Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/301

Rh 1280-1447.] POLAND 289 doctrines were not entirely strange to him. The prin cipality of Lithuania at that time stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and eastwards to within a short distance of Moscow. Its religion was Greek Church, and its official language White Russian. The Lithuanian tongue, so interesting to the philologist, seems never to have been anything more than a peasants language, and no official documents whatever have come down to us in it. This was not the first marriage between the sovereigns of the two countries, as the first wife of Casimir the Great, Anna Aldona, had been a daughter of Gedymin, a Lithu anian prince. Originally Jadwiga felt a repugnance to the marriage with Jagiello on account of the coarse and repul sive manners of the barbarian, and also because she had previously plighted herself to the archduke William of Austria. The matter was referred to her mother Elizabeth of Hungary, who expressed herself favourable to the marriage. The archduke, however, did not abandon his hopes without a struggle ; he made his appearance with a splendid retinue at Cracow, but eventually retired on finding that the prosecution of his suit would lead to no favourable result. The new candidate arrived at the metropolis after him, and Jadwiga accepted his proposals. In 1386 they were married, and from that year we may date the com mencement of the dynasty of the Jagiellos in Poland, which lasted for nearly two centuries, terminating in 1572, indeed, we may say nearly a century longer, omit ting the short and brilliant period of Batory (1576-1586), for Sigismund III. was the son of Catherine daughter of Sigismund II., and Wladyslaw IV. and John Casimir were his sons ; after the death of the latter the throne became entirely elective. The new sovereign was baptized by the name of Wladyslaw. Having been converted himself, he forced his subjects to be converted by the simple process which seems to have prevailed over all Slavonic countries. Wladystaw is said to have assisted in these pious labours with persuasion as well as command, and by these means Lithuania, which had remained heathen longer than any other part of Europe, was finally Christianized. We are told, however, by travellers of heathen customs remaining long afterwards. Although owing so much to his consort, the king seems to have treated her with jealousy and suspicion. On his impugning her chastity, she insisted on being confronted with her calumniators. The investigation resulted in Jadwiga s triumphant acquittal ; and we are told by Dlugosz that her accuser was compelled in the singular fashion of the country to prostrate himself under a table and declare that he had lied like a dog, and at the same time to imitate the barking of that animal. We are further informed that this punishment for defamation continued in force in Poland until the close of the 18th century. The nobles wrested several important privileges from Wladyslaw ; and from this time we can trace step by step the rise of that fierce oligarchy which brought so much trouble upon the unfortunate kingdom. They secured for themselves exemption from all contributions when called to serve beyond the frontiers, and an allow ance of five marks for every horseman ; they also procured the exclusion of members of the royal family from all the higher offices of the state, reserving these for themselves. In the reign of Wladyslaw many expeditions were under taken against those inhabitants of Lithuania who preferred to remain pagans. In 1410 also occurred the great battle of Griinwald near Tanneberg in Prussia, in which the Teutonic knights were completely defeated and Ulrica von Jungingen, the grand master, killed. Wladyslaw died in 1434, and was succeeded by his son of the same name. His queen Jadwiga had died in 1399 ; she appears to have been greatly beloved by the Poles, and was canonized after death, miracles, it is said, being wrought at her intercession. The consolidation of Lithuania with Poland was destined to be a much more tedious and protracted matter than its somewhat violent union. Great as may have been the grief of Wladystaw at the death of Jad wiga, it did not prevent him from contracting three subse quent marriages,, the third wife being Sophia, a princess of Kieff. The younger Wladyslaw was able soon after his acces sion to add (by election) both Bohemia and Hungary to his dominions. He then commenced an expedition against the Turks, who under their sultan Amurath II. were pressing the siege of Belgrade, having already annihilated the ill- starred Lazar and his army at the battle of Kossovo in 1389. At first Wladyslaw was everywhere successful, and had instilled such terror into the Turks that Amurath proposed a truce for ten years and offered to cede all his conquests except Bulgaria. The conditions, having been accepted, were ratified by mutual pledges ; unfortunately Wladystaw was induced by Cardinal Cesarini to recommence the war and violate his oaths. The sultan on hearing of this perjury at once prepared for battle at the head of a for midable army. The encounter took place at Varna, in Battle of the present principality of Bulgaria. After performing Varna, prodigies of valour, Wtadystaw was defeated and slain. Hardly a fifth part of the Polish army escaped from the battle, and of these many perished in the swamps of the Dobrudja. This melancholy engagement, which formed, as the Polish chroniclers tell us, the subject of so many lays whereof it is a great pity that none have come down to us is fully described by Kromer (p. 327-8), who adds many omens and pious reflexions. He dwells with delight upon the conspiracy of twelve noble captives, who would have murdered Amurath if their plot had not been re vealed by a Bulgarian, whereupon they committed suicide : &quot; In necem ejus conjurarunt, peregissentque facinus prae- clarum et omnibus seculis memorabile nisi in ipso articulo a Bulgaro, quern unum consilii socium adhibuerant, proditi essent.&quot; There is also another curious account in the Memoirs of a Janissary, an early Polish work which will be further described in the section devoted to literature. The memory of the unhappy young prince, who was only in his twenty-first year, was long cherished amongst his countrymen, although, as Kromer tells us, during his short reign he almost drained the treasury and was so busied with the Turkish war that he had but little time to attend to the wants of his Polish subjects. The votaries of Mohammed were now beginning to make themselves a great name in Europe, and were already marching trium phant over the ruins of the effete Eastern empire. The imperial city itself was soon to fall, and the crescent to be placed upon the domes of Saint Sophia. After a brief interregnum Kazimierz, brother of the deceased king, was chosen to succeed him; he had previously been grand-duke of Lithuania. In this reign the Poles carried on successful wars with the Teutonic knights, which resulted in a peace, by which western Prussia, including Pomerania and the cities Dantzic, Thorn, and others, were to belong to Kazimie rz, while eastern Prussia was left to the knights, who were, however, to hold it as a fief of the crown, and each subsequent grand master was to be the vassal (koldownik) of the Polish king and senate. Permanent encroachments were made, however, upon the dominions of the &quot; Republic &quot; (Rzeczpospolita) by Ivan III., who reannexed to the Russian crown Nov gorod, which had been incorporated by the Lithuanians ; he also appropriated a considerable portion of White Russia. The great Muscovite empire was now just becom ing welded into a compact whole ; with Ivan III. was to commence the era of consolidation, with Ivan IV. that of absolutism. In this reign the nobles first elected nuntii XIX. - 37