Image: Anne of Bohemia (1290 1313) (4458925550)

Description: A small dime sized silver coin from the reign of Vladislav II of Hungary.

Vladislav II Jagiellon (1490-1516)

Vladislav II of Bohemia and Hungary, also known as Ladislaus Jagiellon (Czech: Vladislav Jagellonský, Hungarian: II. Ulászló, Croatian: Vladislav II. Jagelovic, Polish: Wladyslaw II Jagiellonczyk), was King of Bohemia from 1471 and King of Hungary from 1490 until his death in 1516. Vladislav was born Wladyslaw on March 1, 1456, the son of King Casimir IV of Poland and Great Prince of Lithuania, the then head of the Polish ruling dynasty of Jagiellon, and of Elizabeth of Bohemia, daughter of Albert II of Germany. He was christened as the namesake of his maternal uncle King Ladislaus the Posthumous of Bohemia and his late paternal uncle Vladislav of Varna, an earlier king of Hungary.

He was proposed for the Bohemian throne by the widow of the previous king, George of Podebrady, and was crowned as the King of Bohemia (Vladislav) on August 22, 1471. He was crowned as King of Hungary on September 18, 1490, in succession to Matthias Corvinus, who had also claimed the Bohemian throne. No regnal number was used by Vladislav at the time, but works of reference retrospectively assigned him various ordinals for each of his kingdoms. The most usual number is II, though he was also the eighth Ladislas (VIII) on the Hungarian throne and the fifth Vladislav (V) on the Bohemian throne. The period after the death of George of Podebrady was a time of conflict for the Bohemian throne and Vladislav was unable to confront it. At the time of his arrival in Prague, he was only fifteen-years-old and practically dominated by his advisers. The succession conflict was settled in 1479 in the Peace of Olomouc, which allowed both Vladislav and Matthias Corvinus to use the title "King of Bohemia." Vladislav would reign in Bohemia proper, while Matthias gained Moravia, Silesia, and the two Lusatias. The deal also stipulated that in case of Matthias´ death, Vladislav would pay 400,000 gold (contemporary currency, not "gold") for the entirety of the Bohemian lands. However, this payment was not made once Vladislav became King of Hungary after the death of Matthias.

The "Kutnohorian deal" in 1485 practically eliminated Vladislav's power and granted it to the nobles. The deal in its original form would have been in effect for 31 years, but was extended in 1512 to "all times." He was married three times, first to Barbara, daughter of Albert III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg, then to the widow of Matthias, Beatrice of Naples, daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples. His third wife was Anne de Foix, who finally gave birth to his only surviving legitimate children, Anna and Louis. Vladislav died on March 13, 1516, and was buried in Székesfehérvár. He was a cheerful man, nicknamed "Vladislav Bene" ("Wladyslaw Dobrze", "Dobzse László") because to almost any request he answered, "Bene" (Latin for "(It's) well"). His reign in Hungary was largely stable, although Hungary was under consistent border pressure from the Ottoman Empire and briefly suffered from the revolt of György Dózsa. Vladislavs' ten-year-old son Louis succeeded him on the thrones of both Bohemia and Hungary. His daughter Anna was married in 1515 to the future emperor Ferdinand of Austria, a grandson of Emperor Maximilian I Habsburg. Therefore, after the death of Louis at the Battle of Mohács, the succession devolved through Anna to the cadet line of eastern Habsburgs.
Author: Jerry "Woody" from Edmonton, Canada
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