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Personal union
A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...
between the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
and the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...
was achieved twice: under
Louis I of Hungary
Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...
, in 1370–1382, and under
Władysław III of Poland
Władysław III (31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444), also known as Ladislaus of Varna, was King of Poland and the Supreme Duke (''Supremus Dux'') of Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1434 as well as King of Hungary and Croatia from 1440 until h ...
in 1440–1444. An earlier union was also accomplished by
Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
Wenceslaus III ( cz, Václav III., hu, Vencel, pl, Wacław, hr, Vjenceslav, sk, Václav; 6 October 12894 August 1306) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1301 and 1305, and King of Bohemia and King of Poland, Poland from ...
for a few months in 1305, although he was heavily resisted by local nobles in both kingdoms, and gave up the Hungarian crown soon after.
Angevin union
![Louis's kingdoms and his vassal territories (crop)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Louis%27s_kingdoms_and_his_vassal_territories_%28crop%29.png)
The first union came about when the last
Piast
The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule i ...
king of Poland,
Casimir III, designated his sororal nephew, the
Angevin
Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to:
*County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France
**Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou
**Counts and Dukes of Anjou
* House of Ingelger, a Frank ...
king
Louis I of Hungary
Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...
, as his
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
by the
Privilege of Buda
The Privilege of Buda (also known as the Treaty of Buda) was a set of promises and concessions made to ensure that Louis I of Hungary would succeed to his uncle Casimir III's Polish throne, thus enabling the union of Hungary and Poland.
Backgro ...
. Upon the death of Casimir, who left no legitimate sons, Louis ascended the Polish throne virtually unopposed. The
Polish nobility
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
welcomed his accession, rightly believing that Louis would be an absentee king who would not take much interest in Polish affairs. He sent his mother
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, sister of Casimir III, to govern Poland as regent.
Louis probably considered himself first and foremost king of Hungary; he visited his northern kingdom three times and spent there a couple of months altogether. Negotiations with the Polish nobility frequently took place in Hungary. Hungarians themselves were unpopular in Poland, as was the king's Polish mother who governed the kingdom. In 1376, ''circa'' 160 Hungarians in her retinue were massacred in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
and the queen returned to Hungary disgraced.
Louis replaced her with their relative,
Vladislaus II of Opole
Vladislaus II of Opole ( pl, Władysław Opolczyk, german: Wladislaus von Oppeln, hu, Oppelni László, uk, Владислав Опольчик; ca. 1332 – 18 May 1401), nicknamed Naderspan, was Duke of Opole from 1356, Count palatine of Hu ...
.
[{{cite book , last=Engel , first=Pál , title=Realm of St. Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary 895–1526 , publisher=I.B. Tauris , year=2005 , isbn=9781850439776 , url=http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Humanities/History/Regional%20%20national%20history/European%20history/Realm%20of%20St%20Stephen.aspx , access-date=9 May 2013]
During
Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
, Hungarian historians portrayed the union as an annexation of Poland into Hungary. In 1845,
Sándor Petőfi
Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; sk, Alexander Petrovič; sr, Александар Петровић; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet of Serbian origin and liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary's ...
wrote that "the falling stars of the north, the east and the south were all extinguished in Hungarian seas". In reality, Poland's independence remained largely uncompromised. King Louis saw to it that Hungarian influence in Poland was not greater than Polish influence in Hungary.
The union fell apart after Louis died in 1382. The dissatisfied Polish ''
szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
'' demanded that his successor in Hungary,
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, move to Kraków and reign over Hungary and Poland from there. Mary's mother,
Elizabeth of Bosnia
Elizabeth of Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Elizabeta Kotromanić, Елизабета Котроманић; hu, Kotromanics Erzsébet; pl, Elżbieta Bośniaczka; – January 1387) was queen consort of Hungary and Croatia, as well ...
(widow of Louis and grandniece of Casimir III's father,
Vladislaus I), knew that the lack of supporters would render her influence at least as restricted as that of her mother-in-law and refused to move.
She abandoned the idea of attempting to subdue the Polish nobility by force and agreed to send her younger surviving daughter,
Hedwig Hedwig may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist
* Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist
* Romanus Adol ...
, to be crowned as Louis' successor in Poland. The union had lasted little more than a decade and ended as peacefully as it had started.
Jagiellonian union
![Gouldgulden Wladyslawa III Warnenczyka](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Gouldgulden_Wladyslawa_III_Warnenczyka.jpg)
By the end of the century, Louis had no descendants. Both Mary and Hedwig had died, the former heavily pregnant and the latter soon after giving birth to a
short-lived daughter. In 1440,
Vladislaus III of Poland
Vladislav ( be, Уладзіслаў (', '); pl, Władysław, ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav'' ...
, son of Hedwig's widower and successor
Władysław II Jagiełło
Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. w ...
, was elected king of Hungary. The election was fiercely disputed by
Elizabeth of Luxembourg
Elizabeth of Luxembourg ( hu, Luxemburgi Erzsébet; 7 October 1409 – 19 December 1442) was queen consort of Hungary, queen consort of Germany and Bohemia.
The only child of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, King of Hungary and Bohemia, Eliza ...
, daughter of Mary's widower and successor
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
. A two-year civil war ensued, ending upon Elizabeth's death in 1442. Vladislaus' own death in
battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in 1444 ended the union.
See also
*
Polish–Lithuanian union Polish–Lithuanian can refer to:
* Polish–Lithuanian union (1385–1569)
* Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)
* Polish-Lithuanian identity as used to describe groups, families, or individuals with histories in the Polish–Lithuanian ...
*
Polish–Swedish union
The Polish–Swedish union was a short-lived personal union between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Kingdom of Sweden between 1592 and 1599. It began when Sigismund III Vasa, elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, was c ...
*
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
*
Union of Hungary and Romania
The union of Hungary and Romania comprises proposed unsuccessful 20th-century mostly interbellum attempts to unite the Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom or Hungarian Republic (1919–1920), Republic of Hungary with the Kingdom of Romania. Such proposal ...
References
Hungary–Poland relations
Personal unions
Polish monarchy
14th century in Poland
15th century in Poland
14th century in Hungary
15th century in Hungary
1370 in Europe
1440 in Europe