Jogaila and Ladislaus III Polish–Lithuanian union , later Ladislaus II Jagiełło''' (c. 1352/1362 – 1 June 1434) was
Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434),
King of Poland (1386–1399) alongside his wife
Jadwiga, and then sole King of Poland. In 1385 the
Union of Krewo was signed between
Queen Hedwig of Poland and
Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the last
pagan state in Europe. The act arranged for Jogaila's
baptism (after which Jogaila was known in Poland by his baptismal name, Ladislaus, and the Polish version of his Lithuanian name, Jagiełło) (Zamoyski, the Polish Way) and for the couple's marriage and constituted the beginning of the
Polish–Lithuanian union. The Union strengthened both nations in their shared opposition to the
Teutonic Knights and the growing threat of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow. Uniquely in Europe, the union connected two states geographically located on the opposite sides of the great civilizational divide between the
Western or Latin, and the
Eastern or Byzantine worlds. The intention of the Union was to create a common state under Ladislaus II Jagiełło, but the Polish ruling oligarchy's idea of incorporation of Lithuania into Poland turned out to be unrealistic. There would be territorial disputes and warfare between Poland and Lithuania or Lithuanian factions; the Lithuanians at times had even found it expedient to conspire with the Teutonic Knights against the
Poles. Geographic consequences of the dynastic union and the preferences of the Jagiellonian kings accelerated the process of reorientation of Polish territorial priorities to the east. The political influence of the Jagiellonian kings was diminishing during this period, which was accompanied by the ever-increasing role in central government and national affairs of landed nobility. The royal dynasty, however, had a stabilizing effect on Poland's politics. The
Jagiellonian Era is often regarded as a period of maximum political power, great prosperity, and in its later stage,
the Golden Age of Polish culture.
Struggle with the Teutonic Knights at
Wawel in 1425
The Great War of 1409–1411, precipitated by the Lithuanian uprising in the Order controlled
Samogitia, included the
Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg), where the Polish and Lithuanian armies completely defeated the
Teutonic Knights. The offensive that followed lost its impact with the ineffective siege of
Malbork (Marienburg). The failure to take the fortress and eliminate the Teutonic (later Prussian) state had for Poland dire historic consequences in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
The Peace of Thorn (1411) had given Poland and Lithuania rather modest territorial adjustments, including Samogitia. Afterwards there were negotiations and peace deals that didn't hold, more military campaigns and arbitrations. One attempted, unresolved arbitration took place at the
Council of Constance.
Polish–Hungarian union During the
Hussite Wars (1420–1434), Jagiełło,
Vytautas and
Sigismund Korybut were involved in political and military maneuvering concerning the
Czech crown, offered by the
Hussites first to Jagiełło in 1420.
Zbigniew Oleśnicki became known as the leading opponent of a union with the Hussite Czech state. ''' was a series of events in 1443–44 between the crusaders and the
Ottoman Empire, culminating in a devastating Christian loss at the
Battle of Varna on 10 November 1444. The Jagiellonian dynasty was not entitled to automatic hereditary succession, as each new king had to be approved by nobility consensus. Władysław Jagiełło had three sons (two of whom survived infancy) late in life from his last wife, Sophia of Halshany. In 1430 the nobility agreed to the succession of the future
Ladislaus III, only after the King gave in and guaranteed the satisfaction of their new demands. In 1434 the old monarch died and his minor son Ladislaus was crowned; the Royal Council led by Bishop Oleśnicki undertook the regency duties. In 1438 the Czech anti-
Habsburg opposition, mainly Hussite factions, offered the Czech crown to Jagiełło's younger son
Casimir IV. The idea, accepted in Poland over Oleśnicki's objections, resulted in two unsuccessful Polish military expeditions to
Bohemia. Beginning toward the end of Jagiełło's life, Poland was practically governed by a magnate oligarchy led by Oleśnicki. The rule of the dignitaries was actively opposed by various
szlachta groups. Their leader
Spytek of Melsztyn was killed during an
armed confrontation in 1439, which allowed Oleśnicki to purge Poland of the remaining Hussite sympathizers and pursue his other objectives without significant opposition.
Casimir IV Jagiellon from
Habsburgs, who gave birth to his 13 children
Casimir IV Jagiellon was the third and youngest son of King Ladislaus II Jagiełło and his fourth wife,
Sophia of Halshany. His father was already 65 at the time of Casimir's birth, and his brother Ladislaus III, three years his senior, was expected to become king before his majority. Strangely, little was done for his education; he was never taught Latin, nor was he trained for the responsibilities of office, despite the fact he was the only brother of the rightful sovereign. He often relied on his instinct and feelings and had little political knowledge, but shared a great interest in the diplomacy and economic affairs of the country. Throughout Casimir's youth, Bishop
Zbigniew Oleśnicki was his mentor and tutor; however, the cleric felt a strong reluctance towards him, believing that he would be an unsuccessful monarch following Ladislaus' death. The sudden death of
Sigismund Kęstutaitis left the office of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania empty. The Voivode of
Trakai,
Jonas Goštautas, and other magnates of Lithuania, supported Casimir IV Jagiellon as a candidate to the throne. However, many Polish noblemen hoped that the thirteen-year-old boy would become a Vice-regent for the Polish King in Lithuania. Casimir IV Jagiellon was invited by the Lithuanian magnates to Lithuania and was sent by his older brother
Ladislaus III, King of Poland and Hungary, Supreme Duke of Lithuania, to Lithuania to rule in his name. But instead he was elected by the
Lithuanian Council of Lords as the Grand Duke of Lithuania upon his arrival to Lithuania's capital
Vilnius on June 29, 1440, with the ringing of church bells and the singing of the
Te Deum laudamus. The
Bishop of Vilnius put a
Gediminas' Cap in the
Vilnius Cathedral on Casimir IV Jagiellon's head, despite the
Polish nobility's opposition. It manifested Lithuania as a sovereign state and its ruler Casimir IV Jagiellon stressed himself as a "free lord" (
pan – dominus). Since the young Lithuanian Grand Duke was underage, the supreme control over the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was in the hands of the Lithuanian Council of Lords, presided by Jonas Goštautas, while Casimir IV Jagiellon was taught
Lithuanian language and the customs of Lithuania by appointed court officials. –
Battle of Chojnice in 1454 In 1445, Casimir IV Jagiellon, already being the Grand Duke of Lithuania, was asked to also assume the
Polish throne vacated by the death of his brother Ladislaus III (killed at the
Battle of Varna in 1444). Casimir IV Jagiellon was a tough negotiator and did not accept the Polish nobility's conditions for his election, thus he assumed the Polish throne only on a condition that Lithuania and Poland will be equivalent states. Casimir IV Jagiellon succeeded his brother Ladislaus III as King of Poland after a three-year interregnum on 25 June 1447. In 1454, Casimir IV Jagiellon married
Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of the late
King of the Romans Albert II of Habsburg by his late wife
Elisabeth of Bohemia. Her distant relative Frederick of Austria became
Holy Roman Emperor and reigned as
Frederick III until after Casimir IV Jagiellon's own death. The marriage strengthened the ties between the house of Jagiellon and the sovereigns of Hungary-Bohemia and put Casimir IV Jagiellon at odds with the Holy Roman Emperor through internal Habsburg rivalry. Becoming a King of Poland Casimir IV Jagiellon also freed himself from the control the
Lithuanian oligarchy had imposed on him; in the Vilnius Privilege of 1447 he declared the Lithuanian nobility having equal rights with Polish
szlachta. In time Casimir IV Jagiellon was able to remove from power Cardinal Oleśnicki and his group, basing his own power on the younger middle nobility camp instead. A conflict with the pope and the local Church hierarchy over the right to fill vacant bishop positions Casimir IV Jagiellon also resolved in his favor.
Thirteen Years' War (1454–66) That same year, Casimir IV Jagiellon was approached by the
Prussian Confederation for aid against the
Teutonic Order, which he promised, by making the separatist Prussian regions a protectorate of the
Polish Kingdom. However, when the insurgent cities
rebelled against the Order, it resisted and the
Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) ensued. Casimir IV Jagiellon and the
Prussian Confederation defeated the Teutonic Order, taking over its capital at
Marienburg (
Malbork Castle). In the
Second Peace of Thorn (1466), the Order recognized Polish sovereignty over the seceded western Prussian regions,
Royal Prussia, and the Polish crown's overlordship over the remaining
Teutonic Monastic State, transformed in 1525 into a duchy,
Ducal Prussia. Poland regained
Pomerelia and with it the all-important access to
the Baltic Sea, as well as
Warmia. In addition to land warfare, naval battles had taken place, where ships provided by the
City of Danzig (Gdańsk) successfully fought
Danish and Teutonic fleets. Other 15th-century Polish territorial gains, or rather revindications, included the
Duchy of Oświęcim and
Duchy of Zator on
Silesia's border with
Lesser Poland, and there was notable progress regarding the incorporation of the
Piast Masovian duchies into the
Crown. during Thirteen Years' War (1460)
Turkish and Tatar wars The influence of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Central Europe had been on the rise. In 1471 Casimir's son
Ladislaus became a
king of Bohemia, and in 1490 also of
Hungary. The southern and eastern outskirts of Poland and Lithuania became threatened by
Turkish invasions beginning in the late 15th century.
Moldavia's involvement with Poland goes back to 1387, when
Peter I,
Hospodar of Moldavia, seeking protection against the Hungarians, paid Jagiełło homage in
Lviv, which gave Poland access to the
Black Sea ports. In 1485 King Casimir undertook an expedition into Moldavia, after its seaports were overtaken by the Ottoman Turks. The Turkish controlled
Crimean Tatars raided the eastern territories in 1482 and 1487, until they were confronted by King
John Albert, Casimir's son and successor. Poland was attacked in 1487–1491 by remnants of the
Golden Horde. They had invaded into Poland as far as
Lublin before being beaten at Zaslavl. King John Albert in 1497 made an attempt to resolve the Turkish problem militarily, but his efforts were unsuccessful as he was unable to secure effective participation in the war by his brothers, King
Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and Alexander, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and because of the resistance on the part of
Stephen the Great, the ruler of Moldavia. More Ottoman Empire-instigated destructive Tatar raids took place in 1498, 1499 and 1500.
John Albert's diplomatic peace efforts that followed were finalized after the king's death in 1503, resulting in a territorial compromise and an unstable truce.
Sigismund I the Old and Sigismund II Augustus (1467–1548), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania The Grand Duke
Alexander was elected King of Poland in 1501, after the death of John Albert. In 1506 he was succeeded by
Sigismund I the Old (, ) in both Poland and Lithuania, as the political realities were drawing the two states closer together. Prior to that Sigismund I had been a
Duke of Silesia by the authority of his brother
Ladislaus II of Bohemia, but like other Jagiellon rulers before him, he had not pursued the Polish Crown's claim to Silesia. After the death of
King Alexander I, Sigismund I arrived in
Vilnius, where he was elected by the
Lithuanian Ducal Council on 13 September 1506 as
Grand Duke of Lithuania, contrary to the
Union of Mielnik, which involved a joint Polish-Lithuanian election of a monarch. In 1527, while pregnant with the sixth child, the Queen fell from a horse during hunting of a
bear and gave birth
prematurely to her second son,
Prince Albertus, who died the same day; accident renderred Bona infertile and left Augustus as sole surviving legitimate son of the King., place of
Bona's accident and Prince
Albertus's birth, as well
Sigismund II Augustus's and
Barbara Radziwiłł's favourite hunting spot in Poland. Bona's sway over the king and the
magnates, her efforts to strengthen the monarch's political position, financial situation, and especially the measures she took to advance her personal and dynastic interests, including the forced royal election of the minor
Sigismund Augustus in 1529 and his coronation in 1530, increased the discontent among
szlachta activists.
Chicken War—the rebellion of Lwów or Hen War'
, a 1537 anti-royalist and anti-absolutist rokosz'' (rebellion) by the
Polish nobility. Finally, the protesters criticised the role of Queen Bona, whom they blamed for the "bad education" of young Prince Sigismund Augustus (the future King Sigismund II Augustus), as well as for seeking to increase her power and influence in the state.
Sigismund II Augustus Following an agreement between Sigismund I,
Bona Sforza and
Lithuanian Council of Lords,
Sigismund II Augustus was proclaimed as
Grand Duke of Lithuania when he was 9 years old in Vilnius in 1529, which was soon followed by his election as King of Poland and coronation in the next year. Initially, Sigismund II opposed the
Polish–Lithuanian union as he sought to
leave the Lithuanian throne to his heirs as Jagiellonian
patrimony. In 1548 Sigismund II finished the
Renaissance style reconstruction of the
Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius which was started by his father, Sigismund I. The King maintained two separate and equally lavish
Lithuanian-speaking and
Polish-speaking
royal courts in Vilnius. Sigismund II publicly announced marriage and declared his wife the Queen of Poland in 1548. The King's marriage was strongly opposed by his mother Bona and by the magnates of the Crown, who demanded for marriage to be annulled or for Barbara to remained uncrowned (which would weaken position of potential children and would exclude them from being chosen as next rulers of Poland). Sigismund II, who became the sole king of
Poland after his father's Sigismund I death in 1548, overcame the resistance and had Barbara crowned in 1550; a few months later the new queen died. While Bona eventually accepted Barbara as the Queen, via representatives sent to her daughter-in-law in 1551, she remained estranged from her son and ultimately returned to Italy in 1556, where she died soon afterwards. (1523–1551), second wife of Sigismund II Augustus. She married King in 1547 and was declared Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania in 1548, but was crowned only in 1550, after three years of royal couple's fight with opposition. Sigismund II possessed to a high degree the tenacity and patience that seem to have characterized all the Jagiellons, and he added to these qualities a dexterity and diplomatic finesse. No other Polish king seems to have so thoroughly understood the nature of the Polish
sejm. Both the Austrian ambassadors and the papal legates testify to the care with which he controlled his nation. Everything went as he wished, they said, because he seemed to know everything in advance. He managed to get more money out of the
sejm than his father ever could, and at one of his
sejms he won the hearts of the assembly by unexpectedly appearing before them in the simple grey coat of a
Masovian lord. Like his father, a pro-
Austrian by conviction, he contrived even in this respect to carry with him the nation, often distrustful of the Germans. He avoided serious complications with the powerful Turks. , hunting residency of the last Jagiellons, renovated and expanded during reigns of
Sigismund I the Old and
Sigismund II Augustus. Sigismund II mediated for twenty years between the
Catholic Church and the
Protestants. Unsuccessful and debilitating beginning of the
Livonian War for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and
Lithuanian nobility's desire for equal rights with the
Polish nobility resulted in
childless Sigismund II's memorial—the
Union of Lublin, which united Poland and Lithuania with equal rights into the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth—the "Republic of the Two Nations" (, ). Also, German-speaking
Royal Prussia and Prussian cities were included. This achievement might well have been impossible without Sigismund II. Sigismund II had no living children with any of his three wives, thus ending the male line of Jagiellonian dynasty, however
descandants of the female line remained in control over Poland and Lithuania as elective monarchs until 1668. in
Vilnius, the reconstruction of which in a
Renaissance style was started by Sigismund I and was finished by Sigismund II Augustus
Golden Age of Polish culture , the
castle and the
cathedral The
Polish "Golden Age", the period of the reigns of
Sigismund I and
Sigismund II, the last two Jagiellonian kings, or more generally the 16th century, is most often identified with the rise of the culture of
Polish Renaissance. The cultural flowering had its material base in the prosperity of the elites, both the landed nobility and urban patriciate at such centers as
Kraków and
Gdańsk. As was the case with other European nations, the Renaissance inspiration came in the first place from
Italy, a process accelerated to some degree by the marriage of Sigismund I to
Bona Sforza. Many Poles traveled to Italy to study and to learn its culture. As imitating Italian ways became very trendy (the royal courts of the two kings provided the leadership and example for everybody else), many Italian artists and thinkers were coming to Poland, some settling and working there for many years. While the pioneering Polish humanists, greatly influenced by
Erasmus of Rotterdam, accomplished the preliminary assimilation of the antiquity culture, the generation that followed was able to put greater emphasis on the development of native elements, and because of its social diversity, advanced the process of national integration. The
Academy of Kraków and Sigismund II possessed well-stocked libraries; smaller collections were increasingly common at noble courts, schools and the households of townspeople. Illiteracy levels were falling, as by the end of the 16th century almost every parish ran a school.
The Jagiellons and the Habsburgs In 1515, during a
congress in Vienna, a dynastic succession arrangement was agreed to between
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and the Jagiellon brothers,
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and Sigismund I of Poland and Lithuania. It was supposed to end the Emperor's support for Poland's enemies, the Teutonic and
Russian states, but after the election of
Charles V, Maximilian's successor in 1519, the relations with Sigismund had worsened. The Jagiellon rivalry with the
House of Habsburg in central Europe was ultimately resolved to the Habsburgs' advantage. The decisive factor that damaged or weakened the monarchies of the last Jagiellons was the
Ottoman Empire's Turkish expansion. Hungary's vulnerability greatly increased after Suleiman the Magnificent took the Belgrade fortress in 1521. To prevent Poland from extending military aid to Hungary,
Suleiman had a Tatar-Turkish force raid southeastern Poland–Lithuania in 1524. The Hungarian army was defeated in 1526 at the Battle of Mohács, where the young
Louis II Jagiellon, son of Vladislaus II, was killed. Subsequently, after a period of internal strife and external intervention, Hungary was partitioned between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans.
Sigismund II Augustus kept close diplomatic ties with the Habsburgs and took as his first and third wives daughters of
Ferdinand I Habsburg,
Elizabeth and
Catherine, however both marriages remained unhappy and childless, what caused some tensions in relationship between King of Poland and family of his wives. Sigismund II remained allied to his former father-in-law also during marriage with
Queen Barbara, as Ferdinand promised to Polish royal couple a military support in case of rebellion of nobles who were opposing king's choice of bride. , wife of disputed king of Hungary
John Zápolya, and mother of his heir
John Sigismund Zápolya, for whom she served as regent. On other hand, Sigismund I's daughter and Sigsmund Augustus's sister,
Isabella Jagiellon, regent of
Kingdom of Hungary in the name of her son
John Sigismund Zápolya, was in diplomatic and military conflict with Ferdinand Habsburg, as both sides were laying claim to the Hungarian throne. == Kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary ==