Wladislaw II.

Władysław II Jagiełło, also known as Władysław II of Hungary, was born on March 1, 1456, in Kraków, and died on March 13, 1516, in Buda. He was a prince of the Polish Jagiellonian dynasty and king of Bohemia and Hungary. His father was Casimir IV, king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania, and his mother was Elisabeth of Austria, a daughter of King Albert II. Since his parents placed great importance on education, Władysław was taught by respected scholars. The historian Jan Długosz raised him in the spirit of Catholic piety. After the death of Władysław’s maternal uncle, Ladislaus Postumus, in 1457, his parents asserted their son’s claim to the Bohemian and Hungarian crowns. Both countries initially chose local rulers instead: Hungary elected Matthias Corvinus, while Bohemia elected George of Poděbrady. Religious and political conflicts in Bohemia eventually opened an opportunity for Władysław. After Pope Paul II excommunicated George of Poděbrady as a heretic and called for a crusade against him, the Hussite Bohemian nobles elected Władysław as George’s successor in 1469. On May 27, 1471, Władysław was elected king of Bohemia and crowned in Prague on August 22. His reign began under the shadow of war with Matthias Corvinus, who also claimed the Bohemian title and controlled Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia. Several campaigns and attempts to form alliances failed to produce a decisive result. In 1478, the two sides reached a compromise: both were allowed to use the title of king of Bohemia, Władysław received Bohemia, and Matthias retained the remaining Bohemian crownlands. The Peace of Olomouc in 1479 also established that Władysław could reacquire those territories after Matthias’s death in return for a substantial payment. The agreed 400,000 gold florins were never paid, and the lands eventually became part of the Bohemian crown. After the peace, Władysław sought to strengthen his position in Bohemia. He improved the position of Catholics and increasingly appointed Catholics to municipal councils, provoking uprisings in Prague and several other cities in 1483. The rebels expelled or killed Catholic clergy and council members, and Władysław was forced to leave Prague. Since he could not intervene militarily, he changed his policy and confirmed new Hussite councils in 1484. The uprising eventually brought moderate Hussites and Catholic nobles closer together. In 1485, an agreement reached at Kutná Hora allowed the inhabitants of Bohemia to continue freely professing either the Catholic or Utraquist faith. Tensions with Rome nevertheless persisted. After Matthias Corvinus died on April 6, 1490, the struggle for the Hungarian crown began. In addition to Matthias’s illegitimate son, John Corvinus, and Maximilian of Habsburg, Władysław and his younger brother John Albert claimed the throne. The Hungarian barons preferred Władysław because he had respected their freedoms in Bohemia. He also promised not to impose extraordinary taxes, to abolish Matthias’s innovations, and to work closely with the royal council. On July 15, 1490, the Hungarian estates elected him king, and he was crowned in Székesfehérvár on September 18. Władysław then married Matthias Corvinus’s widow, Beatrice of Naples. The marriage was politically important but canonically disputed because his earlier union with Barbara of Brandenburg had not yet been officially dissolved. In 1500, the pope declared Władysław’s marriages to Barbara and Beatrice invalid. Beatrice later returned to Naples. Władysław’s brother John Albert initially abandoned his claim to Hungary in exchange for Silesia and the Duchy of Głogów, but he attacked the country again and was finally defeated. Maximilian of Habsburg was also forced to give up his conquests. However, under the Treaty of Pressburg in 1491, the Habsburgs secured a future right of succession to the Bohemian and Hungarian crowns should Władysław die without a male heir. Władysław’s reign was marked by a significant weakening of royal power. In Hungary, the most powerful landowners and the royal council assumed increasing influence. Since Matthias Corvinus had left behind an almost empty treasury, Władysław could not continue financing his predecessor’s professional army, known as the Black Army. After unpaid mercenaries began plundering villages, the army was disbanded in 1493. At the same time, Ottoman attacks along the southern frontier intensified. In 1493, Croatian and Bosnian nobles suffered a devastating defeat on the Krbava Field. This made the defense of Hungary even more difficult. The Hungarian nobles strengthened their own position through new laws. They defined military obligations, introduced regular taxes, and restricted the economic rights of towns and the Church. Władysław largely confirmed this development. His frequent approval of the royal council’s decisions earned him the mocking nickname “Dobže,” after the Czech expression meaning “good, good.” His power was also limited in Bohemia by the land parliament and senior officials. After he settled in Buda, Bohemia was governed mainly by the chancellor and the Prague burgrave. In 1502, Władysław married Anne of Foix, an intelligent and energetic noblewoman. They had two children, a daughter named Anne and a son named Louis. Anne later married Ferdinand of Habsburg. Louis, born in 1506, succeeded his father on the Bohemian and Hungarian thrones. Władysław also commissioned important buildings, including the great Władysław Hall at Prague Castle, completed in 1502. The threat from the Ottoman Empire intensified again after 1512. Border regions were devastated, and supplying the fortresses became increasingly difficult. In 1514, an attempt to organize a crusade against the Turks led to a major peasant uprising. Around 40,000 peasants gathered under the command of George Dózsa, but the nobles prevented the crusade because they feared losing their workforce. The peasants turned against their lords, plundered castles, and destroyed property records. They were defeated in June 1514, and the leaders died under brutal torture. The parliament subsequently subjected the peasants to permanent serfdom and deepened their economic dependence. Władysław died in Buda shortly after his sixtieth birthday and was buried in Székesfehérvár. His son Louis had already been crowned king of Hungary and Bohemia, securing the succession. Władysław was regarded as an educated, peaceful, family-oriented Catholic. His good nature, however, was often perceived as weakness. He avoided personal responsibility, relied on his advisers, and rarely intervened decisively in politics. Under his rule, religious conflicts in Bohemia temporarily eased, while in Hungary the power of the great landowners grew, the condition of the peasants deteriorated dramatically, and military resistance to the Ottomans weakened.