the 15th Century was perhaps...the most interesting in terms of European affairs. While Central Asia had been peaceful since the fall of the Timurid Dynasty and East Asia ever since the Ming Conquests of the Yuan Dynasty, Europe was still embroiled in the wars that had consumed them centuries prior. In the West, England continued her far too long struggle against the French in an effort to seize the French throne for themselves and rule two kingdoms at once, in the Caucuses mountains, the Kara Koyunlu that had recently thrown off the rule of the rapidly crumbling Timurid Empire invaded the Kingdom of Georgia with the intention of destroying the Christian Kingdom. In central Europe, the Hussite Wars raged on in an attempt to either reform the Catholic Church or expel and destroy the heretics that spread such ideas. During this entire series of conflict, however, there seemed to be one bright spot in Central Europe.
Frederick I of Brandenburg, seeking any aid in their long standing conflict with Pomerania, sought out an alliance with King Wladyslaw II of Poland, one of the more powerful states in Europe thanks to his personal union between his Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The two men would meet several times for the following weeks before they finally made an agreement on the 12th of April, 1421. According to it's terms, Frederick's son, also named Frederick, would be bethrothed to Wladyslaw's Daughter (and at this time, only child following the death of Elizabeth Bonifacia in 1399), Hedwig Jagiellon. The young couple would marry in the winter months of 1427-1428 during an unspecified month, so Frederick would be 14 while Hedwig would be 16 when they married. Five years following that, Frederick, at the age of 19, would be eligible to become King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. To complete this agreement to its fullest, the young Brandenburg prince had to live in Poland as soon as was possible to become acquainted with the language and culture of the country he would soon rule over. However, the agreement would be void if the King had a surviving son.
Ten months later, King Wladyslaw would marry Sophia of Halshany in a marriage that didn't have the support of perhaps the most powerful man in Europe, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of House Luxembourg but also by the Polish Nobility, who saw the Ruthenian woman as an insult on Polish culture and identity, as well as too ambitious and power hungry for her own good. Another person dissatisfied with the marriage was Frederick himself, who believed that with Sophia in the way, any potential alliance was dead in the water,. The elector of Brandenburg decisively sent his son to Krakow, Poland's capital city, to be with his fiance. Upon arriving, Sophia herself faced a great deal of opposition from the supporters of Emperor Sigismund and individuals supporting the popular Hedwig, such as Clergyman, Statesman, and Diplomat Zbigniew Oleśnicki, as well as the powerful Tęczyński and Tarnowski families.
Tensions would only continue to grow as, likely due to the marriage and his own conflict with a Mecklenburg-Pommeranian alliance seeking the region of Uckermark, Frederick failed to send any support in the Gollub War against the Teutonic Knights in 1422. Sigismund did not agree with Frederick marrying Hedwig and lobbied against it and Eric, King of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark renewed his proposal for a Polish-Scandanavian-Pomeranian Alliance against Brandenburg. Despite mounting political pressure, for some unknown reason, most likely him being unwilling to see his country become the pawn of the Holy Roman Empire or Scandanavia, refused to annul the agreement he had made with the elder Frederick. Despite this, Queen Sophia was quietly growing further and further jealous of the younger couple and how quickly they were growing in popularity while rumors were abound that Scandanavian and Imperial Agents were plotting the assassination of Prince Frederick and Princess Hedwig. While no such evidence exists for anything of the sort, the proper Grand Duke of Lithuania that favored the marriage, Vytautas, made sure to get Frederick out of Krakow and into his own country, where Frederick would begin to learn Lithuanian and Ruthenian as well [1].
The relationship between the young princess and the Queen had always been rocky and it was clear that both women despised one another. Hedwig was able to secure plenty of support in the power struggle between the two thanks to her maternal grandmother, Anna, Countess of Celje, but when Sophia became with child in January of 1424, it seemed like it could be the beginning of the end as, if Sophia had a son, than any claim to the throne that Hedwig had could be immediately overruled and if Anna, already in her late 50s, passed away, then the power struggle would forever be tipped in Sophia favor. On October 31st, the fateful day came and Sophia went labor for an excruciating 13 hours, during which, her screams could be heard throughout Wawel Castle and the Princess herself, situated several rooms away, stated "By god, I hope my own labor isn't as painful." When it was all said and done, however, Hedwig's worst fears had been realized, as Queen Sophia had given birth to a young baby boy that she named Wladyslaw. However, what seemed to have been a death knell for her future instead turned into a victory, no matter how saddening it would be for her father. As it had turned out, several complications had arose during the labor and Sophia was suffering from heavy blood loss. She would die just half an hour after giving birth to Wladyslaw. [2] While the king now had to find a new wife, he had a son, or so it seemed, as a week after Sophia's death, the young prince would pass away in his sleep, making Princess Hedwig Wladyslaw's only child once more and allowing her to retain full political power and sway in Poland. [3]
A week after the prince's death, Frederick would be allowed to return to Krakow, where the two would once more continue their blossoming relationship. It is worth noting that, despite it not being the norm for the time, Frederick and Hedwig truly did love one another, as evidenced by them giving gifts to one another or taking walks or rides on their horses in the outdoors. It was this relationship that Frederick's father hoped would give him a powerful ally in the East that he could finally use to defeat the pesky Pomeranian dukes that constantly threatened his northern border and it would also allow for Brandenburg to become more powerful as a nation as it's elector would rule a realm outside the Empire, something that happened for very few, upon Frederick's own death and his son's ascension to the throne. Meanwhile, King Wladyslaw himself was saddened by the loss of his fourth wife, an individual that he likely adored himself, but eventually, in the Summer of 1425, he was convinced to get over it and marry the woman the Emperor supported, his brother's, the deceased Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia and King of the Romans, widow and former interim regent of Bohemia, Sophia of Bavaria, who Sigismund initially wanted Wladyslaw to marry instead of Sophia of Halshany.
Despite initial concerns about a second power struggle, Sophia quickly met with Princess Hedwig and conceded that, as she was more popular with the peoples of Poland and Lithuania, that she would not attempt to steal any of the power Hedwig held nor did she have any ambition to do so. This, as expected, shocked the Princess, as her most powerful ally, Anna, had died weeks before the marriage of Sophia and Wladyslaw, leaving her exposed to the obviously more powerful Sophia, seeing as she was the Widow of the Brother of the Holy Roman Emperor. Instead, however, the second Queen Consort Sophia taught the young couple economics while both learned the importance of diplomacy, religion, and warfare, with Frederick learning the bulk of the final one. Throughout this entire time, despite Wladyslaw consistently trying, he failed in obtaining a male heir that could continue his dynasty and, on December 9th, 1427, Frederick would marry his fiance to everyone's applause and appraisal. For Hedwig, however, it was the happiest day of her life. After consistently being thought of as nothing but a political tool for her father, she wrote in her memoirs : "I have finally found the man who loves me for who I am. We may have been bethrothed to one another for diplomatic purposes, but despite that, we have grown extremely close in our relationship and now can't bear the thought of being without one another for too long." As for Frederick, he said "This woman, Hedwig, is the woman of my dreams. Smart, politically savvy, quick witted, endearing, and kind, this is the traits I believe all women should have and it seems my newly declared wife and, god willing, future Queen, is the perfect example of all those things. I hope nothing comes between us, for I want us to remain together no matter what."
Following the marriage, the newlyweds would go on a honeymoon touring Europe, going to the cities of Vienna, Prague, Breslau, Munich, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Ravenna, Rome, Paris, Orleans, Madrid, Coppenhagen, and London before returning back to Krakow by September 16th, 1428. For the next 3 years, Sophia would continue to tutor the royal couple on how to effectively run the Kingdom once they took over and during that time period, Hedwig became pregnant and soon gave birth to her and Frederick's son, one who they would name Leopold/Poldek/Leopoldas in 1429 with the three names representing the three realms the child would hopefully rule over one day, though it was clear he was mainly going to be called Leopold by his parents and extended family. The king himself saw the irony in the situation, stating "It seems God himself mocks me as my own daughter gains a male heir while I cannot." With Prince Leopold, Hedwig's claim to the throne had been achieved and thusly, there was no other proper claimant that could challenge the Frederick-Hedwig marriage that would eventually unite Brandenburg with the Polish-Lithuanian lands via personal union.
In June of 1430, Frederick was visited by his father and his younger brother, future Prince of Ansbach and King of Bulgaria Albrecht Achilles [4] who hoped to get themselves acquainted with their future polish allies and learn some things from Frederick and Hedwig while maintaining that his true loyalty still lay with Brandenburg. Funnily enough, at this point, many nobles at court began to learn German and German customs to get acquainted with their likely future king even if there were some who disagreed. However, Hedwig was able to maintain an aura of political power and influence that was barely rivaled in Eastern Europe at that time and thusly, many Polish nobles listened to whatever she requested and she requested they learn her husband's native language as she had began doing herself. In May of 1431, Hedwig's claim was made yet stronger when she gave birth to a daughter, the future Duchess of Milan, Helen.
When Frederick became 19 in late 1431, any potential hopes of replacing him with someone else were all but erased and Wladyslaw officially began to allow the young man into his council as an advisor and student where the Brandenburger would learn a great many things about the politics of his eventual realm. As the last years went by, Sophia would pass of old age on May 18th, 1434 and, like a line of dominoes ending, Wladyslaw II himself would pass away two weeks later on June 1st, leaving Frederick and his sole surviving child Hedwig to succeed him as Ruler of Poland. The two would quickly declare a month of mourning to happen before finally, on July 2nd, Frederick was crowned as both King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania with Hedwig being crowned as his equal in Krakow, giving Brandenburg a strong ally in the east for any future wars against Pomerania. As hoped for, Father and Son joined in alliance and readied for any war be it against rebels or those seeking to invade Brandenburger or Polish-Lithuanian lands. In order to make sure family relations stayed strong, Frederick had Albrecht Achilles stay with his brother as both a military advisor and bodyguard, hoping the younger man would learn from his brother how to rule and how to wage war.
For now, however, Frederick and Hedwig would have to focus on maintaining their rule and consolidating it before anything else could be done.
[1] - No evidence of this, but I'd believe it considering how he took to learning polish and polish customs
[2] - First POD. Initially she survived and was rumored to have poisoned Hedwig. No Sophia of Halshany, no death for Hedwig.
[3] - Second POD. No male surviving heir for Wladyslaw gives Hedwig a straight path for future rule and allows for the agreement for Frederick to marry her to go on.
[4] - Future spoiler that I'll expand upon as we get to the Crusade of Varna of TTL.
And there we go, the 'rewrite' of the TL I tried to make a while ago but gave up on due to the many corners I had inadvertently written myself into. Here, I'm starting small as everything that happens right now is only effecting Poland-Lithuania and, to a lesser extent, Brandenburg but as I go further, I do hope to expand to other significant changes, as you've seen from my posts in the request maps/flags/hearldies thread. To anyone who has knowledge of a certain subject or something or would be interested in helping with my ideas and such, feel free to contact me via PM. I'd love the help. Also, for those looking forward to my Arminius TL...sorry, but I'm going to have to put that idea on hold for now. Too many things get in the way for it to be plausible and until I can find proper work arounds for that, I'll keep it on hold. However, I do have an alternate Roman Dynasty lineage for those interested in seeing. Please give thoughts and opinions via the poll and the comments as I'd love to read them, thanks.
Frederick I of Brandenburg, seeking any aid in their long standing conflict with Pomerania, sought out an alliance with King Wladyslaw II of Poland, one of the more powerful states in Europe thanks to his personal union between his Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The two men would meet several times for the following weeks before they finally made an agreement on the 12th of April, 1421. According to it's terms, Frederick's son, also named Frederick, would be bethrothed to Wladyslaw's Daughter (and at this time, only child following the death of Elizabeth Bonifacia in 1399), Hedwig Jagiellon. The young couple would marry in the winter months of 1427-1428 during an unspecified month, so Frederick would be 14 while Hedwig would be 16 when they married. Five years following that, Frederick, at the age of 19, would be eligible to become King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. To complete this agreement to its fullest, the young Brandenburg prince had to live in Poland as soon as was possible to become acquainted with the language and culture of the country he would soon rule over. However, the agreement would be void if the King had a surviving son.
Ten months later, King Wladyslaw would marry Sophia of Halshany in a marriage that didn't have the support of perhaps the most powerful man in Europe, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of House Luxembourg but also by the Polish Nobility, who saw the Ruthenian woman as an insult on Polish culture and identity, as well as too ambitious and power hungry for her own good. Another person dissatisfied with the marriage was Frederick himself, who believed that with Sophia in the way, any potential alliance was dead in the water,. The elector of Brandenburg decisively sent his son to Krakow, Poland's capital city, to be with his fiance. Upon arriving, Sophia herself faced a great deal of opposition from the supporters of Emperor Sigismund and individuals supporting the popular Hedwig, such as Clergyman, Statesman, and Diplomat Zbigniew Oleśnicki, as well as the powerful Tęczyński and Tarnowski families.
Tensions would only continue to grow as, likely due to the marriage and his own conflict with a Mecklenburg-Pommeranian alliance seeking the region of Uckermark, Frederick failed to send any support in the Gollub War against the Teutonic Knights in 1422. Sigismund did not agree with Frederick marrying Hedwig and lobbied against it and Eric, King of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark renewed his proposal for a Polish-Scandanavian-Pomeranian Alliance against Brandenburg. Despite mounting political pressure, for some unknown reason, most likely him being unwilling to see his country become the pawn of the Holy Roman Empire or Scandanavia, refused to annul the agreement he had made with the elder Frederick. Despite this, Queen Sophia was quietly growing further and further jealous of the younger couple and how quickly they were growing in popularity while rumors were abound that Scandanavian and Imperial Agents were plotting the assassination of Prince Frederick and Princess Hedwig. While no such evidence exists for anything of the sort, the proper Grand Duke of Lithuania that favored the marriage, Vytautas, made sure to get Frederick out of Krakow and into his own country, where Frederick would begin to learn Lithuanian and Ruthenian as well [1].
The relationship between the young princess and the Queen had always been rocky and it was clear that both women despised one another. Hedwig was able to secure plenty of support in the power struggle between the two thanks to her maternal grandmother, Anna, Countess of Celje, but when Sophia became with child in January of 1424, it seemed like it could be the beginning of the end as, if Sophia had a son, than any claim to the throne that Hedwig had could be immediately overruled and if Anna, already in her late 50s, passed away, then the power struggle would forever be tipped in Sophia favor. On October 31st, the fateful day came and Sophia went labor for an excruciating 13 hours, during which, her screams could be heard throughout Wawel Castle and the Princess herself, situated several rooms away, stated "By god, I hope my own labor isn't as painful." When it was all said and done, however, Hedwig's worst fears had been realized, as Queen Sophia had given birth to a young baby boy that she named Wladyslaw. However, what seemed to have been a death knell for her future instead turned into a victory, no matter how saddening it would be for her father. As it had turned out, several complications had arose during the labor and Sophia was suffering from heavy blood loss. She would die just half an hour after giving birth to Wladyslaw. [2] While the king now had to find a new wife, he had a son, or so it seemed, as a week after Sophia's death, the young prince would pass away in his sleep, making Princess Hedwig Wladyslaw's only child once more and allowing her to retain full political power and sway in Poland. [3]
A week after the prince's death, Frederick would be allowed to return to Krakow, where the two would once more continue their blossoming relationship. It is worth noting that, despite it not being the norm for the time, Frederick and Hedwig truly did love one another, as evidenced by them giving gifts to one another or taking walks or rides on their horses in the outdoors. It was this relationship that Frederick's father hoped would give him a powerful ally in the East that he could finally use to defeat the pesky Pomeranian dukes that constantly threatened his northern border and it would also allow for Brandenburg to become more powerful as a nation as it's elector would rule a realm outside the Empire, something that happened for very few, upon Frederick's own death and his son's ascension to the throne. Meanwhile, King Wladyslaw himself was saddened by the loss of his fourth wife, an individual that he likely adored himself, but eventually, in the Summer of 1425, he was convinced to get over it and marry the woman the Emperor supported, his brother's, the deceased Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia and King of the Romans, widow and former interim regent of Bohemia, Sophia of Bavaria, who Sigismund initially wanted Wladyslaw to marry instead of Sophia of Halshany.
Despite initial concerns about a second power struggle, Sophia quickly met with Princess Hedwig and conceded that, as she was more popular with the peoples of Poland and Lithuania, that she would not attempt to steal any of the power Hedwig held nor did she have any ambition to do so. This, as expected, shocked the Princess, as her most powerful ally, Anna, had died weeks before the marriage of Sophia and Wladyslaw, leaving her exposed to the obviously more powerful Sophia, seeing as she was the Widow of the Brother of the Holy Roman Emperor. Instead, however, the second Queen Consort Sophia taught the young couple economics while both learned the importance of diplomacy, religion, and warfare, with Frederick learning the bulk of the final one. Throughout this entire time, despite Wladyslaw consistently trying, he failed in obtaining a male heir that could continue his dynasty and, on December 9th, 1427, Frederick would marry his fiance to everyone's applause and appraisal. For Hedwig, however, it was the happiest day of her life. After consistently being thought of as nothing but a political tool for her father, she wrote in her memoirs : "I have finally found the man who loves me for who I am. We may have been bethrothed to one another for diplomatic purposes, but despite that, we have grown extremely close in our relationship and now can't bear the thought of being without one another for too long." As for Frederick, he said "This woman, Hedwig, is the woman of my dreams. Smart, politically savvy, quick witted, endearing, and kind, this is the traits I believe all women should have and it seems my newly declared wife and, god willing, future Queen, is the perfect example of all those things. I hope nothing comes between us, for I want us to remain together no matter what."
Following the marriage, the newlyweds would go on a honeymoon touring Europe, going to the cities of Vienna, Prague, Breslau, Munich, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Ravenna, Rome, Paris, Orleans, Madrid, Coppenhagen, and London before returning back to Krakow by September 16th, 1428. For the next 3 years, Sophia would continue to tutor the royal couple on how to effectively run the Kingdom once they took over and during that time period, Hedwig became pregnant and soon gave birth to her and Frederick's son, one who they would name Leopold/Poldek/Leopoldas in 1429 with the three names representing the three realms the child would hopefully rule over one day, though it was clear he was mainly going to be called Leopold by his parents and extended family. The king himself saw the irony in the situation, stating "It seems God himself mocks me as my own daughter gains a male heir while I cannot." With Prince Leopold, Hedwig's claim to the throne had been achieved and thusly, there was no other proper claimant that could challenge the Frederick-Hedwig marriage that would eventually unite Brandenburg with the Polish-Lithuanian lands via personal union.
In June of 1430, Frederick was visited by his father and his younger brother, future Prince of Ansbach and King of Bulgaria Albrecht Achilles [4] who hoped to get themselves acquainted with their future polish allies and learn some things from Frederick and Hedwig while maintaining that his true loyalty still lay with Brandenburg. Funnily enough, at this point, many nobles at court began to learn German and German customs to get acquainted with their likely future king even if there were some who disagreed. However, Hedwig was able to maintain an aura of political power and influence that was barely rivaled in Eastern Europe at that time and thusly, many Polish nobles listened to whatever she requested and she requested they learn her husband's native language as she had began doing herself. In May of 1431, Hedwig's claim was made yet stronger when she gave birth to a daughter, the future Duchess of Milan, Helen.
When Frederick became 19 in late 1431, any potential hopes of replacing him with someone else were all but erased and Wladyslaw officially began to allow the young man into his council as an advisor and student where the Brandenburger would learn a great many things about the politics of his eventual realm. As the last years went by, Sophia would pass of old age on May 18th, 1434 and, like a line of dominoes ending, Wladyslaw II himself would pass away two weeks later on June 1st, leaving Frederick and his sole surviving child Hedwig to succeed him as Ruler of Poland. The two would quickly declare a month of mourning to happen before finally, on July 2nd, Frederick was crowned as both King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania with Hedwig being crowned as his equal in Krakow, giving Brandenburg a strong ally in the east for any future wars against Pomerania. As hoped for, Father and Son joined in alliance and readied for any war be it against rebels or those seeking to invade Brandenburger or Polish-Lithuanian lands. In order to make sure family relations stayed strong, Frederick had Albrecht Achilles stay with his brother as both a military advisor and bodyguard, hoping the younger man would learn from his brother how to rule and how to wage war.
For now, however, Frederick and Hedwig would have to focus on maintaining their rule and consolidating it before anything else could be done.
[1] - No evidence of this, but I'd believe it considering how he took to learning polish and polish customs
[2] - First POD. Initially she survived and was rumored to have poisoned Hedwig. No Sophia of Halshany, no death for Hedwig.
[3] - Second POD. No male surviving heir for Wladyslaw gives Hedwig a straight path for future rule and allows for the agreement for Frederick to marry her to go on.
[4] - Future spoiler that I'll expand upon as we get to the Crusade of Varna of TTL.
And there we go, the 'rewrite' of the TL I tried to make a while ago but gave up on due to the many corners I had inadvertently written myself into. Here, I'm starting small as everything that happens right now is only effecting Poland-Lithuania and, to a lesser extent, Brandenburg but as I go further, I do hope to expand to other significant changes, as you've seen from my posts in the request maps/flags/hearldies thread. To anyone who has knowledge of a certain subject or something or would be interested in helping with my ideas and such, feel free to contact me via PM. I'd love the help. Also, for those looking forward to my Arminius TL...sorry, but I'm going to have to put that idea on hold for now. Too many things get in the way for it to be plausible and until I can find proper work arounds for that, I'll keep it on hold. However, I do have an alternate Roman Dynasty lineage for those interested in seeing. Please give thoughts and opinions via the poll and the comments as I'd love to read them, thanks.
Last edited: