Editing Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (section)

=== Anti-Polish alliances ===
On a number of occasions, and in 1410 in particular, Sigismund allied himself with the [[Teutonic Knights]] against [[Jogaila|Władysław II]] of Poland. In return for 300,000 ducats he would attack [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Poland]] from the south after the truce on St. John's Day, 24 June expired. Sigismund ordered his most loyal friend [[Stibor of Stiboricz]] to set up the attack on Poland. Stibor of Stiboricz was of Polish origin and from the main line of the powerful [[Clan of Ostoja]] that had also been against choosing Jagiello as King of Poland. With the support of Sigismund, Stibor became one of the most influential men in late medieval Europe, holding titles as [[Duke]] of [[Transylvania]] and owning about 25% of modern-day [[Slovakia]], including 31 castles of which 15 were situated around the 406&nbsp;km long [[Váh]] river with surrounding land that was given to him by Sigismund. In the diplomatic struggle to prevent war between Poland-Lithuania, which was supported by the Muscovites, and the Teutonic Knights, Sigismund used Stibor's fine diplomacy to gain financially. The Polish side appointed several negotiators and most of them were also from the [[Clan of Ostoja]], distant relations of the Stibors. However, those "family meetings" could not prevent the war and an alliance of twenty-two western states formed an army against Poland in the [[Battle of Grunwald]] in July 1410. Stibor attacked then [[Nowy Sącz]] and burned it to the ground, but after that, he returned with his army back to the [[Beckov Castle]]. After the Polish-Lithuanian victory in the [[Battle of Grunwald]], the Teutonic Knights had to pay a huge sum of silver to Poland as reparation and again, through the diplomacy of his friend Stibor, Sigismund was able to borrow all this silver from King Władysław II of Poland on good conditions. In the light of facts about the diplomatic work of Stibor and the Clan of Ostoja that was following the politics of King Sigismund, one can question whether Sigismund actually joined the anti-Polish alliance.<ref>Dvořáková, Daniela : Rytier a jeho kráľ. Stibor zo Stiboríc a Žigmund Lucemburský. Budmerice, Vydavatel'stvo Rak 2003, {{ISBN|978-80-85501-25-4}}</ref>