Editing History of Poland (section)

===Early modern Poland under Sigismund I and Sigismund II===

[[File:Nikolaus Kopernikus.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Nicolaus Copernicus]] formulated the [[Heliocentrism|heliocentric]] model of the [[Solar System]] that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at its center]]

In the 16th century, [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Reformation]] movements made deep inroads into Polish Christianity and the resulting [[History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty#Reformation|Reformation in Poland]] involved a number of different [[Christian denomination|denominations]]. The policies of religious tolerance that developed in Poland were nearly unique in Europe at that time and many who fled regions torn by religious strife found refuge in Poland. The reigns of King [[Sigismund I the Old]] (1506–1548) and King [[Sigismund II Augustus]] (1548–1572) witnessed an intense cultivation of culture and science (a [[Polish Golden Age|Golden Age]] of the [[Renaissance in Poland]]), of which the astronomer [[Nicolaus Copernicus]] (1473–1543)<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> is the best known representative. [[Jan Kochanowski]] (1530–1584) was a poet and the premier artistic personality of the period.<ref name="playground I xxix"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Gierowski|1986a|pp=116–130}}.</ref> In 1525, during the reign of Sigismund I,<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> the Teutonic Order was secularized and Duke [[Albert, Duke of Prussia|Albert]] performed an act of homage before the Polish king (the [[Prussian Homage]]) for his fief, the Duchy of Prussia.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> [[Mazovia]] was finally fully incorporated into the Polish Crown in 1529.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Gierowski|1986a|pp=53–92}}.</ref>

[[File:Poland-01788 - Courtyard (32000957141).jpg|thumb|left|The Italian courtyard at [[Wawel Castle]] in [[Kraków]], the former seat of Polish monarchs]]

The reign of Sigismund II ended the Jagiellonian period, but gave rise to the [[Union of Lublin]] (1569), an ultimate fulfillment of the union with Lithuania. This agreement transferred [[Ukraine]] from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to Poland and transformed the [[Polish–Lithuanian union|Polish–Lithuanian polity]] into a [[real union]],<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> preserving it beyond the death of the childless Sigismund II, whose active involvement made the completion of this process possible.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gierowski|1986a|pp=92–109}}.</ref>

[[Livonia]] in the far northeast was incorporated by Poland in 1561 and Poland entered the [[Livonian War]] against Russia.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> The [[executionist movement]], which attempted to check the progressing domination of the state by the [[magnates of Poland and Lithuania|magnate families of Poland and Lithuania]], peaked at the Sejm in [[Piotrków Trybunalski|Piotrków]] in 1562–63.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> On the religious front, the [[Polish Brethren]] split from the [[Calvinism|Calvinists]], and the Protestant [[Brest Bible]] was published in 1563.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> The [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]], who arrived in 1564,<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> were destined to make a major impact on Poland's history.