Sigismund I

Sigismund (Polish: Zygmunt I Stary, Lithuanian: Žygimantas II Senasis) was born in the town of Kozienice in 1467 as the 2nd youngest son of Casimir V and his wife Elizabeth II, he was one of 13 children and was not expected to become king. Sigismund's eldest brother and rightful heir Wladyslaw II instead became King of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia and his 2nd eldest brother Casimir died young.

When Casimir V died in 1492, the Polish-Lithuanian realm was divided between the remaining 2 older sons, John II Albert being crowned King of Poland co-ruling with Elizabeth and Alexander sovereign rule over Lithuania, Alexander inherited Poland following John II Albert's sudden death in 1501 and his mother's death in 1505.​

Sigismund was married twice, first to Barbara Zápolya m.1512-1515 grand daughter of Przemysław II Duke of Cieszyn and then Bona Sforza m.1517-1548, daughter of Gian Gelazzo, Duke of Milan. Their only surviving son and last Jagiellon ruler Sigismund Augustus was crowned Co-ruler in 1529 and assumed the throne when Sigismund died in 1548, a capable monarch and a patron of arts, Sigismund established Polish rule over Ducal Prussia and annexed the Duchy of Mazovia with Warsaw, while retaining the nation's wealth and prominence in the region.

Sigismund was intermittently at war with Vasili III of Muscow beginning in 1507, before the Polish army was fully under his command. Further tensions escalated when Vasili also discovered that Sigismund was bribing Khan Meñli I Giray to attack the Grand Duchy of Moscow, in 1512, Grand Hetman of Lithuania, Konstanty Ostrogski, ransacked the region of Severia and vanquished a Russian force of approximately 6,000 men.

On 8th September 1514, Muscovy suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Orsha, which prevented the Russians to place all the former Kievan Rus lands under their lordship, Poland exploited the battle for propaganda purposes with strong anti-Russian sentiment,​ a letter sent to Rome stated that "Muscovites are not Christians; they are cruel and barbaric; they are Asians not Europeans; they are in league with Turks and Tatars to destroy Christendom, regardless of victory, the Polish–Lithuanian troops were incapable of moving quickly to retake Smolensk.​

He made sure that his nephew Albert, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and Albert's Protestant successors would pay feudal homage or tribute to Polish monarchs as a sign of political and diplomatic dependence, the Chamber of Deputies extended the constitution of Nihil novi, during Alexander's reign, the law of Nihil novi had been instituted, which forbade kings from enacting laws without consent of the Sejm.​
The royal Sigismund bell is a 12.6-tonne bell installed on 13th July 1521 in Wawel Cathedral, apart from religious and national holidays, the bell rung on some of the most significant moments in Polish history like Independence day and Constitution day.​​​Worried about the growing ties between the Habsburgs and Rurikids, in 1524 Sigismund signed a Franco-Polish alliance with Francis I of France to avoid a possible war on 2 fronts.

Francis I himself was looking for allies in Central Europe to curtail the increasing power of Habsburg Emperor Charles V, the negotiations came to an end when Francis troops were defeated by the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Pavia​ in 1525, disturbed by the failure of his campaign, Francis turned to Hungary instead and formed a ​Franco-Hungarian alliance with King John Zápolya in 1528.​ Sigismund's nephew Albert, Grand Master of the Teutonic order, converted to Lutheranism under the persuasion of Martin Luther and paid a feudal homage to Sigismund, in return he was granted the domains of the Order ​as the first Duke of Prussia.​​

The Prussian Landtag and parliament assembled in Königsberg, where envoys embraced both the new Duke and the Protestant Reformation. Thereupon, the Teutonic Order lost its importance as a military order in Prussia and retreated to the Holy Roman Empire where it became secluded; to strengthen his power, Sigismund established a permanent conscription army in 1527 and extended the bureaucratic apparatus necessary to govern the state and finance the army.​​​​​​​

He bought land and issue agriculture reforms to enlarge the royal treasury.​​​ In 1534 the king issued 2 statutes defining the rules for the selection of the monarch, which permanently established the election viritim. The laws held that all social groups, regardless of their wealth, could watch the election process and the election was free.​Sigismund and his commander Jan Amor Tarnowski defeated Moldavia at Obertyn in 1531 and​ Moscow in 1535, strengthening the country's eastern borders.

The Chicken war was an anti-royalist and anti-absolutist revolt by the Polish nobility that occurred in Lviv 1537, the derisive name was claimed that the "wars" only effected the local chickens, eaten by nobles gathered for the rebellion, the nobles presented him with 36 demands, most notably a cessation of further land acquisitions by Queen Bona, exemption of the nobility from the tithe, confirmation and extension of privileges for nobles and adoption of a law concerning Incompatibilitas, the role of the Incompatibilitas was to prevent wealthy magnates from usurping too much power at the expense of lesser nobles.

However, the revolt soon transpired that the nobility leaders were divided and that achieving a settlement was almost impossible, too weak to start a civil war against the King, the protesters finally agreed to what was thought a compromise.​ Sigismund had a profound interest in Renaissance humanism and the revival of classical antiquity. His consort Bona Sforza was also instrumental in developing the Polish Renaissance and brought renowned Italian artists, architects and sculptors from her country.​​​ Sigismund's chapel was constructed between 1519 and 1533 according to plans by Bartolomeo Berreci it serves as a mausoleum of the last Jagiellons.

The exterior dome is gold plated and tombs made of marble were designed by Santi Gucci, most of the decorators working for the court were foreigners who had profound impact on Poland's architecture. The centre piece of their work is Wawel Castle, the fortified residence was reconstructed in the renaissance style.​​​ Sigismund achieved several economic successes like partial debt reduction, separation accounts of public taxation from the royal treasury, strengthening the activities of mint operating in Kraków and the attempt to organise the processing of income from operating salt mines.​​

Sigismund suffered from numerous illnesses and diseases, especially towards the end of his life, most notably, he was tormented by constant fevers since youth as well as Gout and Rheumatism in the autumn of 1528. The condition, which severely affected his joints and right leg, was repetitive and continued in 1529 and 1534, large amounts of beer and mead contributed to the king's failing health.

Eventually, the king's inability to walk forced him to be carried in a litter (vehicle), however, despite his age, Sigismund remained active in politics until death.​ Sigismund died on 1st April 1548 at the age of 81 and was buried on 7th July at Wawel Cathedral, he was succeeded by his son Sigismund II Augustus.​
Category:Kings of Poland
Category:Grand Dukes of Lithuania
Category:1467 births
Category:1548 deaths