Quick Facts
Biography
Beatrice de Frangepan (Croatian: Beatrica Frankopan, Hungarian: Frangepán Beatrix), (1480 – c. 27 March 1510) was a Croatian noblewoman, a member of the House of Frankopan that lived in the Kingdom of Hungary. By marriage she was heiress of Hunyad Castle and Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach.
Life
Beatrice was a daughter of Bernardin Frankopan, Knyaz (Prince) of Krk and Modruš (1453–1529) from his marriage to Donna Luisa Marzano d'Aragona, daughter of Giovanni Francesco Marino Marzano, Prince of Squillace. Her brother Christoph Frankopan (1482–1527) was Ban of Croatia under the reign of the Hungarian king John Zápolya.
Beatrice first married in 1496 to John Corvinus (1473–1504), an illegitimate son of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with whom she had two children:
- Elisabeth (1496–1508).
- Christoph (1499–1505), the last of the House of Hunyadi Corvinus.
- Matthias (1504–1505).
She was described as extremely beautiful and after her husband's death she inherited Hunyad Castle and she administered her children's estates. However, they both died young (probably poisoned), soon after their father.
After the mourning period, King Vladislaus II of Hungary had her married to his nephew, the Hohenzollern prince George of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1484–1543), on 21 January 1509 in Gyula. King Vladislav transferred all of the Corvinus property to George. Apart from Hunyad Castle, this included, among others, the fortress of Lipova with 252 villages. Through his wife, George became one of the most powerful landowners in Hungary, though he had to cope with border disputes with the rivalling Szapolyai dynasty. Parts of the Bibliotheca Corviniana ended up in Wolfenbüttel, due to Beatrice.
After Beatrice's death, only one year after the marriage, George sold the bulk of the Hungarian possessions and purchased several Silesian duchies instead.