oxford history of poland-lithuania - making of the polish-lithuanian union (1385 - 1569)

1569 - 1795  Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Origin       political union est 1386 by Jagiellonian dynasty (1386-1572) End       partitions of Poland (1772 - 1795)

Krewo Act - terms of marriage for Jogaila (grand duke of Lithuania) to Jadwiga (elected queen regnant of Poland)    Jogaila to be crowned king of Poland    condition - Jogaila becomes baptized, adopts Christian name Wladyslaw Jagiallo    politically unites Poland and Lithuania    Poland previously united with Hungary (1370-82)    Hungarian monarchy more solidly established - difficult for Poland    king Louis died 1382 without a male heir - good time for Poland to end uneven union   Polish monarchy fragmented by dynastic rivalries    Boleslaw Krzywousty (1107 - 1138) divided the kingdom among his 17 sons       son made duke of Cracow meant to hold seniority       meant to protect position of all his sons       instead, brought confusion and undermined hereditary principle       monarchy weakened over time   Piast dynasty    founded Poland in 960    only four rulers actually crowned       Boleslaw I (992 - 1025)       Mieszko II (1025 - 34)        Boleslaw II (1058 - 79)       Przemysl II (1295 - 6)   monarchy's strength only reestablished in 1320 when the Pope backed Wladyslaw Lokietek's coronation    Polish kingdom refounded       though lost control of Pomerelia, bordering Baltic sea, to the Teutonic Order       Silesia and Mazovia also retained independence    Lokietek - grandfather of King louis, great grandfather of jadwiga, jogaila adopted name previous monarch, Przemysl II, assassinated (1296) - opened Bohemian Premyslid dynasty claim to Polish throne    Silesian and Mazovian dukes swore homage to Bohemian king John of Luxembourg (1320, 1329 respectively)   Lokietek's son Casimir III (1333 - 70)    expanded east    Hungarian Arpad dynasty extincted, Neapolitan Angevins claim Hungarian crown    Bohemian Premyslid dynasty extincted, succeeded by the Luxembourgs        king of Bohemia Charles IV of Luxembourg elected Emperor of HRE (1347)    ceded Pomerania to the Teutonic Order   Casimir had no male heir    brother in law - Charles Robert, Angevin king of Hungary       1338 - made agreement with Luxembourgs          Polish throne should be inherited by Angevin dynasty, and CR would attempt to persuade Casimir to renounce claims to Silesia    1339 - Casimir agrees to renounce claims, agrees CR or his son Louis should inherit throne if Cas dies without sons   1339 Casimir's Lithuanian wife Aldona dies, had 2 daughters marries Adelheid of Hesse, they hate eachother, but she refuses annulment 1355 Casimir agrees to succession pact with Louis, 1369 confirms with signed treaty 1370 Casimir  legitimizes favorite grandson, Kazko of Stolp        Kazko - nephew in law to Charles IV       marries a daughter off to one of Charles IV's sons       Louis had no heirs, likely intended to ensure there would be an heir presumptive if Louis died before fathering any        Louis coronated in 1370    more concerned with Hungary than Poland, barely visited Poland    appointed his mother Elizabeth governor, she filled her court with hungarians    1376 - resentment turned into uprising, some of her court killed and she fled       resentment and uncertainty about succession    replaced by Piast duke until she returned in 1378   Poland only recognized patrilinial succession, Louis struggled to ensure one of his daughters would inherit    Koszyce agreement (1374) - Louis secured agreement that a daughter would inherit       chose Catherine, she died in 1378       negotiated betrothals for daughters Mary (to Sigismund,great grandson of Casimir III)  and Jadwiga (to William, son of Leopold III)       1379 chose Mary - Polish lords werent allowed to leave the city until they swore homage       Jadwiga to marry into Hungarian throne   1382- Louis dies       everybody ignores oaths       Hungarians delcare Mary their queen        Sigismund attempts to secure Polish throne for himself, but Polish nobility sick of absentee monarchy and will only declare loyalty if he promises to live in Poland permanently        Sigismund more interested in Hungary, returned to Hungary       Polish regency council support Jadwiga - crowned in 1384   concept of corona regni (corona regni Poloniae - crown of the Polish kingdom)      a kingdom corresponds to a people, not simply the territory of a king    "community of the realm" distinct from the king, justifies right of the political community to decide who rules       deeply embedded in medieval political consciousness       idea used to justify Polish lords choosing Jadwiga     three assemblies of Polish lords at Radomsk, Wislica, and Sieradz (1382 - 1383)    Jadwiga elected        end of patrimonial dynasticism        reinforced - monarchs must consult with the corona regni over succession       relatively bloodless succession despite several viable candidates          short lived armed conflict in Wielkopolska - support for last living male of Piast dynasty          community of the realm preferred to honor oaths sworn to Louis and gave succession to one of his daughters             community of the realm decided succession, not dynasty              agreement contained conflict    assemblies established precedent for Polish confederation