Sigismund
(redirected from Siegmond)Also found in: Dictionary.
Sigismund
(sĭj`ĭsmənd, sĭg`–), 1368–1437, Holy Roman emperor (1433–37), German king (1410–37), king of Hungary (1387–1437) and of Bohemia (1419–37), elector of Brandenburg (1376–1415), son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IVCharles IV,1316–78, Holy Roman emperor (1355–78), German king (1347–78), and king of Bohemia (1346–78). The son of John of Luxemburg, Charles was educated at the French court and fought the English at Crécy, where his father's heroic death made
..... Click the link for more information. .
Accession to the Hungarian Throne
Through his marriage to Mary, who became queen of Hungary in 1382, Sigismund acceded to the Hungarian throne. However, dynastic conflicts there prevented his coronation until 1387. In the interim Mary was deposed, and Charles II (Charles IIICharles III
(Charles of Durazzo), 1345–86, king of Naples (1381–86) and, as Charles II, of Hungary (1385–86); great-grandson of Charles II of Naples. Adopted as a child by Joanna I of Naples, he later lived at the court of Louis I of Hungary.
..... Click the link for more information. , king of Naples) became king (1385). Following Charles's death (1386) Mary was restored, and Sigismund came to power. During this period the Ottomans (Turks) were advancing in Europe, and in 1395 they invaded Hungary. Sigismund led a general European crusade against them but was crushingly defeated in 1396 by Sultan Beyazid IBeyazid I
, 1347–1403, Ottoman sultan (1389–1402), son and successor of Murad I. He besieged Byzantine Emperor Manuel II at Constantinople, then overcame the Turkish rulers in E Anatolia and defeated the army of Sigismund of Hungary (see Sigismund, Holy Roman
..... Click the link for more information. at Nikopol. Sigismund's absence and the death of Mary (1395) had weakened his hold on the Hungarian throne. In 1403 he put down a revolt in Hungary in support of Lancelot of Naples, the son of Charles II.
German King and Holy Roman Emperor
After the death of the German king and uncrowned Holy Roman Emperor Rupert in 1410, both Sigismund and his cousin, Jobst of Moravia, claimed victory in the imperial elections. Since Sigismund's half-brother WenceslausWenceslaus,
1361–1419, Holy Roman emperor (uncrowned) and German king (1378–1400), king of Bohemia (1378–1419) as Wenceslaus IV, elector of Brandenburg (1373–76), son and successor of Emperor Charles IV.
..... Click the link for more information. , who had been deposed from the German throne in 1400, had never waived his title, there were, for a time, three rulers of Germany. The death of Jobst (1411) and the withdrawal of Wenceslaus left Sigismund sole king and Holy Roman emperor-elect.
One of Sigismund's first tasks was to end the Great SchismSchism, Great,
or Schism of the West,
division in the Roman Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. There was no question of faith or practice involved; the schism was a matter of persons and politics.
..... Click the link for more information. in the church. He persuaded John XXIII (see Cossa, BaldassareCossa, Baldassare
, c.1370–1419, Neapolitan churchman, antipope (1410–15; see Schism, Great) with the name John XXIII. He had a military career before entering the service of the church.
..... Click the link for more information. ), the strongest of the three schismatic popes, to summon a council at Konstanz (or Constance, see Constance, Council ofConstance, Council of,
1414–18, council of the Roman Catholic Church, some of its sessions being reckoned as the 16th ecumenical council. It was summoned to end the Great Schism (see Schism, Great), in which three men were claiming to be pope—Gregory XII (since
..... Click the link for more information. ). After three years of deliberation by the council, the schism was ended (1417). John HussHuss, John
, Czech Jan Hus , 1369?–1415, Czech religious reformer. Early Life
Of peasant origin, he was born in Husinec, Bohemia (from which his name is derived). He studied theology at the Univ. of Prague, was ordained a priest c.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Czech religious reformer, had attended the council with Sigismund's guarantee of safe conduct, but, nevertheless, the council began heresy proceedings against him and condemned him to death. Sigismund signed his death sentence.
The burning of Huss hastened the Reformation in Bohemia and earned Sigismund the lasting hatred of the Czechs. When Sigismund succeeded to the Bohemian throne on his brother Wenceslaus's death (1419), he was bitterly opposed. To secure an army against the rebellious Bohemians, Sigismund convinced Pope Martin VMartin V,
1368–1431, pope (1417–31), a Roman named Oddone Colonna; successor of Gregory XII. He was created cardinal by Innocent VII, and in the schism (see Schism, Great) he attended and supported the decisions of the Council of Pisa (see Pisa, Council of).
..... Click the link for more information. to proclaim (Mar., 1420) a crusade against the HussitesHussites
, followers of John Huss. After the burning of Huss (1415) and Jerome of Prague (1416), the Hussites continued as a powerful group in Bohemia and Moravia. They drew up (1420) the Four Articles of Prague, demanding freedom of preaching, communion in both kinds (i.e.
..... Click the link for more information. . He had himself crowned king of Bohemia at Prague but was defeated by the Hussites under John ZizkaZizka, John
, Czech Jan Žižka , d. 1424, Bohemian military leader and head of the Hussite forces during the anti-Hussite crusades of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund.
..... Click the link for more information. and withdrew. In 1421 a Czech assembly declared him deposed, and shortly afterward the Hussites began their incursions into Germany (see Hussite WarsHussite Wars,
series of conflicts in the 15th cent., caused by the rise of the Hussites in Bohemia and Moravia. It was a religious struggle between Hussites and the Roman Catholic Church, a national struggle between Czechs and Germans, and a social struggle between the landed
..... Click the link for more information. ). Renewed attacks by the Turks occupied Sigismund in Hungary, while in Germany and Bohemia the Hussites continued to be victorious, defeating a new crusade (1431) against them.
Negotiations to heal the breach in the church were held at the Council of Basel (see Basel, Council ofBasel, Council of,
1431–49, first part of the 17th ecumenical council in the Roman Catholic Church. It is generally considered to have been ecumenical until it fell into heresy in 1437; after that it is regarded as an anticouncil.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and resulted in compromise with the drafting of the Compactata. The religious agreement opened the way to Sigismund's acceptance as king by the Bohemians in 1436. Shortly afterward, Sigismund died.
Succession
Sigismund was the last emperor of the Luxemburg dynasty. He arranged for the succession to his titles by his son-in-law, Albert of Austria (later King Albert IIAlbert II,
1397–1439, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Hungary and Bohemia (1438–39), duke of Austria (1404–38). He was the son-in-law of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, whom he aided against the Hussites of Bohemia.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Sigismund had earlier transferred Brandenburg to Frederick of Hohenzollern (Frederick IFrederick I,
1371–1440, elector of Brandenburg (1415–40), first of the Hohenzollerns (see Hohenzollern, family) to rule Brandenburg. As Frederick VI, burgrave of Nuremburg, he served under King Sigismund of Hungary (later Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund) against the
..... Click the link for more information. of Brandenburg) as a reward for his support in Sigismund's election as emperor.
Sigismund
(in Polish, Zygmunt), in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:
Sigismund I the Old. Born Jan. 1, 1467; died Apr. 1, 1548. King of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania from 1506.
Under Sigismund I, Poland’s position in the West was weakened by the expansion to the East during the period 1507–37 (with some interruptions). In 1515, Sigismund concluded an agreement with the Hapsburgs that paved the way for the transfer of Bohemia and Hungary from the Jagiellonian family to the Hapsburgs. During the period 1519–21 he was involved in a struggle with the Teutonic Order; he subsequently permitted the master of the order to transform the lands of the order into the secular Duchy of Prussia, with the status of a Polish vassal. During Sigismund’s reign, Mazovia was annexed by Poland (1526).
Sigismund II Augustus. Born July 1, 1520, in Kraków; died July 7, 1572, in Knyszyn. King of Poland (crowned 1530) and grand duke of Lithuania from 1548; the last member of the Jagiellonian dynasty.
During the reign of Sigismund II, the crown lands that had been distributed to the magnates after 1504 were returned to the king. In 1564, Sigismund allowed the Jesuits into Poland, which marked the beginning of the Catholic reaction. The king took an active part in the struggle over the Baltic region during the Livonian War of 1558–83 and played an important role in the conclusion of the Union of Lublin in 1569.
Sigismund III Vasa. Born June 20, 1566, at the castle of Gripsholm, in Sweden; died Apr. 30, 1632, in Warsaw. King of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania from 1587.
Schooled by the Jesuits, Sigismund III aided in the establishment of the Catholic reaction in Poland. During the years 1592–99, he was also king of Sweden, where he strove to restore Catholicism; he was deposed by a national uprising, led by Duke Charles. Attempting to regain the Swedish throne, Sigismund waged a series of unsuccessful wars against Sweden during the years 1600–11, 1617–20, and 1621–29. From 1618 to 1620 he aided the Hapsburgs in their struggle against insurgent Bohemia. With the aid of the Brest Union of 1596, Sigismund sought to achieve the polonization of the Ukraine and Byelorussia. In 1604–05 he supported the First False Dmitrii, and in 1609, laying siege to Smolensk, he openly intervened in Russia; this intervention ended in defeat (seeDEULINO TRUCE OF 1618).