Jagiellonian dynasty
The Jagiellonian (US: /ˌjɑːɡjəˈloʊniən/ YAH-gyə-LOH-nee-ən) or Jagellonian dynasty (US: /ˌjɑːɡəˈ-/ YAH-gə-; Lithuanian: Jogailaičių dinastija; Polish: dynastia jagiellońska), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (Polish: dynastia Jagiellonów), the House of Jagiellon (Polish: Dom Jagiellonów), or simply the Jagiellons (Lithuanian: Jogailaičiai; Polish: Jagiellonowie), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon reception by Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, of baptism as Władysław in 1386, which paved the way to his ensuing marriage to the Queen Regnant[a] Jadwiga of Poland, resulting in his ascension to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło (initially ruling jure uxoris jointly with Jadwiga until her death), and the effective promotion of his branch to a royal dynasty.[1][2] The Jagiellons reigned in several European countries between the 14th and 16th centuries. Members of the dynasty were Kings of Poland (1386–1572), Grand Dukes of Lithuania (1377–1392 and 1440–1572), Kings of Hungary (1440–1444 and 1490–1526), and Kings of Bohemia and imperial electors (1471–1526).[1]
"Jagiellonian" redirects here. The term may also refer to the Jagiellonian University.Jagiellons
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1386
1596
The personal union between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (converted in 1569 with the Treaty of Lublin into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) is the reason for the common appellation "Poland–Lithuania" in discussions about the area from the Late Middle Ages onward. One Jagiellon, Władysław III of Poland, briefly ruled both Poland and Hungary (1440–1444), and two others ruled both Bohemia and Hungary (1490–1526) and then continued in the distaff line as a branch of the House of Habsburg.
The Polish "Golden Age", the period of the reigns of Sigismund I and Sigismund II, the last two Jagiellonian kings, or more generally the 16th century, is most often identified with the rise of the culture of Polish Renaissance. The cultural flowering had its material base in the prosperity of the elites, both the landed nobility and urban patriciate at such centers as Kraków and Gdańsk.
Name[edit]
The name comes from Jogaila (Jagiełło), the first Grand Duke of Lithuania to become King of Poland. In Polish, the dynasty is known as Jagiellonowie and the patronymic form: Jagiellończyk; in Lithuanian it is called Jogailaičiai, in Belarusian Яґайлавічы (Jagajłavičy), in Hungarian Jagelló, and in Czech Jagellonci, as well as Jagello or Jagellon in Latin. Etymologically, the name Jogaila means "strong rider", from the Lithuanian words joti (to ride) and gailus (strong, powerful).
Pre-dynasty background[edit]
The rule of Piasts, the earlier Polish ruling house (c. 962–1370) had ended with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Gediminids, the immediate predecessors of the first Jagiellonian, were rulers of medieval Lithuania with the title of Grand Duke. Their realm, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was chiefly inhabited by Lithuanians and Ruthenians.
Jogaila, the eponymous first ruler of the Jagiellonian dynasty, started as the Grand Duke of Lithuania. As a result of the Union of Krewo he then converted to Christianity and married the 11-year-old Queen Jadwiga of Poland (daughter of King Louis I of Hungary from the Angevins Dynasty). Thereby he became jure uxoris King of Poland as her co-ruler and founded the dynasty. Angevin rulers were the second and Jagiellonian third dynasty of Polish Kings.