eldest daughter, followed by Mary and Jadwiga. Louis seeks to secure female succession. In Poland, the concessions made at Košice in 1374 help obtain recognition of that principle. Planned marriages connect the girls with other European dynasties. Catherine dies in 1378, however. Two daughters remain to inherit territories whose division will depend on their father’s agreements and on those able to enforce them after his death.