Sigismund II definition of Sigismund II in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Sigismund II or Sigismund Augustus, 1520–72, king of Poland (1548–72). Crowned in 1530 to assure his succession, he assumed the royal functions at the death of his father, Sigismund I Sigismund I, 1467–1548, king of Poland (1506–48), son of Casimir IV. Elected to succeed his brother, Alexander I, Sigismund faced the problem of consolidating his domestic power in order successfully to counter external threats to Poland.
..... Click the link for more information. . By the Union of Lublin (1569) he transferred his hereditary grand duchy of Lithuania Lithuania , Lithuanian Lietuva, officially Republic of Lithuania, republic (2005 est. pop. 3,597,000), 25,174 sq mi (65,201 sq km), N central Europe. Lithuania borders on the Baltic Sea in the west, Latvia in the north, Belarus in the east and southeast,
..... Click the link for more information. to the Polish crown, creating the unified Polish-Lithuanian state. His great diplomatic skill enabled him to conciliate the dissident elements both in Poland and among the Lithuanian magnates who opposed the fusion. Upon the dissolution (1561) of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword Livonian Brothers of the Sword or Livonian Knights , German military and religious order, founded in 1202 by Bishop Albert of Livonia for the purpose of conquest and Christianization in the Baltic lands.
..... Click the link for more information. , Sigismund gained control over Courland, Latgale, and other parts of Livonia Livonia , region and former Russian province, comprising present Estonia and parts of Latvia (Vidzeme and Latgale). It borders on the Baltic Sea and its arms, the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland, in the west and the north and extends E to Lake Peipus (Chudskoye)
..... Click the link for more information. . Opposed in this claim by Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I Ferdinand I, 1503–64, Holy Roman emperor (1558–64), king of Bohemia (1526–64) and of Hungary (1526–64), younger brother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
..... Click the link for more information. , Sigismund granted (1562) the elector of Brandenburg hereditary succession in the duchy of Prussia in exchange for diplomatic support. The widened frontiers brought Sigismund into conflict with Ivan IV Ivan IV or Ivan the Terrible, 1530–84, grand duke of Moscow (1533–84), the first Russian ruler to assume formally the title of czar.
..... Click the link for more information. of Russia, who took (1563) Polotsk. The Polish Reformation reached its height during Sigismund's reign; in 1570 most of the Protestant sects formed a union to strengthen their cause. An open-minded, tolerant monarch and a loyal Roman Catholic, Sigismund sought peacefully to counteract the Reformation; he abolished (1562) ecclesiastic courts but introduced (1565) the Society of Jesus (see Jesus, Society of Jesus, Society of, religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. Its members are called Jesuits. St. Ignatius of Loyola, its founder, named it Companã de Jess [Span.,=(military) company of Jesus]; in Latin it is Societas Jesu (abbr. S.J.).
..... Click the link for more information. ), which successfully preached the Counter Reformation. The Renaissance flowered at this time (see also Polish literature Polish literature, the literary works of Poland. Early History

The early literature of Poland was written in Latin: its chief figures included the historians Martin Gallus (12th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ), and Sigismund was an accomplished humanist and theologian. The last of the Jagiello Jagiello or Jagello , dynasty that ruled Poland and Lithuania from 1386 to 1572, Hungary from 1440 to 1444 and again from 1490 to 1526, and Bohemia from 1471 to 1526.
..... Click the link for more information. dynasty to rule Poland, Sigismund died childless. After an interregnum and the brief rule of Henry of Valois (later Henry III Henry III, 1551–89, king of France (1574–89); son of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. He succeeded his brother, Charles IX. As a leader of the royal army in the Wars of Religion (see Religion, Wars of) against the French Protestants, or Huguenots,
..... Click the link for more information. of France), Stephen Báthory Báthory , Pol. Batory, Hungarian noble family.

Stephen Báthory, 1477–1534, a loyal adherent of John I of Hungary (John Zápolya), was made (1529) voivode [governor] of Transylvania.
..... Click the link for more information. was elected (1575) king.

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No references found			Et Moskoovia poolelt oli oodata repressioone ja Poola-Leedu olukord oli Sigismund II Augusti surmaga juulis 1572 alanud pikaajalise interreegnumi tottu vaga segane, laks suur osa moisamehi edaspidi taas Rootsi poolele, kus ka koik ilma igasuguste karistuste voi piiranguteta vastu voeti. Livonian household troops during the Livonian war/ Liivimaa ... by Adamson, Andres / Acta Historica Tallinnensia Throughout his colorful career, Dudith's corresponding partners were famous scholars and thinkers, dignitaries of the Church, and some of the most powerful rulers of Europe, such as Ferdinand I and Maximilian II of Austria, and Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. Epistulae by Birnbaum, Marianna D. / Renaissance Quarterly			sight width Sight, Organs of sight-feed sight-reduction tables sighting sighting angle sighting bar sighting instrument Sighting Mark sighting rod sighting shot sighting station sighting system sighting tube Sights and Sighting Mechanisms sightscreen SIGhyper Sigillaria Sigillariaceae SIGINT Sigiriya Sigismond Thalberg Sigismund Sigismund Augustus Sigismund I Sigismund II Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund III Sigismund III Vasa Sigizmund Aleksandrovich Levanevskii Sigizmund Grigorevich Voislav Sigizmund Levanevskii Sigizmund Natanovich Valk Sigizmund Valk Sigizmund Voislav SIGLA Siglufjörður sigma sigma algebra Sigma and Pi Bonds sigma bond sigma factor sigma field sigma finite sigma function Sigma Functions sigma hyperon sigma phase sigma pile sigma ring sigma-delta analog-to-digital converter			SIGINT Technical Analysis Position SIGINT Training Advisory Committee SIGINT/ECM Planning/Coordination Message SIGINT/Electronic Warfare Coordination Center SIGINT/EW Operator Simulator SIGINTCOM SIGIPS SIGIR Sigiri Sigiriya SIGIS Sigisbert Sigismond Sigismond Sigismond Thalberg Sigismund Sigismund Sigismund August Sigismund August Jagellon Sigismund August of Poland Sigismund Augustus Sigismund Augustus Sigismund Augustus I of Poland Sigismund Augustus of Poland Sigismund Freud Sigismund Freud Sigismund I Sigismund I of Sweden Sigismund II Sigismund II August Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus of Poland Sigismund II of Poland Sigismund III Sigismund III of Poland Sigismund III of Sweden Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Wasa Sigismund of Poland Sigismund of Poland Sigismund of Sweden Sigismund Schlomo Freud Sigismund Schlomo Freud Sigismund Thalberg Sigismund Vasa Sigismundus II Augustus SIGIST SIGITE Sigizmund Aleksandrovich Levanevskii Sigizmund Grigorevich Voislav Sigizmund Levanevskii Sigizmund Natanovich Valk Sigizmund Valk Sigizmund Voislav SIGKDD