A Jagellók és Magyarország 1541-ben

Brzeziński, Szymon

A Jagellók és Magyarország 1541-ben

Abstract

Although Polish historiography does not usually regard 1541 as an important date, contemporary reactions in the country show that the fighting around Hungarian capital, Buda, and the subsequent Ottoman occupation of the city received much more active attention than the Battle of Mohács or even the siege of Vienna in 1529. Here, we attempt to outline the policy and objectives of the Polish court in 1540 and 1541, using diplomatic reports and manuscript documents. Some degree of ambivalence may be detected in court policy. Although King Sigismund was attempting to maintain good relations with both the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire, he was also trying to secure the future of his daughter and grandson. At first, the Polish emissaries tried to persuade the parties to observe the terms of the Peace of Várad, but when Sigismund saw the escalation of events and the resistance of the Hungarian elite in 1541, he increasingly adopted the view that he should let his daughter decide whether to stay in Hungary and try to secure the throne for her son. It should also be pointed out that there was no coherent ‘Hungarian policy’. For one thing, the antiHabsburg, pro-Szapolyai groups in Polish elite circles made their intentions clear, and for another, the uncertainty of news from Hungary caused serious difficulties for Polish diplomats in making rapid and resolute decisions at crucial moments.