Editing History of Poland (section)

==Jagiellonian dynasty (1385–1572)==

{{further|History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty}}

===Dynastic union with Lithuania, Władysław II Jagiełło===

[[File:Battle of Tannenberg.jpg|thumb|right|A representation of the [[Battle of Grunwald]], a great military contest of the [[Late Middle Ages]]]]

In 1386, Grand Duke [[Władysław II Jagiełło|Jogaila]] of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]] converted to [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] and married Queen Jadwiga of Poland. This act enabled him to become a king of Poland himself,<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix">{{Harvnb|Davies|2005a|pp=xxviii–xxix}}</ref> and he ruled as [[Władysław II Jagiełło]] until his death in 1434. The marriage established a [[personal union|personal]] [[Polish–Lithuanian union]] ruled by the [[Jagiellonian dynasty]]. The first in a series of formal "unions" was the [[Union of Krewo]] of 1385, whereby arrangements were made for the marriage of Jogaila and Jadwiga.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> The Polish–Lithuanian partnership brought vast areas of [[Ruthenia]] controlled by the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for the nationals of both countries, who coexisted and cooperated in one of the largest political entities in Europe for the next four centuries. When Queen Jadwiga died in 1399, the Kingdom of Poland fell to her husband's sole possession.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Wyrozumski|1986|pp=178–195}}.</ref>

In the [[Baltic Sea]] region, Poland's struggle with the Teutonic Knights continued and culminated in the [[Battle of Grunwald]] (1410),<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> a great victory that the Poles and Lithuanians were unable to follow up with a decisive strike against the main seat of the [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]] at [[Malbork Castle]]. The [[Union of Horodło]] of 1413 further defined the evolving relationship between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Wyrozumski|1986|pp=195–201}}.</ref>

The privileges of the ''[[szlachta]]'' (nobility) kept expanding and in 1425 the rule of ''[[Neminem captivabimus]]'', which protected the noblemen from arbitrary royal arrests, was formulated.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/>

===Władysław III and Casimir IV Jagiellon===

[[File:Król Kazimierz Jagiellończyk z królową Elżbietą i ich dzieci.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Jagiellonian dynasty|Jagiellonian]] bloodline; King [[Casimir IV Jagiellon|Casimir IV]] was the central figure of the Jagiellonian period and the father of four kings.]]

The reign of the young [[Władysław III of Poland|Władysław III]] (1434–44),<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> who succeeded his father Władysław II Jagiełło and ruled as king of [[Union of Hungary and Poland|Poland and Hungary]], was cut short by his death at the [[Battle of Varna]], during a [[Crusade of Varna|crusade]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Wyrozumski|1986|pp=201–204}}.</ref> This disaster led to an [[interregnum]] of three years that ended with the accession of Władysław's brother [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] in 1447.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Critical developments of the Jagiellonian period were concentrated during Casimir IV's long reign, which lasted until 1492. In 1454, [[Royal Prussia]] was incorporated by Poland and the [[Thirteen Years' War (1454–66)|Thirteen Years' War of 1454–66]] with the [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic state]] ensued.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> In 1466, the milestone [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)|Peace of Thorn]] was concluded. This treaty divided Prussia to create [[East Prussia]], the future [[Duchy of Prussia]], a separate entity that functioned as a [[fief]] of Poland under the administration of the Teutonic Knights.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> Poland also confronted the Ottoman Empire and the [[Crimean Khanate|Crimean Tatars]] in the south, and in the east helped Lithuania fight the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]]. The country was developing as a [[feudalism|feudal]] state, with a predominantly agricultural economy and an increasingly dominant [[landed nobility]]. [[Kraków]], the royal capital, was turning into a major academic and cultural center, and in 1473 the first [[printing press]] began operating there.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> With the growing importance of ''[[szlachta]]'' (middle and lower nobility), the king's council evolved to become by 1493 a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|General Sejm]] (parliament) that no longer represented exclusively top dignitaries of the realm.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Wyrozumski|1986|pp=205–225}}.</ref>

The ''[[Nihil novi]]'' act, adopted in 1505 by the Sejm, transferred most of the [[legislature|legislative power]] from the monarch to the Sejm.<ref name="playground I xxviii-xxix"/> This event marked the beginning of the period known as "[[Golden Liberty]]", when the state was ruled in principle by the "free and equal" Polish nobility. In the 16th century, the massive development of [[folwark]] agribusinesses operated by the nobility led to increasingly abusive conditions for the [[peasant]] [[serfdom in Poland|serfs]] who worked them. The political monopoly of the nobles also stifled the development of cities, some of which were thriving during the late Jagiellonian era, and limited the rights of townspeople, effectively holding back the emergence of the [[middle class]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Gierowski|1986a|pp=24–53}}.</ref>

===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.