Władysław II Jagiełło | |
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King Władysław II Jagiełło, detail of the Triptych of Our Lady of Sorrows in the Wawel Cathedral.
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Grand Duke of Lithuania | |
Reign | May 1377 – August 1381, 3/15 August 1382 – 1 June 1434 |
Predecessor | Algirdas |
Successor | Kęstutis (Aug 1381), Skirgaila (Jagiello's regent, 1386–1392), Vytautas (Jagiello's regent, 1392–1430) |
King of Poland | |
Reign | 4 March 1386 – 1 June 1434 |
Coronation | 4 March 1386 |
Predecessor | Jadwiga |
Successor | Władysław III |
Born | c. 1352/1362 Vilnius, Grand Duchy of Lithuania |
Died | 1 June 1434 Gródek Jagielloński, Kingdom of Poland |
Burial | Wawel Cathedral |
Spouse |
Jadwiga of Poland Anne of Cilli Elisabeth of Pilica Sophia of Halshany |
Issue |
Elizabeth Bonifacia Jadwiga of Lithuania Władysław III of Poland Casimir IV Jagiellon |
Dynasty |
Jagiellon (branch of the Gediminid dynasty) |
Father | Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania |
Mother | Uliana Alexandrovna of Tver |
Religion |
Roman Catholic prev. paganism |
Jogaila, later Władysław II Jagiełło (Polish pronunciation: [vwadɨˈswaf jaˈɡʲɛwːɔ]) (c. 1352/1362 – 1 June 1434) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434) and then the King of Poland (1386–1434), first alongside his wife Jadwiga until 1399, and then sole King of Poland. He ruled in Lithuania from 1377. Born a pagan, in 1386 he converted to Catholicism and was baptized as Władysław in Kraków, married the young Queen Jadwiga, and was crowned King of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło. In 1387 he converted Lithuania to Christianity. His own reign in Poland started in 1399, upon the death of Queen Jadwiga, and lasted a further thirty-five years and laid the foundation for the centuries-long Polish–Lithuanian union. He was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland that bears his name and was previously also known as the Gediminid dynasty in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The dynasty ruled both states until 1572, and became one of the most influential dynasties in late medieval and early modern Central and Eastern Europe. During his reign, the Polish-Lithuanian state was the largest state in the Christian world.
Jogaila was the last pagan ruler of medieval Lithuania. After he became King of Poland, as a result of the Union of Krewo, the newly formed Polish-Lithuanian union confronted the growing power of the Teutonic Knights. The allied victory at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, followed by the Peace of Thorn, secured the Polish and Lithuanian borders and marked the emergence of the Polish–Lithuanian alliance as a significant force in Europe. The reign of Władysław II Jagiełło extended Polish frontiers and is often considered the beginning of Poland's Golden Age.