Sigismund I the Old

Sigismund I the Old
Grand Duke of Lithuania
Reign	8 December 1506 – 1 April 1548
Coronation	24 January 1507 in Wawel Cathedral, Kraków
Predecessor	Alexander I
Successor	Sigismund II Augustus
Born	1 January 1467 Kozienice, Poland
Died	1 April 1548(1548-04-01) (aged 81) Kraków, Poland
Burial	7 July 1548 Wawel Cathedral , Kraków
Spouse	Barbara Zápolya ​ ​ (m. 1512; died 1515)​ Bona Sforza ​ ​ (m. 1517)​
Issue more...	John of the Lithuanian Dukes, Bishop of Poznań Hedwig, Electress of Bradenburg Isabella, Queen of Hungary Sigismund II Augustus Sophia, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg Anna I of Poland Catherine, Queen of Sweden
Elisabeth of Austria
Religion	Catholic Church
Signature

Sigismund I the Old (

The internal situation in Poland was characterised by broad authorisation of the Chamber of Deputies, confirmed and extended in the constitution of Nihil novi. During Alexander's reign, the law of Nihil novi had been instituted, which forbade kings of Poland from enacting laws without the consent of the Sejm. Sigismund had little control over the act, unlike the senators, whom he personally appointed. Eventually, during his reign, Sigismund benefited from the advice of the local nobility, competent ministers in charge of the royal judiciary system, and the wealthy influential treasurers of Kraków. Although he was reluctant to the parliamentary system and political independence of the nobility, he recognised the authority of legal norms, supported legalism and summoned annual sessions of the Sejm, usually obtaining funds on state defence. However he was unsuccessful at attempting to create a permanent fund for defence from the annual income tax. Despite this, in 1527 he established a conscript army and the bureaucracy needed to finance it. He set up the legal codes that formalised serfdom in Poland, placing the peasants into the private estates of nobles.^[5]

Likely related to tax matters was an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the king, made on 5 May 1523. The identity of the would-be assassin - who shot the ruler while he was strolling in the evening around the cloisters of the

Sigismund I achieved several economic successes, including partial debt reduction, separation of accounts of public taxation from the royal treasury, strengthening of the activities of the mint operating in Kraków, and the attempt to organise the processing of income from operating salt mines.^[6] Furthermore, he issued a statute for the Armenians (1519) and strongly intended to harmonise the judicial system across the country.^[7]

Between 1530 and 1538 the king issued two 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 (unusquisque qui vellet), and the election was to be free (electio Regis libera).

Sigismund successfully organised the agricultural economy, looked after the development of the royal cities and recovered numerous goods of the treasury belonging to the crown that were under lien. During the financial activities, the King received full support of his wife, Queen Bona, who aimed to expand the royal estates by purchasing and improving economic efficiency. In 1514 he set up the Council of Four Lands and put Abraham of Bohemia in charge of it.^[8]

Chicken War Rebellion

At the start of his reign, King Sigismund I the Old inherited a Kingdom of Poland with a century-long tradition of liberties of the nobility, confirmed in numerous privileges. A rebellion in Lwów widely known as the Chicken War (Polish: Wojna kokosza) was an anti-royalist and anti-absolutist rokosz (revolt) by the Polish nobility that occurred in 1537. The derisive name was coined by the magnates, who for the most part supported the King and claimed that the "war's" only effect was the near-extinction of the local chickens, eaten by the nobles gathered for the rebellion at Lwów in eastern part of Lesser Poland.^[9]

To strengthen his power, Sigismund initiated a set of reforms, establishing a permanent conscription army in 1527 and extending the bureaucratic apparatus necessary to govern the state and finance the army. Supported by his Italian consort Bona Sforza, he began buying up land and issue agriculture reformas to enlarge the royal treasury. He initiated a process of restitution of royal properties, previously pawned or rented to the nobles.

The nobility gathered near the city to meet to a

from usurping too much power at the expense of lesser nobles.

However, the revolt soon transpired that the nobility's 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 rejected most of their demands, while accepting the principle of Incompatibilitas the following year and agreeing not to force the election of the future king in vivente rege. Thereupon, the nobility returned to their homes having achieved little.

Foreign politics

War with Moscow

Further information:

Muscovite Wars

Sigismund was intermittently at war with

Grand Duchy of Moscow.^[10] In December 1512, Muscovite forces marched into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania seeking to capture Smolensk, a major trading center between Russia and Europe.^[11] The initial six- and four-week sieges in 1513 were a failure,^[12] but the city fell to the Muscovites in July 1514.^[10]

Russia subsequently suffered a series of disastrous defeats in the field. In 1512,

Kievan Rus' lands under their lordship.^[13] 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 and not Europeans; they are in league with Turks and the Tatars to destroy Christendom".^[14]

Regardless of victory, the Polish–Lithuanian troops were incapable of moving quickly enough to retake Smolensk.^[15] In 1518, Russian forces were again beaten during the siege of Polotsk,^[16] when according to legend the Lithuanian forces were inspired by the sight of their patron saint, Saint Casimir, the older brother of Sigismund. However, this was dubbed by historians as a folk tale. In 1522, a truce was signed between Lithuania and Muscovy which extended until 1534.

In 1534, when Grand Hetman

Jan Amor Tarnowski and allies at Starodub in 1535.^[17] Their defeat strengthened the Polish-Lithuanian union's eastern flank until the beginning of the Livonian War in 1558.^[17]

Europe

Further information:

Franco-Polish alliance (1524), Duchy of Masovia, and Neapolitan sums

In 1515 Sigismund entered into an alliance with the

Louis II, who led his forces against Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire in the disastrous Battle of Mohács

.

Worried about the growing ties between the

Jerome Laski.^[19] Through the agreement, the son of Francis, Henry, Duke of Orléans, was to marry one of Sigismund's daughters, and Sigismund's eldest son was to marry a daughter of Francis I.^[19]

The negotiations came to an end and the alliance was disbanded when Francis' troops were defeated by Charles V at the

Franco-Hungarian alliance with King John Zápolya in 1528.^[19]

After the death of Janusz III of Masovia in 1526, Sigismund succeeded in uniting the Duchy of Masovia and Warsaw with the Kingdom of Poland. There was speculation whether Janusz and his younger brother Stanisław were poisoned by a subject of Queen Bona.^[20][21] The accusations were so pervasive and rampant that Sigismund ordered an investigation, as a result of which a special edict was declared on 9 February 1528 confirming that the Masovian princes died naturally or due to related illness. According to chronicler Jan Długosz, the real cause of the death of both princes could have been inherited tuberculosis.^[22]

In other matters of policy, Sigismund sought peaceful coexistence with the

Khanate of Crimea, but was unable to completely end border skirmishes.^[23]

Teutonic Knights

Over two centuries of wars against the

Teutonic Knights ended in 1525 with the Treaty of Kraków after the final Polish–Teutonic War (1519–1521).^[24] Previously, the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) placed the Teutonic Order under Polish suzerainty and interfered with German interests in Livonia, Pomerania, Warmia and Masuria

. The Order attempted to avoid paying tribute to Polish monarchs which was a demonstration of weakness and dependence.

In accordance with the new Treaty of Kraków, the Order was abruptly

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.^[24]

Renaissance and legacy

Further information:

Sigismund Bell, and Wawel Castle

Sigismund had a profound interest in

Polish Renaissance

and brought renowned Italian artists, architects and sculptors from her native country. It was under Sigismund's reign that Renaissance began to flourish in Poland and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Sigismund II Augustus later continued his father's legacy.

Among the illustrious figures that guested or lived in Poland at the time were

hill overlooking Old Town, the fortified residence was extensively reconstructed in the Renaissance style and to the personal needs of the royal family. The Italian cloistered courtyard in the shape of a quadrangle, corridors, archways and portals were designed by Fiorentino with the help of Benedykt from Sandomierz. A similar design was undertaken in Niepołomice Castle, the hunting retreat of the Jagiellons.^[27]

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 acute rheumatism in the autumn of 1528.^[32][33] The condition, which severely affected his joints and right leg, was repetitive and continued in 1529 and 1534. It is likely that Sigismund Augustus was co-crowned vivente rege in 1529 as a result of these pervasive pains and in case his father died unexpectedly.^[34] Furthermore, bad eating habits and a poor diet contributed to the king's ailing health, in particular large amounts of beer and mead.^[32] Eventually, the king's inability to walk forced him to be carried in a litter. However, despite his age, Sigismund was of sound mind throughout and remained active in politics until death.^[33] In 1543, he recovered from an influenza which spread in Kraków and in 1545 he enjoyed a last hunting excursion to Niepołomice.^[34]

Sigismund died on 1 April 1548, Easter day at the age of 81 and was buried on 7 July at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. He was succeeded by his only legitimate son,

Portraits and art

• Depictions of Sigismund I in art
• 
  18th-century depiction by Marcello Bacciarelli
• 
  As one of the Magi by Joos van Cleve, c. 1520^[35]
• 
  Portrait made by Andreas Jungholz, 1546
• 
  Portrait of Sigismund I in an advanced age by Anonymous Painter, 1550
• 
  Sigismund I the Old's tomb by Bartolommeo Berrecci, Sigismund's Chapel, Wawel Cathedral
• 
  Sigismund I the Old by Jan Matejko, c. 1880

Marriages and issue

In 1512, Sigismund married Barbara Zápolya (d. 1515), a Hungarian noblewoman, with whom he had two daughters:

• Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg
  ;
• Anna (1 July 1515 – 8 May 1520).

In 1517, Sigismund married Bona Sforza,^[36] with whom he had two sons and four daughters:

• Queen Isabella of Hungary (18 January 1519 – 15 September 1559), wed 1539 John Zápolya (d. 1540);
• Sigismund II Augustus
  (1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572);
• Sophia, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (13 July 1522 – 28 May 1575), wed 22/25 February 1556 Henry V
  , Duke of Brunswick-Lüneberg (d. 11 June 1568);
• Queen Anna of Poland (18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596), wed 1 May 1576 Stephen Báthory
  (d. 12 December 1586);
• Queen Catherine of Sweden (1 November 1526 – 16 September 1583), wed 4 October 1562 John, Duke of Finland (later John III of Sweden) (d. 17 November 1592);
• Wojciech Olbracht (b. and d. 20 September 1527).

By his mistress, Katarzyna Telniczanka (d. 1528),^[37] he also fathered three children prior to his first marriage:

• Poznań
  (1536–1538);
• Regina (1500/1 – 20 May 1526), wed c. 20 October 1518 Hieronim Szafraniec, Starost of Cieszyn (d. 1556/59);
• Katarzyna (1503 – before 9 September 1548), wed after 1522 George II Count von Montfort in Pfannberg (d. 1544).

Ancestry

See also

• History of Poland (1385–1569)
• Zygmunt (bell)
• List of Polish monarchs

Citations and references

Cited sources

• Mickūnaitė, Giedrė (2006). Making a Great Ruler: Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania. Central European University Press.209
• Pastrnak, Patrik (2018). "Adducimus gemmam et florem: Bona Sforza's bridal journey (1518) in the light of rituals and ceremonies". Studia z Dziejów Średniowiecza. 22: 174–193.
  doi:10.4467/25442562SDS.18.012.9814
  .
• ISBN 978-0875690667
  .
• Stevens, Carol B. (2007). Russia's Wars of Emergence 1460–1730. Pearson Education.
  ISBN 978-0-582-21891-8
  .
• Ostrowski, Jan K. (1992), Cracow (in Polish), International Cultural Centre,
  ISBN 83-221-0621-1
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sigismund I of Poland.

• Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Sigismund I." . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). pp. 67–68.
• Petr Kozák, „Pátý princ“: Kníže Zikmund mezi periferií a centrem jagellonského světa

Sigismund I the Old House of Jagiellon Born: 1 January 1467 Died: 1 April 1548
Regnal titles
Preceded by Alexander I Jagiellon	Grand Duke of Lithuania 1506–1548 with Sigismund II Augustus (1529–1548)	Succeeded by Sigismund II Augustus as sole ruler
	King of Poland 1506–1548 with Sigismund II Augustus (1530–1548)