Vladislav II Jagiellon

Vladislav was born on March 1, 1456 in the family of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV of the Jagiellonian and Elizabeth of Austria , daughter of Albrecht II of Habsburg .

He was proposed as the heir to the Czech throne by the widow of the previous king ( Jiří from Podebrad ) and crowned as king of the Czech Republic under the name of Vladislav II on August 22, 1471 . Inherited the title of King of Hungary on September 18, 1490 (under the name of Ulaslo) after the death of Matthias Hunyadi , who also sought the Czech crown.

After the death of Jiří from Podebrad , the struggle for the Czech crown began. When Vladislav arrived in Prague, he was only fifteen years old and he was very dependent on advisers. The dispute over inheritance was settled in 1479 by the Olomouc Treaty , which allowed both Vladislav and Matyash Hunyadi to use the title “King of the Czech Republic”. Vladislav was to rule the Czech Republic, and Matthias received Moravia , Silesia and both Puddles . Also, in the event of the death of Matthias, Vladislav had to pay 400,000 gold for the reunification of Czech lands. However, the last condition was canceled when Vladislav became king of Hungary after the death of Matthias.

The Kutnagor peace in 1485 reaffirmed religious freedom in the Czech Republic by establishing equal religious rights for Catholics and Utraquists (this condition, however, did not apply to the community of Czech brothers ). The terms of the agreement were set for 31 years, but were extended in 1512 to "all times."

Election by the Hungarian King

After the death of Matthias Hunyadi in early 1490, several candidates were nominated for the throne of Hungary. The national party was represented by the late son of the deceased king, Janos Corvin , a major tycoon and an outstanding commander, but a weak politician.

The son of the latter, Maximilian I of Habsburg , king of Germany and Archduke of Austria , had the strongest legal basis for his claims to the crown, based on the mutual inheritance treaty of 1463 Matthias Hunyadi and Frederick III . However, Maximilian has already established himself as a strong and independent politician, which was unacceptable for the Hungarian nobility, seeking to expand its control over public administration.

Among the other applicants, the Jagiellonian brothers Vladislav and Jan Olbracht , whose mother was the granddaughter of the Hungarian king Zhigmond and sister Laszlo V, stood out.

The victory was ultimately won by Vladislav, who agreed to sign an election surrender , guaranteeing the preservation of the rights and privileges of Hungarian magnates and nobles, as well as the abolition of all irregular taxes and loans. Vladislav was crowned king of Hungary under the name Ulaslo II .

The rebellion of Janos Korvin, who did not agree with the election of Vladislav, was suppressed in 1491 .

The Parliament of Croatia , which was connected with the Hungarian kingdom by a personal unity and had autonomy, refused to recognize Vladislav II as king in 1490, because the letter of accession to the throne contained the name of the state “Kingdom of Hungary and Regions under Royal Control”. In 1492, the king was recognized in Croatia after this text was changed to “Kingdom of Hungary, the kingdoms of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia and part of Transylvania” (Regnum Ungariae cum caeteris regnis scilicet Dalmatiae Croatiae et Slavoniae et partibus Transylvanis) ^[1] .

Strengthening the nobility

The rule of Ulaslo II in Hungary was distinguished by relative calm both within the state and on its borders. For all the time of his reign, no attempts have been made to overthrow the king. Such stability was mainly due to the fact that the local nobility and tycoons effectively used state institutions to establish and maintain their power and in fact completely controlled the king’s policies. Ulaslo II continued the policy of his predecessor in relying on the broad strata of the nobility and did not take any action that was contrary to his interests. For his complaisance, Ulaslo II received the nickname "Vladislav Dobzhe" or "Vladislav Bene", since he answered "almost" to almost any request ( Polish. Dobrze ; lat. Bene ).

So, in the interests of the nobility, a decree was issued obliging cities and towns that did not have royal status to pay a natural nine to local feudal lords. Hungarian nobles actively participated in state assemblies and determined its decisions. The strengthening of the political role of the nobility led to the formation of an alliance of magnates and nobles in order to limit royal power. The nobles managed to pass through the state assembly the abolition of the military tax, which forced Ulaslo II to dissolve the hired troops, which in turn significantly weakened Hungary's defenses in the context of the aggravation of the Ottoman threat and upset the state treasury. All attempts by Ulaslo II to persuade the State Assembly to resume the collection of the military tax met with fierce resistance from the nobles and were unsuccessful.

During the reign of Ulaslo II, the Hungarian nobility managed to significantly expand their privileges. In 1482, the king’s right to call the nobles on military trips abroad was limited.

In 1495, a law was passed on the right of every nobleman to personally participate and vote in Hungarian state assemblies.

By 1498, the dominance passed to the nobility in both the Hungarian State Council and the Royal Court. In the same year, it was found that the introduction of military taxes could be carried out exclusively by decision of the State Assembly, in which the nobles completely dominated. In addition, under pressure from the nobility, starting in 1492, a series of laws were passed on the attachment of peasants to the land and a sharp increase in corvee . The Hungarian economy at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries experienced a boom associated with rising agricultural prices in Europe. To increase exports, the nobility needed to expand agricultural production and strengthen their power over the peasants, which led to curtailing the tendency to replace corvée with money and the “secondary enslavement” of the peasants. Ulaslo II's laws on serfdom led to the preservation of outdated production relations in agriculture, the growth of social instability, and the erosion of the political base of royal power. ^[2]

The struggle of nobles and magnates

At the same time, the steady growth of the power of the nobility caused discontent among the large aristocracy and provoked an aggravation of the conflict between the nobles and the magnates. In 1498, the Hungarian State Assembly recorded a list of 41 large landowners who were entitled and required to maintain their own troops. This finally formalized the separation of the estate of magnates from the rest of the Hungarian nobility. Soon, between the tycoons and nobles, the struggle for power and influence in the country began. Later, the magnates began to be credited with the “pro-Gabsburg” position, and the nobles “national”, but in reality the composition and tactics of the warring factions changed quite often.

Already in the years 1503 - 1504 at a state assembly, the noble and baronial parties clashed over the appointment of a palatine .

In 1504, a debate broke out over the inheritance of the lands of the Hunyadi house after the death of Janos Corvin. The victory was won by the nobles and their candidate for the inheritance of Janos Zapolyai , the governor of Transylvania , who soon became the leader of the "noble party". Clashes within the political elite significantly weakened the country in the face of a rapidly growing external threat from the Ottoman Empire.

The pinnacle of noble autocracy during the reign of Ulaslo II was the state assembly of 1505, which was held on the Rakos field with the full arming of its participants. The assembly approved a law prohibiting the inheritance of the Hungarian throne by a foreigner, who was directed directly against Ulaslo II and his policy of dynastic union with the Habsburgs . Despite the decision of the state assembly, the king in 1506 entered into an agreement with Maximilian I, confirming the Habsburg inheritance of the Hungarian and Czech thrones after the end of the male Jagiellonian line. This aroused the indignation of the Hungarian nobility, however, the birth of the son of the king, the future Louis (Lajos) II , relieved the tension in the country.

Foreign Policy

His rule in Hungary was mostly stable, although the borders of Hungary were under constant pressure from the Ottoman Empire , and the uprising of György Doji took place in the country itself.

He was married three times:

• first on Barbara , daughter of Albrecht III of Brandenburg ,
• widow of Matthias Beatrice of Naples , daughter of Fernando I of Naples .
• and Anna de Foix , who finally gave birth to him healthy, legitimate children: Anna and Lajoche .

Vladislav died on March 13 , 1516 , and was buried in Szekesfehervar .

The ten-year-old son of Vladislav Lajos (Ludvik) inherited from him the thrones of the Czech Republic and Hungary. On July 22, 1515, in Vienna , St. Stephen's Cathedral hosted a double wedding of Lajos and his sister Anna with the Austrian princess Maria and Prince Ferdinand , in connection with which after the death of Lajos in the Mojac battle, the right of inheritance passed through Anna to the eastern branch of the Habsburgs.