European Kingdoms

Kingdom of Poland (Anjou-Hungary Dynasty)
AD 1370 - 1386

Polish States All Modern States Central Europe Hessian States Saxon States The Rus / Old Russia

The Piast king of medieval Poland, Wladyslaw I 'the Short', managed to reunite all of the disparate Polish regions into a single body in 1320. His son, Kasimierz 'the Great' signed away his claim to Silesia in 1335, a region which previously could have been claimed as one of the most independently-minded anyway. This sacrifice was recompensed in 1349 when Kasimierz shared the partitioned Halych-Volynia between himself and Lithuania.

Poland was thereafter largely at peace with itself after several centuries of intermittent internecine strife. This was a Poland, though, whose borders still did not extend as far north as the Baltic Sea. Upon Kasimierz's death and the extinction of the main Piast line as far as an eligible male claimant for the throne was concerned the transfer of power was peaceful. The daughter of Wladyslaw I was Elizabeth of Poland. Her son, Louis 'the Great' of Hungary, was able to establish his claim to the Polish throne through her connection.

Elizabeth, however, remained the dowager queen of Hungary until her death in 1380, and was largely able to retain power. She was also made regent of Poland by Louis, while he concentrated his time on Hungary. Under Hungarian rule, the kingship there became elective, but de facto the Hungarian diet selected kings in hereditary order until 1572.

Something which had emerged in Poland from around the tenth century onwards was a sense of relative liberalism. The state had ensured a stable period of religious tolerism and social autonomy which encouraged the settlement within the kingdom of a sizable Jewish Diaspora population (largely Ashkenazi Jews).

Jewish migration from Western Europe into Poland increased greatly following the start of the Crusades in 1096. The country's Jewish population increased along with the kingdom's borders, especially during the Poland-Lithuania commonwealth period. Poland became the European centre of Jewish culture, while England and Spain were expelling their own Jews (in 1290 and 1492 respectively).

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from A History of Poland from its Foundation, M Ross, from The History of the Baltic Countries, Zigmantas Kiaupa, Ain Mäesalu, Ago Pajur, & Gvido Straube (Eds, Estonia 2008), from The Annals of Jan Długosz (English abridged version by Maurice Michael, with commentary by Paul Smith, IM Publications, 1997), and from The Russian Primary Chronicle (Laurentian Text), Samuel Hazzard Cross & Olgerd P Sherbowitz-Wetzor (Eds and translators, Mediaeval Academy of America).)

1370 - 1382

King of Hungary (1342-1382).

1370 - 1377

Wife & regent, with a break between 1375-1376. Fled.

1374

Like his late father-in-law, Louis has no sons to succeed him. Instead he issues the 'Privilege of Koszyce' which spells out the liberties of Polish noblemen, as part of his strategy to enforce the recognition of the right of his daughters to succeed him.

Louis I of Hungary was a Piast descendent on his mother's side, and therefore a rightful claimant to the Polish throne

Even without this, his rule remains unpopular in Poland. Still, steps are taken over the next few years to centralise Poland's governance and reduce the risk of division or rebellion.

1376 - 1377

A Lithuanian raid into Polish lands almost reaches Kraków itself in November 1376. The town's residents subsequently riot against the unpopular queen mother, Elizabeth. As many as a hundred and sixty of her servants are murdered during the December riots, and she flees to Hungary. Vladislaus of Opole (Wladyslaw Opolczyk) is appointed as her regency replacement.

1377 - 1378

Regent, winter 1377 to 28 Mar 1378. Died 1401.

1378 - 1380

Regent, 28 Mar 1378 to 29 Dec 1380.

1380 - 1382

Regent, 29.12.1380-12.01.1382. Bishop of Kraków. Died 1382.

1380 - 1382

Acting regent, 29 Dec 1380 to 11 Sep 1382.

1380 - 1382

Acting regent, 29 Dec 1380 to 11 Sep 1382.

1382

Louis 'the Great' dies, having largely ensured the succession in favour of two of his daughters. Mary and her husband, Elector Sigismund of Brandenburg (Zygmunt Luksemburski to the Poles), a scion of the house of Luxembourg, accede in Hungary, with Mary becoming the state's first female 'king'.

Elector Sigismund of Brandenburg, and king of Hungary, Croatia, and Luxembourg, managed to add Bohemia to that list during an illustrious career, before becoming Holy Roman emperor in 1410

Sigismund, though, attempts to take control of Poland too (as does the unfortunate Ziemowit 'the Younger' of Mazovia). After a career of acquisitions he may have overstretched himself.

1382 - 1383

Elector Sigismund of Brandenburg, pretender, 12 Jan- Oct?

1382 - 1384

Regent, 11 Sep 1382 to 16 Oct 1384.

1382 - 1384

Joint regent, 11 Sep 1382 to 16 Oct 1384.

1383

Sigismund's attempt to secure Poland is rebuffed by the nobility. They will only accept a successor who will settle within Poland itself. Elizabeth of Poland nominates another daughter, Jadwiga.

Ziemowit IV 'the Younger', duke of Mazovia, attempts to enforce his own claim to the throne, but the nobility encourage Elizabeth of Poland to send Jadwiga so that she can confirm her own claim.

1383 - 1384

Duke of Mazovia. Pretender, 28 Mar 1383 to 6 Oct 1384.

1383

Jadwiga is the daughter of Louis 'the Great', but she is also the granddaughter of Wladyslaw I (IV), and thereby a Piast descendant on the female side. Now, finally, in Kraków she is crowned 'King of Poland'. With her mother's permission, her advisors begin negotiations regarding a union of marriage with the pagan Jagiello, grand duke of Lithuania.

Queen Jadwiga of Anjou (sometimes Jadwiga of Poland) sacrificed a potential marriage to her childhood fiancée, William of Austria, in order to seal the personal union of crowns between Poland and Lithuania

1383 - 1386

Dau of Louis the Great. m Jagiello of Lithuania.

1385

The Union of Kreva (Krewo) is agreed, by which Jagiello of Lithuania consents to convert to Catholic Christianity and undertake to convert his subjects in return for the hand in marriage of Jadwiga. Jagiello adopts the Polish baptismal name of Wladyslaw, founding the Polish Jagiellan dynasty and initiating a personal union of the Polish and Lithuanian crowns.

Kingdom of Poland (Jagiellan Dynasty)
AD 1386 - 1569

Polish States All Modern States Central Europe Hessian States Saxon States The Rus / Old Russia

Upon the death of Kasimierz 'the Great' in 1370 and the extinction of the main Piast house in the male line, the transfer of power to his Hungarian son-in-law was peaceful. The sister of Kasimierz was Elizabeth of Poland. Her son, Louis 'the Great' of Hungary, was able to establish his claim to the Polish throne through her connection.

Elizabeth, however, remained the dowager queen of Hungary until her death in 1380, and was largely able to retain power. She was also made regent of Poland by Louis, while he concentrated his time on Hungary. Upon the death of Louis, his holdings were divided between his surviving daughters, with Jadwiga gaining Poland in 1383.

The Union of Kreva (Krewo) was agreed between Jadwiga and Grand Prince Jagiello of Lithuania as the only certain way to halt the crusading attacks on Lithuania by Poland, the Teutonic Knights, and Moscow. The union included the offer of the Polish throne in return for the Christianisation of the Lithuanians, and would have the additional benefit of diminishing the power of the Teutonic Knights.

Jagiello became king of Poland in 1386 under the name Wladyslaw Jagiello. His marriage to Queen Jadwiga sealed the union between the two countries, beginning four hundred years of Polish-Lithuanian cooperation. Jadwiga, though, had been forced to sacrifice a possible marriage to William of Austria, her childhood fiancé, who was turned out of Poland when he attempted to interpose. Jagiello's brother, Vladimir Olgerdovich, from his  base in Kyiv swore his allegiance.

The father of both Kasimierz and Elizabeth, Wladyslaw I (IV), had restored the fragmented Piast Polish monarchy, and as such he is often numbered as the first Wladyslaw by later historians, ignoring the first three. Others include them, numbering this Wladyslaw as the fourth in sequence. Both sets of numbering are shown here for all subsequent Wladyslaws.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from A History of Poland from its Foundation, M Ross, from The History of the Baltic Countries, Zigmantas Kiaupa, Ain Mäesalu, Ago Pajur, & Gvido Straube (Eds, Estonia 2008), from The Annals of Jan Długosz (English abridged version by Maurice Michael, with commentary by Paul Smith, IM Publications, 1997), from The Russian Primary Chronicle (Laurentian Text), Samuel Hazzard Cross & Olgerd P Sherbowitz-Wetzor (Eds and translators, Mediaeval Academy of America), from A History of Poland from its Foundation, M Ross, from Geography, Ptolemy, and from The History of the Baltic Countries, Zigmantas Kiaupa, Ain Mäesalu, Ago Pajur, & Gvido Straube (Eds, Estonia 2008).)

1386 - 1434

Grand duke Jagiello of Lithuania. Dynasty founder.

1386 - 1399

Wife and co-ruler. Inheritor of the Piasts. Died.

1387

With Jagiello's conversion to Christianity, Lithuania becomes the last state in Europe to end its pre-Christian paganism (although the Lithuanian Zemaitija - the Samogitians - are not converted until after 1410).

Jagiello of Lithuania, king of Poland, is memorialised in statue form in New York's Central Park, NY, USA (External Link: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International)

As he is now king of a far larger domain than just Lithuania, Jagiello appoints governors to handle Lithuania's day-to-day affairs but, unhappy with the situation, one of them by the name of Vytautas is supported by the nobles in his fight for power. In the same year Jagiello attacks Polotsk to the east and the Livonian Knights do not protect it, virtually gifting it to its attackers.

1392 - 1399

Vytautas is successful in gaining Jagiello's concession of power in Lithuania, and rules the country as great prince from 1392, while Jagiello concentrates on his Polish domains. In 1399 his wife and co-ruler dies following childbirth, with the infant daughter also dying. Jagiello goes on to marry Anne of Celje, as per his late wife's instructions.

1410

The Teutonic Knights of eastern Prussia are crushed at the Battle of Tannenberg by Polish and Lithuanian forces under Jagiello's leadership, halting the eastward expansion of the Knights. The Polish-Lithuanian union has borne a much greater level success than could have been expected in terms of limiting the Knights.

The Battle of Tannenberg (or Grunwald) witnessed the shock defeat of the Teutonic Knights at the hands of a Polish-Lithuanian army and destroyed their authority in the Baltics

After this defeat, the associated Livonian Order begins to weaken and disintegrate while Vytautas is quickly able to extend Lithuania's eastern borders to an equivalent size of fifteen modern Lithuanias, by taking Smolensk.

1429 - 1430

At the assembly of eastern and Central European leaders, held in Lutsk, Ukraine, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund von Luxembourg offers Lithuania a crown. In 1430, protests are made by the Polish Royal Council in their efforts to deny Lithuania crown status which would divide the union and take away half of Jagiello's holdings.

Poland refuses passage to the emperor's envoys and their offering of a crown to Lithuania. The coronation of Vytautas in Vilnius fails and he dies very soon afterwards.

1434 - 1444

Son of Jagiello. Wladyslav VI of Hungary (1440).

1444 - 1446

Following the death without offspring of Wladyslaw, there is an interregnum in the rule of the country until Grand Duke Casimir of Lithuania gains the throne of Poland as Kazimierz IV, as well as retaining command of the grand duchy. The union of two thrones is renewed on a personal basis (except between 1492-1501 under King John).

Veiselga Monastery in Lithuania, shown here in oils by Napoleon Orda, was apparently founded by Vaisvilkas, second grand duke, who twice retired to live a monastic life

1446 - 1492

Grand duke of Lithuania (1440-1492).

1454 - 1466

As a Lithuanian, Kazimierz is well aware of the part that the Teutonic Knights have played in continued attacks against his homeland up until the start of the fifteenth century, and perhaps this now partly motivates him in pursuing the Thirteen Year War against them.

Ostensibly the reason for the war is the domination of Prussia, which Poland is determined to control. During the war, Poland takes Pomerania and Danzig (modern Gdansk), and the Knights end up as their vassals.

1462

Internally the duchy of Mazovia has been consolidating its territory. Belz had been gained by Płock in 1442. Rawa had similarly been gained in 1459 while its constituent region of Gostynin had gone to Margareth of Raciborz as her dowry for the duration of her lifetime.

Construction of a stone castle for the dukes of Masovia began in Rawa in 1355, probably by Ziemowit III, and originally as a defensive point for the duchy of Czersk

Now Belz, a division of Rawa, and Gostynin are annexed by the Polish crown while Płock, Płońsk, and Zawkrze are taken by Konrad III 'the Red' of the junior Warsaw line. Further Mazovian territories follow over the course of the next half century or so as Kazimierz IV consolidates his hold over the Polish lands.

1471

The Lithuanian Jagiello dynasty gains control of Bohemia in the form of Ladislas II. His successor is a member of the same dynasty, his son, Louis. Kazimierz' own son, John, succeeds him in Poland while his brother, Alexander, succeeds in Lithuania. John is supported by another brother, Fryderyk, archbishop of Gniezno, who also stands in as interrex following John's unexpected early death.

1492 - 1501

Son. Lost Lithuanian cooperation. Died.

1495

The death of the childless Janusz II means that his holdings around Płock should in fact go to his brother, Konrad III 'the Red' of Warsaw, unifier of the remainders of Mazovia. Instead the duchy is annexed by Poland.

Modern Prague, capital of Bohemia, is focussed around the broad span of the River Vltava which divides the city in two - the labyrinthine Old Town behind the camera and Hradcany, the home of Prague's imposing hilltop castle

1501

Jun-Oct. Archbishop of Gniezno, & interrex (senate chair).

1501 - 1506

Brother. Also grand duke of Lithuania.

1505

The constitution of 31 May - the Nihil novi - eliminates royal legislative powers. The king is no longer allowed to issue laws in regard to matters which are not directly related to the king's interests, his estates, or his own servants or staff (plus the country's Jewish Diaspora population), without the approval and agreement of the nobility who are to be represented through two legislative chambers.

1507 - 1548

Brother. Grand duke of Lithuania.

1525

The monastic state of the Teutonic Knights is secularised during the Protestant Reformation and replaced with a duchy in East Prussia. The last grand master of the Teutonic Knights agrees to resign his position, convert to Lutheran Protestantism, and submit to Polish suzerainty in order to govern his new state, which becomes the first Protestant state in Europe.

Introduced in 1560, the system of imperial states replaced the now-outdated feudal system, with an imperial circle ('reichskreis') being a regional grouping of the imperial states (click or tap on map to view full sized)

1526

Following a devastating defeat at the Battle of Mohács and the death of Louis II, the Jagiellos lose Hungary and Bohemia to the Habsburgs. The defeat effectively destroys the dynasty's dream of effecting the 'Jaigello dynasty idea' wherein Lithuania, Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary are drawn together in union. The dream lives on in a more modest form for some years but is never realised.

1548 - 1569

Son. Grand duke of Lithuania. Commonwealth king (1569).

1561

The Livonian Knights are dissolved and the Polish-Lithuanian king gains all of their lands: the southern regions of Estonia and the rest of Old Livonia. North Estonia surrenders voluntarily to the Swedes.

1563

Duke John of Finland has opposed the reign of his half-brother, Eric XIV of Sweden. For this he is imprisoned in this year, only to be subsequently released, probably due to Eric's increasing insanity.

Maximilian of Austria became Holy Roman emperor in 1493 while also ruling the Habsburg Netherlands, Burgundy, and Austria - the ambitious Habsburgs had become a true power across Europe

John rejoins the opposition and deposes Eric, becoming king himself in 1568. Princess Catherine, daughter of Zygmunt I Stary, becomes queen consort of Sweden and grand princess of Finland.

1569

The union of Poland and Lithuania is formalised as the Lublin Union, already existing in fact if not name for over a century. Sigismund becomes king of Poland-Lithuania.

The 'United Commonwealth of the Two Nations', or Rzeczpospolita, forms a golden age of joint Polish and Lithuanian governance of a huge swathe of Eastern Europe, stretching as far as Kyiv to the south-east (despite Russian claims that the city belongs to them).