Vladislaus II of Hungary

: "This article refers to the 15th century Jagiellon monarch. For his grandfather who founded the dynasty, see Władysław II Jagiełło. For other monarchs with similar names, see Ladislaus Jagiello (disambiguation) or Ladislaus (disambiguation)".

Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary, also known as Ladislaus Jagiellon ( _cz. Vladislav Jagellonský, _hu. II. Ulászló, _hr. Vladislav II. Jagelović, _pl. Władysław II Jagiellończyk); (1 March 1456, Kraków, Poland – 13 March 1516, Buda, Hungary) was King of Bohemia from 1471 and King of Hungary from 1490 until his death in 1516. He was also a knight of the Order of the Dragon.

Vladislaus was born Władysław on March 1, 1456, the son of King Casimir IV of Poland and Great Prince of Lithuania, the then head of the ruling Jagiellon dynasty of Poland, 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 Vladislaus 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 Vladislaus 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 seventh Ladislas (VII) 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 Vladislaus was unable to confront it. At the time of his arrival in Prague, he was only fifteen years old and significantly dominated by his advisers. The succession conflict was settled in 1479 in the Peace of Olomouc, which allowed both Vladislaus and Matthias Corvinus to use the title "King of Bohemia." Vladislaus would reign in Bohemia proper, while Matthias gained Moravia, Silesia, and the two Lusatias. The deal also stipulated that in case of Matthias' death, Vladislaus would pay 400,000 gold (contemporary currency, not "gold") for the entirety of the Bohemian lands. However, this payment was not made once Vladislaus became King of Hungary after the death of Matthias.

The "Kutnohorian deal" in 1485 practically eliminated Vladislaus' 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 a cheerful man, nicknamed "Vladislaus Bene" ( _pl. Władysław Dobrze, _hu. 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 went through the revolt of György Dózsa.

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 of Bohemia and Hungary and Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia. Vladislaus died on March 13, 1516, and was buried in Székesfehérvár.

Vladislaus' 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.

Ancestors