Poland in Tudor Times

Tudor Poland

Polish Monarchs in Tudor times

In 1506 Alexander 1 of Poland died. He ruled a country which stretched from the ice-cold Baltic, to the black sea! It was a vast kingdom, which was in its golden age. Poland also ruled Lithuania, a vast country, which was run by the Polish king. This was the middle of the reign of the Jagellonian dynasty and the middle of Poland’s golden age.

Sigismund the Old

In 1506 the brother of Alexander, Sigismund the old, became King. He was the FIFTH SON of Elizabeth of Habsburg (The house of Habsburg was one of the most influential houses in the world) and Casmir IV, late king of Poland. The new king ruled for an immense, giraffe neck long, 42 years and died in 1548, he had survived through rebellions and wars. His successor was Sigmund II, the last of the Jagellonian who had the idea of reforming Poland and Lithuania. Miserably, in 1558, Sigmund started a War with the kingdom of Russia. In 1572 Sigmund II died and his successor was Henry III, duke of Anjou. The nobility had started a new era. However, in 1574; Sigmund changed the law giving more power to the nobility. However, in the same year, when the gold precious throne of France was in need of an heir, Sigmund scampered towards France leaving the Polish throne empty. In 1576 a new monarch was elected for Poland, he was a Hungarian prince named Stephen Báthory. His wife was Anna Jegiellon, the last of the Jagellonians. He continued the Livonian war and emerged victorious against Ivan the Terrible, emperor of Russia! Sadly, in 1586, the King died. He had improved the Polish army and brought Hungary, Poland and Lithuania closer together. His successor was Sigmund III Vasa, a Swedish king, who ruled way past the Tudor period. He is extremely famous for his main decision; Changing the capital of Poland from Krakow to Warsaw.

 

Poland 1490    (Top)                                                           

Poland 1600     (Bottom)  

Religion

Compared to the Tudor Dynasty, the Polish kings weren’t interested in religion. True, all of them were Catholic; however none burned or executed people for their faith!

 

Wars

During the Tudor period, Poland endured many wars, in 1485, at the beginning of the Tudors reign; Poland was a vast kingdom, stretching from the chilly Baltic Sea to the hordes of the Ottoman Empire. Poland, in its golden age, had engaged many wars to keep its kingdom. Running a huge country, Poland was the empire of Eastern Europe; therefore it had to fight many wars to keep its borders, like the Livonian war (1558-1583) against Russia and the Kingdom of Livonia.

Stephan Bathory

Food

Food in Tudor Poland wasn’t much different than in England. The Polish nobility ate lots of meat and drank lots of wine, as the poor ate vegetables.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_B%C3%A1thory

http://countrystudies.us/poland/7.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Polish_monarchs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_Poland http://tudorhistory.org/topics/food/banquets.html