List of monarchs III
- Thread starter Shiva
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POD: When Henry II begins his 1171 conquest in Ireland it goes even better than OTL, so instead of recognizing Rory O’Conor as High King, Henry takes the throne himself, naming his youngest son John as heir.
Since we just had a super long Irish list, this one will end in between 1400 and 1425 (last person’s choice). Since that’s super early for ending monarchial rule, the list will end with the Irish Plantagenets losing Ireland. Maybe the main line dies out and a side branch inherits, maybe they get conquered by England, maybe a native Irish house kicks them out, it’s the last person’s choice.
Also, you can note I’m continuing the tradition of King coronating their successor while still alive. Whether the tradition continues it’s your choice.
Plantagenet Kings of Ireland
1171-1194*: Henry I [Plantagenet]
1180-1194: Henry I and John I [Plantagenet]
1194-1205: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1205-1210: John I and William I [Plantagenet]
1210-1213: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1213-1262: Henry II "the Posthumous" [Plantagenet] [2]
1262-1267: William II "the Cruel" [Plantagenet] [3]
[3] William was born in 1227 as the first child of Henry II and Eibhlin O'Conor. He was four when his mother died, which made the rowdy child into a serious person as it was recorded that he never laughed joyfully again after that event. Although he wasn't crowned King of Ireland during his father's lifetime (Henry didn't care much about his son), he did help him in performing the various duties that a king would do.
William became King of Ireland following the death of his father in 1262, with documents from the time saying that when he heard the news, he didn't cry at all. His brief reign had many polices of his predecessor continued, and so was even more unpopular as he was considered more cold than Henry II. Finally in 1267 the people had enough and William's ______ rallied a rebellion against the tryant, who successfully became King after William was shot in the head by a skilled archer.
Since we just had a super long Irish list, this one will end in between 1400 and 1425 (last person’s choice). Since that’s super early for ending monarchial rule, the list will end with the Irish Plantagenets losing Ireland. Maybe the main line dies out and a side branch inherits, maybe they get conquered by England, maybe a native Irish house kicks them out, it’s the last person’s choice.
Also, you can note I’m continuing the tradition of King coronating their successor while still alive. Whether the tradition continues it’s your choice.
Plantagenet Kings of Ireland
1171-1194*: Henry I [Plantagenet]
1180-1194: Henry I and John I [Plantagenet]
1194-1205: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1205-1210: John I and William I [Plantagenet]
1210-1213: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1213-1262: Henry II "the Posthumous" [Plantagenet] [2]
1262-1267: William II "the Cruel" [Plantagenet] [3]
[1] John was born the youngest of four sons to Henry of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Initially slated for the church, John’s fate changed when his father successfully conquered Ireland. John was named his father successor there (his brothers already designated for inheritances) and at age 14 his father had him crowned King of Ireland. (Much as Henry II had crowned Henry III earlier).
His father’s absence and disinterest allowed John more influence in Ireland, compared to his brother’s influence in England. Henry II regretted this as a 19 year old John would elope with Rose of Connacht. Henry II would do what he could to censure John, but as Henry II was a bit busy with his elder sons (they came quite close to rebellion but never quite crossed over) John faced few consequences. His marriage to an Irish princess won John a little good will, but most of his ruling still amounted to playing wack-a-mole with various threats. John and Rose would have three children.
When Henry II died in 1194* his vast properties were divided up amongst his four sons with the elder three immediately began squabbling over the finer details. John would stay out of it, and focus on securing his control in Ireland. He invited various Saxon nobles and yeoman to come settle in Ireland, inflating the numbers of his supporters.
John’s wife Rose would pass away in 1192, and his brother Richard would take the opportunity to try and bring John in to the family squabbles on his side by suggesting John wed Richard’s sister-in-law Teresa of Navarre. As Richard was offering to add to Teresa’s dowery, and John needed the funds, he would accept. Since the support John sent Richard were a few troublesome Irish lords and their retainers that John wanted out of Ireland, John defiantly got the better end of that deal. John and Teresa had four children, all sons.
The rest of John’s reign continued as it began: large stretches of posturing and minor raids punctuated by brief violent battles. While not the commander his father was, John was an able administrator ensuring his forces had adequate food, armaments, and other resources as they bludgeoned the Irish in to submission. Many Irish lords had their land confiscated, as John added to his holdings to ensure each of his sons had their own inheritance.
In 1205, John would crown his eldest son William, King of Ireland and arrange his betrothal to Margaret of Scotland, but shortly after their wedding in 1209, William would catch a fever and pass away.
The death of William I hit John particularly hard. When John contracted the same illness that killed William I, many thought John would die. But when John received word that Margaret was pregnant, he rallied.
He would live to see the birth of his grandchild and three years later died, leaving his grandson as his successor.
* Since Henry FitzEmpress didn’t take back Henry the Young King’s castles since John has his own inheritance, he had a better relationship with his elder sons, so his ulcer took longer to get so bad since he was less stressed.
[2] Henry Plantagent was merely three-years-old when he ascended the throne. The idea of a toddler king with English regent sparked an Irish rebellion that lasted four years---with England battling France, King Henry III of England (son of Henry the young King), had little interest in helping his cousin. Now while there was talk overthrowing the Plantagents rule of Ireland, the leader of the rebellion, Aedh O'Conchobair felt that would just lead to more English aggression. He felt it would be easier and more effective to guide the young king, emerging him with Irish culture. However, Aedh made sure to keep one or two English tutors, in fear that Henry becoming too Irish would cause his English cousins an excuse to invade.
Aedh eventually became fond of Henry---and the boy of him---to the point where he was openly calling the young king his son, nicknaming him Anraí O' Aedh.
Once Henry became of age in 1226, he continued his guardian's policy of trying to palace English and Irish culture. He married Aedh's daughter, Eibhlin and he named Aedh the Duke of Connacht. To say people were a little leery (and resentful) of the influence the duke had over the king.
The second rebellion of King Henry's reign broke out in 1227. This time, Henry was old enough to fight. He and Aedh rode into battle together. Aedh would sadly die, diving in the path of an arrow meant for Henry. The monarch would weep over the body of his father figure before turning his anger on the leader of the rebellion. It would be a bloody fight, but in the end Henry emerged victorious, but also a changed man, not for the better.
Angry and suspicious, Henry became harsher in his polices, more ruthless with his enemies. All those who participated in the second Irish rebellion were slaughtered like livestock.
The only bright spot in his life was his wife Eibhlin. He was devastated when she died giving birth to their third child in 1231. After much hounding by his councilors, he would remarry Eleanor of Provence and they would go on to have five children.
After years of facing unpopularity and unrest, Henry fell ill in 1261 and would die a year later, leaving his son William to deal with his divided kingdom.
His father’s absence and disinterest allowed John more influence in Ireland, compared to his brother’s influence in England. Henry II regretted this as a 19 year old John would elope with Rose of Connacht. Henry II would do what he could to censure John, but as Henry II was a bit busy with his elder sons (they came quite close to rebellion but never quite crossed over) John faced few consequences. His marriage to an Irish princess won John a little good will, but most of his ruling still amounted to playing wack-a-mole with various threats. John and Rose would have three children.
When Henry II died in 1194* his vast properties were divided up amongst his four sons with the elder three immediately began squabbling over the finer details. John would stay out of it, and focus on securing his control in Ireland. He invited various Saxon nobles and yeoman to come settle in Ireland, inflating the numbers of his supporters.
John’s wife Rose would pass away in 1192, and his brother Richard would take the opportunity to try and bring John in to the family squabbles on his side by suggesting John wed Richard’s sister-in-law Teresa of Navarre. As Richard was offering to add to Teresa’s dowery, and John needed the funds, he would accept. Since the support John sent Richard were a few troublesome Irish lords and their retainers that John wanted out of Ireland, John defiantly got the better end of that deal. John and Teresa had four children, all sons.
The rest of John’s reign continued as it began: large stretches of posturing and minor raids punctuated by brief violent battles. While not the commander his father was, John was an able administrator ensuring his forces had adequate food, armaments, and other resources as they bludgeoned the Irish in to submission. Many Irish lords had their land confiscated, as John added to his holdings to ensure each of his sons had their own inheritance.
In 1205, John would crown his eldest son William, King of Ireland and arrange his betrothal to Margaret of Scotland, but shortly after their wedding in 1209, William would catch a fever and pass away.
The death of William I hit John particularly hard. When John contracted the same illness that killed William I, many thought John would die. But when John received word that Margaret was pregnant, he rallied.
He would live to see the birth of his grandchild and three years later died, leaving his grandson as his successor.
* Since Henry FitzEmpress didn’t take back Henry the Young King’s castles since John has his own inheritance, he had a better relationship with his elder sons, so his ulcer took longer to get so bad since he was less stressed.
[2] Henry Plantagent was merely three-years-old when he ascended the throne. The idea of a toddler king with English regent sparked an Irish rebellion that lasted four years---with England battling France, King Henry III of England (son of Henry the young King), had little interest in helping his cousin. Now while there was talk overthrowing the Plantagents rule of Ireland, the leader of the rebellion, Aedh O'Conchobair felt that would just lead to more English aggression. He felt it would be easier and more effective to guide the young king, emerging him with Irish culture. However, Aedh made sure to keep one or two English tutors, in fear that Henry becoming too Irish would cause his English cousins an excuse to invade.
Aedh eventually became fond of Henry---and the boy of him---to the point where he was openly calling the young king his son, nicknaming him Anraí O' Aedh.
Once Henry became of age in 1226, he continued his guardian's policy of trying to palace English and Irish culture. He married Aedh's daughter, Eibhlin and he named Aedh the Duke of Connacht. To say people were a little leery (and resentful) of the influence the duke had over the king.
The second rebellion of King Henry's reign broke out in 1227. This time, Henry was old enough to fight. He and Aedh rode into battle together. Aedh would sadly die, diving in the path of an arrow meant for Henry. The monarch would weep over the body of his father figure before turning his anger on the leader of the rebellion. It would be a bloody fight, but in the end Henry emerged victorious, but also a changed man, not for the better.
Angry and suspicious, Henry became harsher in his polices, more ruthless with his enemies. All those who participated in the second Irish rebellion were slaughtered like livestock.
The only bright spot in his life was his wife Eibhlin. He was devastated when she died giving birth to their third child in 1231. After much hounding by his councilors, he would remarry Eleanor of Provence and they would go on to have five children.
After years of facing unpopularity and unrest, Henry fell ill in 1261 and would die a year later, leaving his son William to deal with his divided kingdom.
[3] William was born in 1227 as the first child of Henry II and Eibhlin O'Conor. He was four when his mother died, which made the rowdy child into a serious person as it was recorded that he never laughed joyfully again after that event. Although he wasn't crowned King of Ireland during his father's lifetime (Henry didn't care much about his son), he did help him in performing the various duties that a king would do.
William became King of Ireland following the death of his father in 1262, with documents from the time saying that when he heard the news, he didn't cry at all. His brief reign had many polices of his predecessor continued, and so was even more unpopular as he was considered more cold than Henry II. Finally in 1267 the people had enough and William's ______ rallied a rebellion against the tryant, who successfully became King after William was shot in the head by a skilled archer.
Kings of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
[1] Charles V was born in 1409 as the sole son and heir of Sigismund I and would grow up to be an intelligent and brave young Prince, a worthy heir to his father when he died in 1437, leaving the 28-year old Charles as King. His reign would be marked by peace and relative stability with a reign which saw the Triple Monarchy of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia enter a golden age after the Hussite Wars. Charles V would marry Margaret of Austria in 1431 with the couple having five children between 1431 and Charles' death in 1455 during the Siege of Belgrade while leading forces against the Ottomans. In the aftermath of his death in battle, John would become the next ruler of the Kingdom.
[2] John I was the eldest child of Charles V an Margaret of Austria, born in 1433. He was brought up in the opulent courts of his father in Prague and Buda, a son of the golden age that the Triple Monarchy was going through. He was raised alongside the likes of Corvinus and Podebrady and it was clear that the young heir was a talented man. Finding a keen tact for martial and political affairs, John followed his father into his campaign to stop the Ottoman army of Mehmed the II in the frontier of Hungary. John I was a fine warrior, and thus, was the standard bearer for his father and saw him die in front of his eyes. Hungarian historians ratify John's following rallying of the Hungaro-Bohemian troops and his leadership in the subsequent battle as the major factor for the christian victory in Belgrade and John's tenacity for the reason over the capture of Mehmed the II and much of his entourage. Hunyadi, Charles the V's right-hand and John's often-tutor would take 10000 men and lead an invasion of Serbia with the hope of reconquering the region for Christianity but this, despite failing, would see many uprisings in the European part of the Ottoman Empire.
His coronation in both Buda and Prague was attended by many of the lords of Christendom and even the pope, as he procedeed to drag both Mehmed the II and Zaganos Pasha everywhere he went. The Ottoman Empire fell into a state of civil war during this time, as being deprived of both it's Sultan and Grand Vizier cut off the head of the Empire. John the II and I, respectivelly, would use his great victory and the presence of the pope in his domains to force both the Hungarian and Bohemian diets to aprove new taxes to re-fill the royal treasury and famously forced both diets to acquiesce to him as sovereign in perpetuety, ending the elective monarchies of both crowns. It was a great victory for the House of Luxembourg, as this sucess guaranteed them a permanent place in the Empire and dynastic stability for their domains, allowing the King to rule without bending for the nobility. It was this major victory that would be the birth of John's ambitions of ruling the Holy Roman Empire, as his ancestors, Charles and Sigismund had done.
Mehmed the II was delivered to the care of Rome, (Where he was paraded in shackles as Caesar had done to Vercingetorix) and John was given a triumph in the fashion of Rome of old. It is this event was the inspiration for the famous statue of "Janos the Victorious".
John's return to Hungary saw him continue his victories in the diet, succeeding in expanding the royal domains in both of his crown (Hungary and Bohemia), expand the civil service in an alliance with the peasantry and bourgeousie of his Kingdoms and reduce the powers of the Bans of Croatia and the Voivodes of Transylvania. The peace treaties with the Ottoman regency saw most of Northern Serbia ceded to him and Johh would combine with Hunyadi to form one of Europe's first professional armies, "The Black Armies of Hungary and Bohemia", perhaps one of the most effective fighting forces of the day. Many of the Turkish officer corps captured by John in Belgrade would convert to Christianity and come serve John, giving the Kingdoms dear insight in the workings of the Ottoman state and army. In 1463 John would invade Bosnia during a civil war and would conquer it for himself, integrating Bosnia under his Croatian crown.
John would marry Margaret of Brandenburg, with whom he would have six children. Margaret and John would have a loving albeit distant relationship, as Margaret and the children for the most part remained in Prague while John spent many months in Croatia and Hungary. It would be Margaret that would famously gain the allegiance of the Danubian principalities during one of her rare visits to Transylvania, although the principalities remained relatively free of Hungarian interference.
John would have a stable and grand reign, mostly peaceful after 1467, the year he briefly clashed with Frederick the III, but afterwards resigned himself from war and retired to Prague to spend his last years with his wife. John the II would never overcome the fact that despite his great victories, he did not manage to recover the Holy Roman Crown for the House of Luxembourg. He died of a heart attack in 1483 after a swim in the Danube.
[3] Born in 1467, Sigsimund II was the third child and first son of John and Margaret.
His father had betrothed Sisgismund to Marie de Valois (OTL born a boy Francis, Duke of Berry) as part of an alliance designed to put pressure on the Hapsburgs and perhaps recover the Holy Roman Crown. As Marie was five years younger than Sigismund, they wouldn’t wed till he was 20 years old.
Sigsimund grew up in Prague, where his mother insured he had the best tutors. His father was an impactful if distant presence on young Sigismund’s life. At an early age, he was struck with the fear that he would never measure up to his father. So, Sigsimund never tried.
Now, Sigsimund wasn’t a bad King: he didn’t over spend nor was he pick fights. Sigsimund was just really found of delegation. He allowed the respective diets handle a great number of things his father had denied them, though he retained the new hereditary nature of the crown. He had his uncle Charles handle military. Throughout his life, Sigsimund did little to no ruling.
Instead Sigismund devoted himself to having a good time. He went through many different hobbies: writing poetry, hosting masques, hunting, wrestling, archery, tennis, astronomy, and watching plays. He invited an Italian dance master to arrange elaborate dance entertainments. He adored boardgames, and sponsored many new games. He also loved throwing weddings and many a European noble was invited to hold their wedding in Prague.
For all his general uselessness (at least in regard to general kingly things) Sigsimund was generally well liked and the Triple Crown Golden Age continued through his reign. The common folk liked the peace that resulted from Sigismund’s lack of ambition. The nobles found him affable and charming. And since Sigisimund loved nothing more than trying something new, he won many a nobleman over by participating in their pet project and lavishing them and their efforts with praise.
Sigsimund never pursued the Holy Roman Crown and this did put strain on his relationship with his wife. (Marie firmly felt that for France and Bohemia/Hungary/Croatia to flourish, Sigsimund should become Holy Roman Emperor). Due to this strain Sigsimund and Marie only managed two children and Sigsimund would acquire a long term mistress: Zsuzsanna, the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman. Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna would have five children.
Marie would die during a miscarriage in 1500 and Sigsimund would take the opportunity to wed Zsuzsanna. He would petition the pope to legitimize his and Zsuzsanna’s children, and the pope would eventually acquiesce (He needed Sigsimund’s army) with the caveat that their children couldn’t inherit. But Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna's marriage would only last two years as Zsuzsanna would passageway from winter chill.
Since Zsuzsanna’s children were ineligible to inherit, Sigsimund only had two heirs and so was pressured to remarry. He married Sibylle of Bavaria as the two had met at the wedding of Palatine Louis V and her sister Sidonie of Bavaria and shared a love of boardgames. Sigsimund and Sibylle had three children before his death in 1513. Sigsimund was succeeded by his son Louis.
[4] Louis was the son of Sigsimund and Marie, born in 1483. He adored his mother and agreed with her on most things, viewing his father as a weak and ineffectual leader. Their relationship would get worse when his father married his longtime mistress, refusing to see her as a queen or her children as his siblings He once loudly accused Zsuzanna of poisoning his mother and after his father's death, he would banish his illegitimate half-siblings from his kingdoms. There are dark whispers that he killed Zsuzsanna in a fit of rage and the winter chill was merely a story to cover it up. He almost got excommunicated for ordering his father's dead mistress's tomb to be destroyed and her body to be thrown into the river. Luckily, he was talked down by his full brother, the only person who could control his tempers.
Despite his rather dark reputation, Louis was a strong candidate for the Holy Roman Emperor. He managed to sway many of the electors and King Francois of France, swayed by promises of alliances and the return of the Burgaidian Netherlands to France, backed him.
It was a close election, but Louis managed to win much to the shock and anger of the young King Charles of Spain. But Louis' glee was short lived as he soon found himself fighting a war on two sides. The Ottoman Empire was attacking Hungary while the disgruntled Charles of Spain had decided to attack Navarre in hopes of finishing what his grandfather started, deciding to declare himself, the Emperor of Iberia.
In retaliation, Francois attacked the Burgundian Netherlands. Meanwhile, Louis divided his army into two, leading one half against the Turks, while sending his brother to help their French allies. Hungry for the glory of his grandfather, Louis would charge into battle, trying to carve a bloody line to the commander. Unfortunately he was cut down by accidental friendly fire. There were some rumors that the unknown bowman had meant to hit the emperor, assassinating him, with some stories making the bowman be one of Zsuzsanna's sons, wanting revenge on Louis.
[5] Prince Sigismund was the oldest son of King Louis, being born in 1499. As Prince, Sigismund would grow up to be an intelligent young man, albeit one with a deep ruthless streak. In the aftermath of his father's death from friendly fire, Sigismund would be elected as Holy Roman Emperor, even if Charles would dispute the title for the rest of his reign.
As ruler, Sigismund would prove to be a surprisingly intelligent and competent ruler, effective in his rule over the Holy Roman Empire as he and King Francis would decisively triumph in the wars against the Hapsburgs, even if the Hapsburgs in Austria would remain a problem. With the Hapsburgs defeated and the electors satisfied, Sigismund would be a ruler who would supervise the centralization of the Holy Roman Empire into a more centralized entity with the opportunity that his triumph presented. However, his reign would also be marked by the Reformation in Germany and while Sigismund was a Catholic, he would be relatively moderate in his religious policies, allowing Protestantism to flourish as long as Protestants swore loyalty to him.
As Emperor, Sigismund would marry Bona Sforza in 1517 with the couple having five children who survived infancy. However, Sigismund's reign would be cut short as he would die at the age of 41 from smallpox, leaving his son, Charles as his heir.
[6] An emperor should be composed, brave, just and of sound mind. Charles was none of those things. He started out as a weak willed boy, who was easily lead and often ill. His councilors conspired to use him to push their agenda: putting an end to the spread of the reformation. They conjoled him into having harsher punishments and restrictions against those of Lutheran faith, infulencing him to be suspecious and parinoid of them.
It worked a little too well. Charles invited the leaders of the Lutheran League to his palace in Vienna for peace talks, even throwing a feast. At the feast, he had his men murder all the heretics, including the women and children who had the misfortune of attending. When the Elector of Saxony begged the mad emperor to let his wife and his children leave for they had done nothing wrong, the emperor, sitting safely at his table, famously replied, "There is no such thing as an innocent heretic. All must answer for their crimes."
To top off the utter brutalness of this act, Charles sent the pope, boxes containing boxes of the severed heads of Saxony and the other leaders of the Lutheran League, claiming that God's enemy was dead.
To say the pope was horrified would be an understatement. He immediately excommunicated Charles, proclaiming his actions unchristian. Charles was enraged and fired back that if the pope felt pity for the heretics than he must be one too and should be removed.
However, before he could make any plans to march on Rome----and burn in to the ground as he declared----Charles was ambushed and captured by____who had him overthrown and locked up. Three months later, he died after eating---he was suspected to have been poisoned. No one mourned him.
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
[1] Charles V was born in 1409 as the sole son and heir of Sigismund I and would grow up to be an intelligent and brave young Prince, a worthy heir to his father when he died in 1437, leaving the 28-year old Charles as King. His reign would be marked by peace and relative stability with a reign which saw the Triple Monarchy of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia enter a golden age after the Hussite Wars. Charles V would marry Margaret of Austria in 1431 with the couple having five children between 1431 and Charles' death in 1455 during the Siege of Belgrade while leading forces against the Ottomans. In the aftermath of his death in battle, John would become the next ruler of the Kingdom.
[2] John I was the eldest child of Charles V an Margaret of Austria, born in 1433. He was brought up in the opulent courts of his father in Prague and Buda, a son of the golden age that the Triple Monarchy was going through. He was raised alongside the likes of Corvinus and Podebrady and it was clear that the young heir was a talented man. Finding a keen tact for martial and political affairs, John followed his father into his campaign to stop the Ottoman army of Mehmed the II in the frontier of Hungary. John I was a fine warrior, and thus, was the standard bearer for his father and saw him die in front of his eyes. Hungarian historians ratify John's following rallying of the Hungaro-Bohemian troops and his leadership in the subsequent battle as the major factor for the christian victory in Belgrade and John's tenacity for the reason over the capture of Mehmed the II and much of his entourage. Hunyadi, Charles the V's right-hand and John's often-tutor would take 10000 men and lead an invasion of Serbia with the hope of reconquering the region for Christianity but this, despite failing, would see many uprisings in the European part of the Ottoman Empire.
His coronation in both Buda and Prague was attended by many of the lords of Christendom and even the pope, as he procedeed to drag both Mehmed the II and Zaganos Pasha everywhere he went. The Ottoman Empire fell into a state of civil war during this time, as being deprived of both it's Sultan and Grand Vizier cut off the head of the Empire. John the II and I, respectivelly, would use his great victory and the presence of the pope in his domains to force both the Hungarian and Bohemian diets to aprove new taxes to re-fill the royal treasury and famously forced both diets to acquiesce to him as sovereign in perpetuety, ending the elective monarchies of both crowns. It was a great victory for the House of Luxembourg, as this sucess guaranteed them a permanent place in the Empire and dynastic stability for their domains, allowing the King to rule without bending for the nobility. It was this major victory that would be the birth of John's ambitions of ruling the Holy Roman Empire, as his ancestors, Charles and Sigismund had done.
Mehmed the II was delivered to the care of Rome, (Where he was paraded in shackles as Caesar had done to Vercingetorix) and John was given a triumph in the fashion of Rome of old. It is this event was the inspiration for the famous statue of "Janos the Victorious".
John's return to Hungary saw him continue his victories in the diet, succeeding in expanding the royal domains in both of his crown (Hungary and Bohemia), expand the civil service in an alliance with the peasantry and bourgeousie of his Kingdoms and reduce the powers of the Bans of Croatia and the Voivodes of Transylvania. The peace treaties with the Ottoman regency saw most of Northern Serbia ceded to him and Johh would combine with Hunyadi to form one of Europe's first professional armies, "The Black Armies of Hungary and Bohemia", perhaps one of the most effective fighting forces of the day. Many of the Turkish officer corps captured by John in Belgrade would convert to Christianity and come serve John, giving the Kingdoms dear insight in the workings of the Ottoman state and army. In 1463 John would invade Bosnia during a civil war and would conquer it for himself, integrating Bosnia under his Croatian crown.
John would marry Margaret of Brandenburg, with whom he would have six children. Margaret and John would have a loving albeit distant relationship, as Margaret and the children for the most part remained in Prague while John spent many months in Croatia and Hungary. It would be Margaret that would famously gain the allegiance of the Danubian principalities during one of her rare visits to Transylvania, although the principalities remained relatively free of Hungarian interference.
John would have a stable and grand reign, mostly peaceful after 1467, the year he briefly clashed with Frederick the III, but afterwards resigned himself from war and retired to Prague to spend his last years with his wife. John the II would never overcome the fact that despite his great victories, he did not manage to recover the Holy Roman Crown for the House of Luxembourg. He died of a heart attack in 1483 after a swim in the Danube.
[3] Born in 1467, Sigsimund II was the third child and first son of John and Margaret.
His father had betrothed Sisgismund to Marie de Valois (OTL born a boy Francis, Duke of Berry) as part of an alliance designed to put pressure on the Hapsburgs and perhaps recover the Holy Roman Crown. As Marie was five years younger than Sigismund, they wouldn’t wed till he was 20 years old.
Sigsimund grew up in Prague, where his mother insured he had the best tutors. His father was an impactful if distant presence on young Sigismund’s life. At an early age, he was struck with the fear that he would never measure up to his father. So, Sigsimund never tried.
Now, Sigsimund wasn’t a bad King: he didn’t over spend nor was he pick fights. Sigsimund was just really found of delegation. He allowed the respective diets handle a great number of things his father had denied them, though he retained the new hereditary nature of the crown. He had his uncle Charles handle military. Throughout his life, Sigsimund did little to no ruling.
Instead Sigismund devoted himself to having a good time. He went through many different hobbies: writing poetry, hosting masques, hunting, wrestling, archery, tennis, astronomy, and watching plays. He invited an Italian dance master to arrange elaborate dance entertainments. He adored boardgames, and sponsored many new games. He also loved throwing weddings and many a European noble was invited to hold their wedding in Prague.
For all his general uselessness (at least in regard to general kingly things) Sigsimund was generally well liked and the Triple Crown Golden Age continued through his reign. The common folk liked the peace that resulted from Sigismund’s lack of ambition. The nobles found him affable and charming. And since Sigisimund loved nothing more than trying something new, he won many a nobleman over by participating in their pet project and lavishing them and their efforts with praise.
Sigsimund never pursued the Holy Roman Crown and this did put strain on his relationship with his wife. (Marie firmly felt that for France and Bohemia/Hungary/Croatia to flourish, Sigsimund should become Holy Roman Emperor). Due to this strain Sigsimund and Marie only managed two children and Sigsimund would acquire a long term mistress: Zsuzsanna, the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman. Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna would have five children.
Marie would die during a miscarriage in 1500 and Sigsimund would take the opportunity to wed Zsuzsanna. He would petition the pope to legitimize his and Zsuzsanna’s children, and the pope would eventually acquiesce (He needed Sigsimund’s army) with the caveat that their children couldn’t inherit. But Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna's marriage would only last two years as Zsuzsanna would passageway from winter chill.
Since Zsuzsanna’s children were ineligible to inherit, Sigsimund only had two heirs and so was pressured to remarry. He married Sibylle of Bavaria as the two had met at the wedding of Palatine Louis V and her sister Sidonie of Bavaria and shared a love of boardgames. Sigsimund and Sibylle had three children before his death in 1513. Sigsimund was succeeded by his son Louis.
[4] Louis was the son of Sigsimund and Marie, born in 1483. He adored his mother and agreed with her on most things, viewing his father as a weak and ineffectual leader. Their relationship would get worse when his father married his longtime mistress, refusing to see her as a queen or her children as his siblings He once loudly accused Zsuzanna of poisoning his mother and after his father's death, he would banish his illegitimate half-siblings from his kingdoms. There are dark whispers that he killed Zsuzsanna in a fit of rage and the winter chill was merely a story to cover it up. He almost got excommunicated for ordering his father's dead mistress's tomb to be destroyed and her body to be thrown into the river. Luckily, he was talked down by his full brother, the only person who could control his tempers.
Despite his rather dark reputation, Louis was a strong candidate for the Holy Roman Emperor. He managed to sway many of the electors and King Francois of France, swayed by promises of alliances and the return of the Burgaidian Netherlands to France, backed him.
It was a close election, but Louis managed to win much to the shock and anger of the young King Charles of Spain. But Louis' glee was short lived as he soon found himself fighting a war on two sides. The Ottoman Empire was attacking Hungary while the disgruntled Charles of Spain had decided to attack Navarre in hopes of finishing what his grandfather started, deciding to declare himself, the Emperor of Iberia.
In retaliation, Francois attacked the Burgundian Netherlands. Meanwhile, Louis divided his army into two, leading one half against the Turks, while sending his brother to help their French allies. Hungry for the glory of his grandfather, Louis would charge into battle, trying to carve a bloody line to the commander. Unfortunately he was cut down by accidental friendly fire. There were some rumors that the unknown bowman had meant to hit the emperor, assassinating him, with some stories making the bowman be one of Zsuzsanna's sons, wanting revenge on Louis.
[5] Prince Sigismund was the oldest son of King Louis, being born in 1499. As Prince, Sigismund would grow up to be an intelligent young man, albeit one with a deep ruthless streak. In the aftermath of his father's death from friendly fire, Sigismund would be elected as Holy Roman Emperor, even if Charles would dispute the title for the rest of his reign.
As ruler, Sigismund would prove to be a surprisingly intelligent and competent ruler, effective in his rule over the Holy Roman Empire as he and King Francis would decisively triumph in the wars against the Hapsburgs, even if the Hapsburgs in Austria would remain a problem. With the Hapsburgs defeated and the electors satisfied, Sigismund would be a ruler who would supervise the centralization of the Holy Roman Empire into a more centralized entity with the opportunity that his triumph presented. However, his reign would also be marked by the Reformation in Germany and while Sigismund was a Catholic, he would be relatively moderate in his religious policies, allowing Protestantism to flourish as long as Protestants swore loyalty to him.
As Emperor, Sigismund would marry Bona Sforza in 1517 with the couple having five children who survived infancy. However, Sigismund's reign would be cut short as he would die at the age of 41 from smallpox, leaving his son, Charles as his heir.
[6] An emperor should be composed, brave, just and of sound mind. Charles was none of those things. He started out as a weak willed boy, who was easily lead and often ill. His councilors conspired to use him to push their agenda: putting an end to the spread of the reformation. They conjoled him into having harsher punishments and restrictions against those of Lutheran faith, infulencing him to be suspecious and parinoid of them.
It worked a little too well. Charles invited the leaders of the Lutheran League to his palace in Vienna for peace talks, even throwing a feast. At the feast, he had his men murder all the heretics, including the women and children who had the misfortune of attending. When the Elector of Saxony begged the mad emperor to let his wife and his children leave for they had done nothing wrong, the emperor, sitting safely at his table, famously replied, "There is no such thing as an innocent heretic. All must answer for their crimes."
To top off the utter brutalness of this act, Charles sent the pope, boxes containing boxes of the severed heads of Saxony and the other leaders of the Lutheran League, claiming that God's enemy was dead.
To say the pope was horrified would be an understatement. He immediately excommunicated Charles, proclaiming his actions unchristian. Charles was enraged and fired back that if the pope felt pity for the heretics than he must be one too and should be removed.
However, before he could make any plans to march on Rome----and burn in to the ground as he declared----Charles was ambushed and captured by____who had him overthrown and locked up. Three months later, he died after eating---he was suspected to have been poisoned. No one mourned him.
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POD: When Henry II begins his 1171 conquest in Ireland it goes even better than OTL, so instead of recognizing Rory O’Conor as High King, Henry takes the throne himself, naming his youngest son John as heir.
Since we just had a super long Irish list, this one will end in between 1400 and 1425 (last person’s choice). Since that’s super early for ending monarchial rule, the list will end with the Irish Plantagenets losing Ireland. Maybe the main line dies out and a side branch inherits, maybe they get conquered by England, maybe a native Irish house kicks them out, it’s the last person’s choice.
Also, you can note I’m continuing the tradition of King coronating their successor while still alive. Whether the tradition continues it’s your choice.
Plantagenet Kings of Ireland
1171-1194*: Henry I [Plantagenet]
1180-1194: Henry I and John I [Plantagenet]
1194-1205: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1205-1210: John I and William I [Plantagenet]
1210-1213: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1213-1262: Henry II "the Posthumous" [Plantagenet] [2]
1262-1267: William II "the Cruel" [Plantagenet] [3]
1267-1288: Réamonn I "the Just" [Plantagenet] [4]
[1] John was born the youngest of four sons to Henry of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Initially slated for the church, John’s fate changed when his father successfully conquered Ireland. John was named his father successor there (his brothers already designated for inheritances) and at age 14 his father had him crowned King of Ireland. (Much as Henry II had crowned Henry III earlier).
His father’s absence and disinterest allowed John more influence in Ireland, compared to his brother’s influence in England. Henry II regretted this as a 19 year old John would elope with Rose of Connacht. Henry II would do what he could to censure John, but as Henry II was a bit busy with his elder sons (they came quite close to rebellion but never quite crossed over) John faced few consequences. His marriage to an Irish princess won John a little good will, but most of his ruling still amounted to playing wack-a-mole with various threats. John and Rose would have three children.
When Henry II died in 1194* his vast properties were divided up amongst his four sons with the elder three immediately began squabbling over the finer details. John would stay out of it, and focus on securing his control in Ireland. He invited various Saxon nobles and yeoman to come settle in Ireland, inflating the numbers of his supporters.
John’s wife Rose would pass away in 1192, and his brother Richard would take the opportunity to try and bring John in to the family squabbles on his side by suggesting John wed Richard’s sister-in-law Teresa of Navarre. As Richard was offering to add to Teresa’s dowery, and John needed the funds, he would accept. Since the support John sent Richard were a few troublesome Irish lords and their retainers that John wanted out of Ireland, John defiantly got the better end of that deal. John and Teresa had four children, all sons.
The rest of John’s reign continued as it began: large stretches of posturing and minor raids punctuated by brief violent battles. While not the commander his father was, John was an able administrator ensuring his forces had adequate food, armaments, and other resources as they bludgeoned the Irish in to submission. Many Irish lords had their land confiscated, as John added to his holdings to ensure each of his sons had their own inheritance.
In 1205, John would crown his eldest son William, King of Ireland and arrange his betrothal to Margaret of Scotland, but shortly after their wedding in 1209, William would catch a fever and pass away.
The death of William I hit John particularly hard. When John contracted the same illness that killed William I, many thought John would die. But when John received word that Margaret was pregnant, he rallied.
He would live to see the birth of his grandchild and three years later died, leaving his grandson as his successor.
* Since Henry FitzEmpress didn’t take back Henry the Young King’s castles since John has his own inheritance, he had a better relationship with his elder sons, so his ulcer took longer to get so bad since he was less stressed.
[2] Henry Plantagent was merely three-years-old when he ascended the throne. The idea of a toddler king with English regent sparked an Irish rebellion that lasted four years---with England battling France, King Henry III of England (son of Henry the young King), had little interest in helping his cousin. Now while there was talk overthrowing the Plantagents rule of Ireland, the leader of the rebellion, Aedh O'Conchobair felt that would just lead to more English aggression. He felt it would be easier and more effective to guide the young king, emerging him with Irish culture. However, Aedh made sure to keep one or two English tutors, in fear that Henry becoming too Irish would cause his English cousins an excuse to invade.
Aedh eventually became fond of Henry---and the boy of him---to the point where he was openly calling the young king his son, nicknaming him Anraí O' Aedh.
Once Henry became of age in 1226, he continued his guardian's policy of trying to palace English and Irish culture. He married Aedh's daughter, Eibhlin and he named Aedh the Duke of Connacht. To say people were a little leery (and resentful) of the influence the duke had over the king.
The second rebellion of King Henry's reign broke out in 1227. This time, Henry was old enough to fight. He and Aedh rode into battle together. Aedh would sadly die, diving in the path of an arrow meant for Henry. The monarch would weep over the body of his father figure before turning his anger on the leader of the rebellion. It would be a bloody fight, but in the end Henry emerged victorious, but also a changed man, not for the better.
Angry and suspicious, Henry became harsher in his polices, more ruthless with his enemies. All those who participated in the second Irish rebellion were slaughtered like livestock.
The only bright spot in his life was his wife Eibhlin. He was devastated when she died giving birth to their third child in 1231. After much hounding by his councilors, he would remarry Eleanor of Provence and they would go on to have five children.
After years of facing unpopularity and unrest, Henry fell ill in 1261 and would die a year later, leaving his son William to deal with his divided kingdom.
[3] William was born in 1227 as the first child of Henry II and Eibhlin O'Conor. He was four when his mother died, which made the rowdy child into a serious person as it was recorded that he never laughed joyfully again after that event. Although he wasn't crowned King of Ireland during his father's lifetime (Henry didn't care much about his son), he did help him in performing the various duties that a king would do.
William became King of Ireland following the death of his father in 1262, with documents from the time saying that when he heard the news, he didn't cry at all. His brief reign had many polices of his predecessor continued, and so was even more unpopular as he was considered more cold than Henry II. Finally in 1267 the people had enough and William's half-brother, Réamonn rallied a rebellion against the tyrant, who successfully became King after William was shot in the head by a skilled archer.
[4] Réamonn, was the first-born son of King Henry and Eleanor of Provence in 1237. When his mother asked what she should name their son, his father replied in a disinterested tone to name him whatever she wanted. She chose to call him Ramon after her father. It was ironic that the half-French son would later, insist that he be called the Irish version of his name.
While his half-sisters, Eileen and Teresa doted on him and his siblings, his half brother bullied them relentlessly, even once pushing four-year-old Richard down a well where he would have drowned had Réamonn had gotten help. Réamonn found himself often protecting his siblings and deflecting William's cruelty to himself so he would leave the other four alone.
The only time Réamonn ever agreed with his brother was when he didn't shed a tear over their father's death. "He was my king and sire, but he was no father of mine," Réamonn wrote in a letter to his wife. (A year before his father's death, Réamonn had married Alix of Brittany).
William all but banished his half-brothers from court (his two half-sisters were married off to minor gentleman). And yet as William's cruelty became even more apparent, many nobles flocked to him.
In 1267, Réamonn alongside his brothers, Charles and Richard fought rose in rebellion oust their half-brother. William's death by arrow (rumored to have been the work of Richard) ended the battle and the army kneeled at the feet of Réamonn.
After his coronation, Réamonn's first act was to find wives for his brothers. He choose an Italian heiress for Charles and the distant relative of Eibhlin O'Conor for Richard. He then went to work repealing the harsh policies of his father. He decided to have an assembly of men to discuss which of the policies should be kept, done away with or changed.
He spent two decades trying to repair the damage left by his predecessors and bringing peace to his troubled kingdom. All of this took a toll on him, it seemed he was litterally working himself to death. Finally in 1288, after twenty-one years, Réamonn died of a fever. ____would succeed him.
Since we just had a super long Irish list, this one will end in between 1400 and 1425 (last person’s choice). Since that’s super early for ending monarchial rule, the list will end with the Irish Plantagenets losing Ireland. Maybe the main line dies out and a side branch inherits, maybe they get conquered by England, maybe a native Irish house kicks them out, it’s the last person’s choice.
Also, you can note I’m continuing the tradition of King coronating their successor while still alive. Whether the tradition continues it’s your choice.
Plantagenet Kings of Ireland
1171-1194*: Henry I [Plantagenet]
1180-1194: Henry I and John I [Plantagenet]
1194-1205: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1205-1210: John I and William I [Plantagenet]
1210-1213: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1213-1262: Henry II "the Posthumous" [Plantagenet] [2]
1262-1267: William II "the Cruel" [Plantagenet] [3]
1267-1288: Réamonn I "the Just" [Plantagenet] [4]
[1] John was born the youngest of four sons to Henry of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Initially slated for the church, John’s fate changed when his father successfully conquered Ireland. John was named his father successor there (his brothers already designated for inheritances) and at age 14 his father had him crowned King of Ireland. (Much as Henry II had crowned Henry III earlier).
His father’s absence and disinterest allowed John more influence in Ireland, compared to his brother’s influence in England. Henry II regretted this as a 19 year old John would elope with Rose of Connacht. Henry II would do what he could to censure John, but as Henry II was a bit busy with his elder sons (they came quite close to rebellion but never quite crossed over) John faced few consequences. His marriage to an Irish princess won John a little good will, but most of his ruling still amounted to playing wack-a-mole with various threats. John and Rose would have three children.
When Henry II died in 1194* his vast properties were divided up amongst his four sons with the elder three immediately began squabbling over the finer details. John would stay out of it, and focus on securing his control in Ireland. He invited various Saxon nobles and yeoman to come settle in Ireland, inflating the numbers of his supporters.
John’s wife Rose would pass away in 1192, and his brother Richard would take the opportunity to try and bring John in to the family squabbles on his side by suggesting John wed Richard’s sister-in-law Teresa of Navarre. As Richard was offering to add to Teresa’s dowery, and John needed the funds, he would accept. Since the support John sent Richard were a few troublesome Irish lords and their retainers that John wanted out of Ireland, John defiantly got the better end of that deal. John and Teresa had four children, all sons.
The rest of John’s reign continued as it began: large stretches of posturing and minor raids punctuated by brief violent battles. While not the commander his father was, John was an able administrator ensuring his forces had adequate food, armaments, and other resources as they bludgeoned the Irish in to submission. Many Irish lords had their land confiscated, as John added to his holdings to ensure each of his sons had their own inheritance.
In 1205, John would crown his eldest son William, King of Ireland and arrange his betrothal to Margaret of Scotland, but shortly after their wedding in 1209, William would catch a fever and pass away.
The death of William I hit John particularly hard. When John contracted the same illness that killed William I, many thought John would die. But when John received word that Margaret was pregnant, he rallied.
He would live to see the birth of his grandchild and three years later died, leaving his grandson as his successor.
* Since Henry FitzEmpress didn’t take back Henry the Young King’s castles since John has his own inheritance, he had a better relationship with his elder sons, so his ulcer took longer to get so bad since he was less stressed.
[2] Henry Plantagent was merely three-years-old when he ascended the throne. The idea of a toddler king with English regent sparked an Irish rebellion that lasted four years---with England battling France, King Henry III of England (son of Henry the young King), had little interest in helping his cousin. Now while there was talk overthrowing the Plantagents rule of Ireland, the leader of the rebellion, Aedh O'Conchobair felt that would just lead to more English aggression. He felt it would be easier and more effective to guide the young king, emerging him with Irish culture. However, Aedh made sure to keep one or two English tutors, in fear that Henry becoming too Irish would cause his English cousins an excuse to invade.
Aedh eventually became fond of Henry---and the boy of him---to the point where he was openly calling the young king his son, nicknaming him Anraí O' Aedh.
Once Henry became of age in 1226, he continued his guardian's policy of trying to palace English and Irish culture. He married Aedh's daughter, Eibhlin and he named Aedh the Duke of Connacht. To say people were a little leery (and resentful) of the influence the duke had over the king.
The second rebellion of King Henry's reign broke out in 1227. This time, Henry was old enough to fight. He and Aedh rode into battle together. Aedh would sadly die, diving in the path of an arrow meant for Henry. The monarch would weep over the body of his father figure before turning his anger on the leader of the rebellion. It would be a bloody fight, but in the end Henry emerged victorious, but also a changed man, not for the better.
Angry and suspicious, Henry became harsher in his polices, more ruthless with his enemies. All those who participated in the second Irish rebellion were slaughtered like livestock.
The only bright spot in his life was his wife Eibhlin. He was devastated when she died giving birth to their third child in 1231. After much hounding by his councilors, he would remarry Eleanor of Provence and they would go on to have five children.
After years of facing unpopularity and unrest, Henry fell ill in 1261 and would die a year later, leaving his son William to deal with his divided kingdom.
[3] William was born in 1227 as the first child of Henry II and Eibhlin O'Conor. He was four when his mother died, which made the rowdy child into a serious person as it was recorded that he never laughed joyfully again after that event. Although he wasn't crowned King of Ireland during his father's lifetime (Henry didn't care much about his son), he did help him in performing the various duties that a king would do.
William became King of Ireland following the death of his father in 1262, with documents from the time saying that when he heard the news, he didn't cry at all. His brief reign had many polices of his predecessor continued, and so was even more unpopular as he was considered more cold than Henry II. Finally in 1267 the people had enough and William's half-brother, Réamonn rallied a rebellion against the tyrant, who successfully became King after William was shot in the head by a skilled archer.
[4] Réamonn, was the first-born son of King Henry and Eleanor of Provence in 1237. When his mother asked what she should name their son, his father replied in a disinterested tone to name him whatever she wanted. She chose to call him Ramon after her father. It was ironic that the half-French son would later, insist that he be called the Irish version of his name.
While his half-sisters, Eileen and Teresa doted on him and his siblings, his half brother bullied them relentlessly, even once pushing four-year-old Richard down a well where he would have drowned had Réamonn had gotten help. Réamonn found himself often protecting his siblings and deflecting William's cruelty to himself so he would leave the other four alone.
The only time Réamonn ever agreed with his brother was when he didn't shed a tear over their father's death. "He was my king and sire, but he was no father of mine," Réamonn wrote in a letter to his wife. (A year before his father's death, Réamonn had married Alix of Brittany).
William all but banished his half-brothers from court (his two half-sisters were married off to minor gentleman). And yet as William's cruelty became even more apparent, many nobles flocked to him.
In 1267, Réamonn alongside his brothers, Charles and Richard fought rose in rebellion oust their half-brother. William's death by arrow (rumored to have been the work of Richard) ended the battle and the army kneeled at the feet of Réamonn.
After his coronation, Réamonn's first act was to find wives for his brothers. He choose an Italian heiress for Charles and the distant relative of Eibhlin O'Conor for Richard. He then went to work repealing the harsh policies of his father. He decided to have an assembly of men to discuss which of the policies should be kept, done away with or changed.
He spent two decades trying to repair the damage left by his predecessors and bringing peace to his troubled kingdom. All of this took a toll on him, it seemed he was litterally working himself to death. Finally in 1288, after twenty-one years, Réamonn died of a fever. ____would succeed him.
1544. They weren't putting up with him for fifteen years. Corrected.
Kings of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
[6] Born as Sigismund II and Bona Sforza's second son, Andrew grew into a intelligent and capable prince, unlike his older brother Charles, whom he despised. He was barely elected as Holy Roman Emperor in 1544 with the Austrian Hapsburgs and Charles of Spain (the other competitors in the election) claiming that Andrew had bribed the Imperial Electors to vote for him. The Pope, furious that Andrew's brother Charles almost burned down Rome, declared a Crusade against Hungary, with it becoming known as the Anti-Hungary Crusade (1544-1547).
The Crusade would be a decisive victory for the Papal States and it's allies as they burnt down the cities of Esztergom, Szekesfehervar and Buda, killed the three surviving sons of Andrew IV in battle (Sigismund, John, and Stephen), and the capture of Andrew himself. He was taken to Rome and paraded in shackles during the triumph of Ernest of Saxony, one of the main leaders of the Battle of Pilsen and the killer of Sigismund.
Hungary was greatly strip of it's lands as Croatia became ruled by a noble Venetian family, Bohemia given to Austria, and Hungary itself was made to elect a new monarch upon the death of Andrew IV. He also was removed of his title of Holy Roman Empire, with it given to Charles of Spain, having the title until his death in 1556.
The Anti-Hungary Crusade would also be notable for being the start of the regconciliaton between the Protestants and Catholics as the Lutheran Leauge fought on the same side as the Papal States.
Andrew would stay under house arrest for the rest of his life, with his only company being his wife Louise of France. He committed suicide in 1555 and was succeeded by __________ as King of Hungary.
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
[1] Charles V was born in 1409 as the sole son and heir of Sigismund I and would grow up to be an intelligent and brave young Prince, a worthy heir to his father when he died in 1437, leaving the 28-year old Charles as King. His reign would be marked by peace and relative stability with a reign which saw the Triple Monarchy of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia enter a golden age after the Hussite Wars. Charles V would marry Margaret of Austria in 1431 with the couple having five children between 1431 and Charles' death in 1455 during the Siege of Belgrade while leading forces against the Ottomans. In the aftermath of his death in battle, John would become the next ruler of the Kingdom.
[2] John I was the eldest child of Charles V an Margaret of Austria, born in 1433. He was brought up in the opulent courts of his father in Prague and Buda, a son of the golden age that the Triple Monarchy was going through. He was raised alongside the likes of Corvinus and Podebrady and it was clear that the young heir was a talented man. Finding a keen tact for martial and political affairs, John followed his father into his campaign to stop the Ottoman army of Mehmed the II in the frontier of Hungary. John I was a fine warrior, and thus, was the standard bearer for his father and saw him die in front of his eyes. Hungarian historians ratify John's following rallying of the Hungaro-Bohemian troops and his leadership in the subsequent battle as the major factor for the christian victory in Belgrade and John's tenacity for the reason over the capture of Mehmed the II and much of his entourage. Hunyadi, Charles the V's right-hand and John's often-tutor would take 10000 men and lead an invasion of Serbia with the hope of reconquering the region for Christianity but this, despite failing, would see many uprisings in the European part of the Ottoman Empire.
His coronation in both Buda and Prague was attended by many of the lords of Christendom and even the pope, as he procedeed to drag both Mehmed the II and Zaganos Pasha everywhere he went. The Ottoman Empire fell into a state of civil war during this time, as being deprived of both it's Sultan and Grand Vizier cut off the head of the Empire. John the II and I, respectivelly, would use his great victory and the presence of the pope in his domains to force both the Hungarian and Bohemian diets to aprove new taxes to re-fill the royal treasury and famously forced both diets to acquiesce to him as sovereign in perpetuety, ending the elective monarchies of both crowns. It was a great victory for the House of Luxembourg, as this sucess guaranteed them a permanent place in the Empire and dynastic stability for their domains, allowing the King to rule without bending for the nobility. It was this major victory that would be the birth of John's ambitions of ruling the Holy Roman Empire, as his ancestors, Charles and Sigismund had done.
Mehmed the II was delivered to the care of Rome, (Where he was paraded in shackles as Caesar had done to Vercingetorix) and John was given a triumph in the fashion of Rome of old. It is this event was the inspiration for the famous statue of "Janos the Victorious".
John's return to Hungary saw him continue his victories in the diet, succeeding in expanding the royal domains in both of his crown (Hungary and Bohemia), expand the civil service in an alliance with the peasantry and bourgeousie of his Kingdoms and reduce the powers of the Bans of Croatia and the Voivodes of Transylvania. The peace treaties with the Ottoman regency saw most of Northern Serbia ceded to him and Johh would combine with Hunyadi to form one of Europe's first professional armies, "The Black Armies of Hungary and Bohemia", perhaps one of the most effective fighting forces of the day. Many of the Turkish officer corps captured by John in Belgrade would convert to Christianity and come serve John, giving the Kingdoms dear insight in the workings of the Ottoman state and army. In 1463 John would invade Bosnia during a civil war and would conquer it for himself, integrating Bosnia under his Croatian crown.
John would marry Margaret of Brandenburg, with whom he would have six children. Margaret and John would have a loving albeit distant relationship, as Margaret and the children for the most part remained in Prague while John spent many months in Croatia and Hungary. It would be Margaret that would famously gain the allegiance of the Danubian principalities during one of her rare visits to Transylvania, although the principalities remained relatively free of Hungarian interference.
John would have a stable and grand reign, mostly peaceful after 1467, the year he briefly clashed with Frederick the III, but afterwards resigned himself from war and retired to Prague to spend his last years with his wife. John the II would never overcome the fact that despite his great victories, he did not manage to recover the Holy Roman Crown for the House of Luxembourg. He died of a heart attack in 1483 after a swim in the Danube.
[3] Born in 1467, Sigsimund II was the third child and first son of John and Margaret.
His father had betrothed Sisgismund to Marie de Valois (OTL born a boy Francis, Duke of Berry) as part of an alliance designed to put pressure on the Hapsburgs and perhaps recover the Holy Roman Crown. As Marie was five years younger than Sigismund, they wouldn’t wed till he was 20 years old.
Sigsimund grew up in Prague, where his mother insured he had the best tutors. His father was an impactful if distant presence on young Sigismund’s life. At an early age, he was struck with the fear that he would never measure up to his father. So, Sigsimund never tried.
Now, Sigsimund wasn’t a bad King: he didn’t over spend nor was he pick fights. Sigsimund was just really found of delegation. He allowed the respective diets handle a great number of things his father had denied them, though he retained the new hereditary nature of the crown. He had his uncle Charles handle military. Throughout his life, Sigsimund did little to no ruling.
Instead Sigismund devoted himself to having a good time. He went through many different hobbies: writing poetry, hosting masques, hunting, wrestling, archery, tennis, astronomy, and watching plays. He invited an Italian dance master to arrange elaborate dance entertainments. He adored boardgames, and sponsored many new games. He also loved throwing weddings and many a European noble was invited to hold their wedding in Prague.
For all his general uselessness (at least in regard to general kingly things) Sigsimund was generally well liked and the Triple Crown Golden Age continued through his reign. The common folk liked the peace that resulted from Sigismund’s lack of ambition. The nobles found him affable and charming. And since Sigisimund loved nothing more than trying something new, he won many a nobleman over by participating in their pet project and lavishing them and their efforts with praise.
Sigsimund never pursued the Holy Roman Crown and this did put strain on his relationship with his wife. (Marie firmly felt that for France and Bohemia/Hungary/Croatia to flourish, Sigsimund should become Holy Roman Emperor). Due to this strain Sigsimund and Marie only managed two children and Sigsimund would acquire a long term mistress: Zsuzsanna, the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman. Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna would have five children.
Marie would die during a miscarriage in 1500 and Sigsimund would take the opportunity to wed Zsuzsanna. He would petition the pope to legitimize his and Zsuzsanna’s children, and the pope would eventually acquiesce (He needed Sigsimund’s army) with the caveat that their children couldn’t inherit. But Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna's marriage would only last two years as Zsuzsanna would passageway from winter chill.
Since Zsuzsanna’s children were ineligible to inherit, Sigsimund only had two heirs and so was pressured to remarry. He married Sibylle of Bavaria as the two had met at the wedding of Palatine Louis V and her sister Sidonie of Bavaria and shared a love of boardgames. Sigsimund and Sibylle had three children before his death in 1513. Sigsimund was succeeded by his son Louis.
[4] Louis was the son of Sigsimund and Marie, born in 1483. He adored his mother and agreed with her on most things, viewing his father as a weak and ineffectual leader. Their relationship would get worse when his father married his longtime mistress, refusing to see her as a queen or her children as his siblings He once loudly accused Zsuzanna of poisoning his mother and after his father's death, he would banish his illegitimate half-siblings from his kingdoms. There are dark whispers that he killed Zsuzsanna in a fit of rage and the winter chill was merely a story to cover it up. He almost got excommunicated for ordering his father's dead mistress's tomb to be destroyed and her body to be thrown into the river. Luckily, he was talked down by his full brother, the only person who could control his tempers.
Despite his rather dark reputation, Louis was a strong candidate for the Holy Roman Emperor. He managed to sway many of the electors and King Francois of France, swayed by promises of alliances and the return of the Burgaidian Netherlands to France, backed him.
It was a close election, but Louis managed to win much to the shock and anger of the young King Charles of Spain. But Louis' glee was short lived as he soon found himself fighting a war on two sides. The Ottoman Empire was attacking Hungary while the disgruntled Charles of Spain had decided to attack Navarre in hopes of finishing what his grandfather started, deciding to declare himself, the Emperor of Iberia.
In retaliation, Francois attacked the Burgundian Netherlands. Meanwhile, Louis divided his army into two, leading one half against the Turks, while sending his brother to help their French allies. Hungry for the glory of his grandfather, Louis would charge into battle, trying to carve a bloody line to the commander. Unfortunately he was cut down by accidental friendly fire. There were some rumors that the unknown bowman had meant to hit the emperor, assassinating him, with some stories making the bowman be one of Zsuzsanna's sons, wanting revenge on Louis.
[5] Prince Sigismund was the oldest son of King Louis, being born in 1499. As Prince, Sigismund would grow up to be an intelligent young man, albeit one with a deep ruthless streak. In the aftermath of his father's death from friendly fire, Sigismund would be elected as Holy Roman Emperor, even if Charles would dispute the title for the rest of his reign.
As ruler, Sigismund would prove to be a surprisingly intelligent and competent ruler, effective in his rule over the Holy Roman Empire as he and King Francis would decisively triumph in the wars against the Hapsburgs, even if the Hapsburgs in Austria would remain a problem. With the Hapsburgs defeated and the electors satisfied, Sigismund would be a ruler who would supervise the centralization of the Holy Roman Empire into a more centralized entity with the opportunity that his triumph presented. However, his reign would also be marked by the Reformation in Germany and while Sigismund was a Catholic, he would be relatively moderate in his religious policies, allowing Protestantism to flourish as long as Protestants swore loyalty to him.
As Emperor, Sigismund would marry Bona Sforza in 1517 with the couple having five children who survived infancy. However, Sigismund's reign would be cut short as he would die at the age of 41 from smallpox, leaving his son, Charles as his heir.
[6] An emperor should be composed, brave, just and of sound mind. Charles was none of those things. He started out as a weak willed boy, who was easily lead and often ill. His councilors conspired to use him to push their agenda: putting an end to the spread of the reformation. They conjoled him into having harsher punishments and restrictions against those of Lutheran faith, infulencing him to be suspecious and parinoid of them.
It worked a little too well. Charles invited the leaders of the Lutheran League to his palace in Vienna for peace talks, even throwing a feast. At the feast, he had his men murder all the heretics, including the women and children who had the misfortune of attending. When the Elector of Saxony begged the mad emperor to let his wife and his children leave for they had done nothing wrong, the emperor, sitting safely at his table, famously replied, "There is no such thing as an innocent heretic. All must answer for their crimes."
To top off the utter brutalness of this act, Charles sent the pope, boxes containing boxes of the severed heads of Saxony and the other leaders of the Lutheran League, claiming that God's enemy was dead.
To say the pope was horrified would be an understatement. He immediately excommunicated Charles, proclaiming his actions unchristian. Charles was enraged and fired back that if the pope felt pity for the heretics than he must be one too and should be removed.
However, before he could make any plans to march on Rome----and burn in to the ground as he declared----Charles was ambushed and captured by his brother Andrew, who had him overthrown and locked up. Three months later, he died after eating---he was suspected to have been poisoned. No one mourned him.
[2] John I was the eldest child of Charles V an Margaret of Austria, born in 1433. He was brought up in the opulent courts of his father in Prague and Buda, a son of the golden age that the Triple Monarchy was going through. He was raised alongside the likes of Corvinus and Podebrady and it was clear that the young heir was a talented man. Finding a keen tact for martial and political affairs, John followed his father into his campaign to stop the Ottoman army of Mehmed the II in the frontier of Hungary. John I was a fine warrior, and thus, was the standard bearer for his father and saw him die in front of his eyes. Hungarian historians ratify John's following rallying of the Hungaro-Bohemian troops and his leadership in the subsequent battle as the major factor for the christian victory in Belgrade and John's tenacity for the reason over the capture of Mehmed the II and much of his entourage. Hunyadi, Charles the V's right-hand and John's often-tutor would take 10000 men and lead an invasion of Serbia with the hope of reconquering the region for Christianity but this, despite failing, would see many uprisings in the European part of the Ottoman Empire.
His coronation in both Buda and Prague was attended by many of the lords of Christendom and even the pope, as he procedeed to drag both Mehmed the II and Zaganos Pasha everywhere he went. The Ottoman Empire fell into a state of civil war during this time, as being deprived of both it's Sultan and Grand Vizier cut off the head of the Empire. John the II and I, respectivelly, would use his great victory and the presence of the pope in his domains to force both the Hungarian and Bohemian diets to aprove new taxes to re-fill the royal treasury and famously forced both diets to acquiesce to him as sovereign in perpetuety, ending the elective monarchies of both crowns. It was a great victory for the House of Luxembourg, as this sucess guaranteed them a permanent place in the Empire and dynastic stability for their domains, allowing the King to rule without bending for the nobility. It was this major victory that would be the birth of John's ambitions of ruling the Holy Roman Empire, as his ancestors, Charles and Sigismund had done.
Mehmed the II was delivered to the care of Rome, (Where he was paraded in shackles as Caesar had done to Vercingetorix) and John was given a triumph in the fashion of Rome of old. It is this event was the inspiration for the famous statue of "Janos the Victorious".
John's return to Hungary saw him continue his victories in the diet, succeeding in expanding the royal domains in both of his crown (Hungary and Bohemia), expand the civil service in an alliance with the peasantry and bourgeousie of his Kingdoms and reduce the powers of the Bans of Croatia and the Voivodes of Transylvania. The peace treaties with the Ottoman regency saw most of Northern Serbia ceded to him and Johh would combine with Hunyadi to form one of Europe's first professional armies, "The Black Armies of Hungary and Bohemia", perhaps one of the most effective fighting forces of the day. Many of the Turkish officer corps captured by John in Belgrade would convert to Christianity and come serve John, giving the Kingdoms dear insight in the workings of the Ottoman state and army. In 1463 John would invade Bosnia during a civil war and would conquer it for himself, integrating Bosnia under his Croatian crown.
John would marry Margaret of Brandenburg, with whom he would have six children. Margaret and John would have a loving albeit distant relationship, as Margaret and the children for the most part remained in Prague while John spent many months in Croatia and Hungary. It would be Margaret that would famously gain the allegiance of the Danubian principalities during one of her rare visits to Transylvania, although the principalities remained relatively free of Hungarian interference.
John would have a stable and grand reign, mostly peaceful after 1467, the year he briefly clashed with Frederick the III, but afterwards resigned himself from war and retired to Prague to spend his last years with his wife. John the II would never overcome the fact that despite his great victories, he did not manage to recover the Holy Roman Crown for the House of Luxembourg. He died of a heart attack in 1483 after a swim in the Danube.
[3] Born in 1467, Sigsimund II was the third child and first son of John and Margaret.
His father had betrothed Sisgismund to Marie de Valois (OTL born a boy Francis, Duke of Berry) as part of an alliance designed to put pressure on the Hapsburgs and perhaps recover the Holy Roman Crown. As Marie was five years younger than Sigismund, they wouldn’t wed till he was 20 years old.
Sigsimund grew up in Prague, where his mother insured he had the best tutors. His father was an impactful if distant presence on young Sigismund’s life. At an early age, he was struck with the fear that he would never measure up to his father. So, Sigsimund never tried.
Now, Sigsimund wasn’t a bad King: he didn’t over spend nor was he pick fights. Sigsimund was just really found of delegation. He allowed the respective diets handle a great number of things his father had denied them, though he retained the new hereditary nature of the crown. He had his uncle Charles handle military. Throughout his life, Sigsimund did little to no ruling.
Instead Sigismund devoted himself to having a good time. He went through many different hobbies: writing poetry, hosting masques, hunting, wrestling, archery, tennis, astronomy, and watching plays. He invited an Italian dance master to arrange elaborate dance entertainments. He adored boardgames, and sponsored many new games. He also loved throwing weddings and many a European noble was invited to hold their wedding in Prague.
For all his general uselessness (at least in regard to general kingly things) Sigsimund was generally well liked and the Triple Crown Golden Age continued through his reign. The common folk liked the peace that resulted from Sigismund’s lack of ambition. The nobles found him affable and charming. And since Sigisimund loved nothing more than trying something new, he won many a nobleman over by participating in their pet project and lavishing them and their efforts with praise.
Sigsimund never pursued the Holy Roman Crown and this did put strain on his relationship with his wife. (Marie firmly felt that for France and Bohemia/Hungary/Croatia to flourish, Sigsimund should become Holy Roman Emperor). Due to this strain Sigsimund and Marie only managed two children and Sigsimund would acquire a long term mistress: Zsuzsanna, the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman. Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna would have five children.
Marie would die during a miscarriage in 1500 and Sigsimund would take the opportunity to wed Zsuzsanna. He would petition the pope to legitimize his and Zsuzsanna’s children, and the pope would eventually acquiesce (He needed Sigsimund’s army) with the caveat that their children couldn’t inherit. But Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna's marriage would only last two years as Zsuzsanna would passageway from winter chill.
Since Zsuzsanna’s children were ineligible to inherit, Sigsimund only had two heirs and so was pressured to remarry. He married Sibylle of Bavaria as the two had met at the wedding of Palatine Louis V and her sister Sidonie of Bavaria and shared a love of boardgames. Sigsimund and Sibylle had three children before his death in 1513. Sigsimund was succeeded by his son Louis.
[4] Louis was the son of Sigsimund and Marie, born in 1483. He adored his mother and agreed with her on most things, viewing his father as a weak and ineffectual leader. Their relationship would get worse when his father married his longtime mistress, refusing to see her as a queen or her children as his siblings He once loudly accused Zsuzanna of poisoning his mother and after his father's death, he would banish his illegitimate half-siblings from his kingdoms. There are dark whispers that he killed Zsuzsanna in a fit of rage and the winter chill was merely a story to cover it up. He almost got excommunicated for ordering his father's dead mistress's tomb to be destroyed and her body to be thrown into the river. Luckily, he was talked down by his full brother, the only person who could control his tempers.
Despite his rather dark reputation, Louis was a strong candidate for the Holy Roman Emperor. He managed to sway many of the electors and King Francois of France, swayed by promises of alliances and the return of the Burgaidian Netherlands to France, backed him.
It was a close election, but Louis managed to win much to the shock and anger of the young King Charles of Spain. But Louis' glee was short lived as he soon found himself fighting a war on two sides. The Ottoman Empire was attacking Hungary while the disgruntled Charles of Spain had decided to attack Navarre in hopes of finishing what his grandfather started, deciding to declare himself, the Emperor of Iberia.
In retaliation, Francois attacked the Burgundian Netherlands. Meanwhile, Louis divided his army into two, leading one half against the Turks, while sending his brother to help their French allies. Hungry for the glory of his grandfather, Louis would charge into battle, trying to carve a bloody line to the commander. Unfortunately he was cut down by accidental friendly fire. There were some rumors that the unknown bowman had meant to hit the emperor, assassinating him, with some stories making the bowman be one of Zsuzsanna's sons, wanting revenge on Louis.
[5] Prince Sigismund was the oldest son of King Louis, being born in 1499. As Prince, Sigismund would grow up to be an intelligent young man, albeit one with a deep ruthless streak. In the aftermath of his father's death from friendly fire, Sigismund would be elected as Holy Roman Emperor, even if Charles would dispute the title for the rest of his reign.
As ruler, Sigismund would prove to be a surprisingly intelligent and competent ruler, effective in his rule over the Holy Roman Empire as he and King Francis would decisively triumph in the wars against the Hapsburgs, even if the Hapsburgs in Austria would remain a problem. With the Hapsburgs defeated and the electors satisfied, Sigismund would be a ruler who would supervise the centralization of the Holy Roman Empire into a more centralized entity with the opportunity that his triumph presented. However, his reign would also be marked by the Reformation in Germany and while Sigismund was a Catholic, he would be relatively moderate in his religious policies, allowing Protestantism to flourish as long as Protestants swore loyalty to him.
As Emperor, Sigismund would marry Bona Sforza in 1517 with the couple having five children who survived infancy. However, Sigismund's reign would be cut short as he would die at the age of 41 from smallpox, leaving his son, Charles as his heir.
[6] An emperor should be composed, brave, just and of sound mind. Charles was none of those things. He started out as a weak willed boy, who was easily lead and often ill. His councilors conspired to use him to push their agenda: putting an end to the spread of the reformation. They conjoled him into having harsher punishments and restrictions against those of Lutheran faith, infulencing him to be suspecious and parinoid of them.
It worked a little too well. Charles invited the leaders of the Lutheran League to his palace in Vienna for peace talks, even throwing a feast. At the feast, he had his men murder all the heretics, including the women and children who had the misfortune of attending. When the Elector of Saxony begged the mad emperor to let his wife and his children leave for they had done nothing wrong, the emperor, sitting safely at his table, famously replied, "There is no such thing as an innocent heretic. All must answer for their crimes."
To top off the utter brutalness of this act, Charles sent the pope, boxes containing boxes of the severed heads of Saxony and the other leaders of the Lutheran League, claiming that God's enemy was dead.
To say the pope was horrified would be an understatement. He immediately excommunicated Charles, proclaiming his actions unchristian. Charles was enraged and fired back that if the pope felt pity for the heretics than he must be one too and should be removed.
However, before he could make any plans to march on Rome----and burn in to the ground as he declared----Charles was ambushed and captured by his brother Andrew, who had him overthrown and locked up. Three months later, he died after eating---he was suspected to have been poisoned. No one mourned him.
[6] Born as Sigismund II and Bona Sforza's second son, Andrew grew into a intelligent and capable prince, unlike his older brother Charles, whom he despised. He was barely elected as Holy Roman Emperor in 1544 with the Austrian Hapsburgs and Charles of Spain (the other competitors in the election) claiming that Andrew had bribed the Imperial Electors to vote for him. The Pope, furious that Andrew's brother Charles almost burned down Rome, declared a Crusade against Hungary, with it becoming known as the Anti-Hungary Crusade (1544-1547).
The Crusade would be a decisive victory for the Papal States and it's allies as they burnt down the cities of Esztergom, Szekesfehervar and Buda, killed the three surviving sons of Andrew IV in battle (Sigismund, John, and Stephen), and the capture of Andrew himself. He was taken to Rome and paraded in shackles during the triumph of Ernest of Saxony, one of the main leaders of the Battle of Pilsen and the killer of Sigismund.
Hungary was greatly strip of it's lands as Croatia became ruled by a noble Venetian family, Bohemia given to Austria, and Hungary itself was made to elect a new monarch upon the death of Andrew IV. He also was removed of his title of Holy Roman Empire, with it given to Charles of Spain, having the title until his death in 1556.
The Anti-Hungary Crusade would also be notable for being the start of the regconciliaton between the Protestants and Catholics as the Lutheran Leauge fought on the same side as the Papal States.
Andrew would stay under house arrest for the rest of his life, with his only company being his wife Louise of France. He committed suicide in 1555 and was succeeded by __________ as King of Hungary.
POD: When Henry II begins his 1171 conquest in Ireland it goes even better than OTL, so instead of recognizing Rory O’Conor as High King, Henry takes the throne himself, naming his youngest son John as heir.
Since we just had a super long Irish list, this one will end in between 1400 and 1425 (last person’s choice). Since that’s super early for ending monarchial rule, the list will end with the Irish Plantagenets losing Ireland. Maybe the main line dies out and a side branch inherits, maybe they get conquered by England, maybe a native Irish house kicks them out, it’s the last person’s choice.
Also, you can note I’m continuing the tradition of King coronating their successor while still alive. Whether the tradition continues it’s your choice.
Plantagenet Kings of Ireland
1171-1194*: Henry I [Plantagenet]
1180-1194: Henry I and John I [Plantagenet]
1194-1205: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1205-1210: John I and William I [Plantagenet]
1210-1213: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1213-1262: Henry II "the Posthumous" [Plantagenet] [2]
1262-1267: William II "the Cruel" [Plantagenet] [3]
1267-1288: Réamonn I "the Just" [Plantagenet] [4]
Plantagenet King of Ireland and Duke of Saluzzo
1288-1293 : John II [Plantagenet] [5]
Plantagenet of Ireland
1293-1212: John II [Plantagenet] [5]
1212-1216: John II and __________ [Plantagenet]
John Plantagenet, sometimes called Jean, sometimes called Eoin, sometimes called Sean, sometimes called Gian, sometimes called Ionnes, was the eldest son of Charles Plantagent and Luisa of Saluzzo. John’s mother’s inheritance was contested so, John’s family spent most of his early childhood bouncing between the various Plantagent royal courts.
In 1286, Charles and Luisa would finally gain control of Saluzzo. But a year later, Luisa and Charles would both die when a fever spread through the household. John was now Duke of Saluzzo. Mere months afterwards, John received word that his cousin, Henry Plantagent was dead, and John was heir to the throne of Ireland.
Upon receiving word of Réamonn’s death, John would travel to Ireland quickly where he was crowned. He inherited a kingdom intensely divided between the native Lords and the descendants of the Saxons that had come with Henry I. Additionally John brought with him a collection of lords (second sons, or cousins from minor branches) that he had befriended during his youth.
John would work to connect these various factions with a plethora of marriages; the first step in his effort to create an Irish-Saxon culture. (This culture was also influenced by the English, the Bretons, and the other cultures John brought with him).
After four years, John would travel back to Saluzzo. He would take his time in continental Europe to arrange several favorable trade agreements and, once he was done, transfer the ducal dignity to his younger brother, Charles. On his way back to Ireland, John stopped in Aquitaine and wed his distant cousin Mechtilde of Aquitaine. They would have five children.
Back in Ireland, John continued to try and urge a blending of cultures. This and efforts to have Ireland engage with the rest of Europe were his two main goals during his reign.
In 1212, John would copy his ancestor and crown __________ his co-King. This would free John to leave for the Fifth Crusade. (The crusade was part of John’s effort to expand Ireland’s influence. Also, to get some troublesome lords out of Ireland). Towards the end of the crusade, John would be killed in battle leaving _________ as sole ruler of Ireland.
John I Plantagenet, King of Ireland, b. 1166, d. 1227 married a) Rose O’Conor, b. 1163, d. 1192; b) Teresa Sánchez, b. 1179
Since we just had a super long Irish list, this one will end in between 1400 and 1425 (last person’s choice). Since that’s super early for ending monarchial rule, the list will end with the Irish Plantagenets losing Ireland. Maybe the main line dies out and a side branch inherits, maybe they get conquered by England, maybe a native Irish house kicks them out, it’s the last person’s choice.
Also, you can note I’m continuing the tradition of King coronating their successor while still alive. Whether the tradition continues it’s your choice.
Plantagenet Kings of Ireland
1171-1194*: Henry I [Plantagenet]
1180-1194: Henry I and John I [Plantagenet]
1194-1205: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1205-1210: John I and William I [Plantagenet]
1210-1213: John I [Plantagenet] [1]
1213-1262: Henry II "the Posthumous" [Plantagenet] [2]
1262-1267: William II "the Cruel" [Plantagenet] [3]
1267-1288: Réamonn I "the Just" [Plantagenet] [4]
Plantagenet King of Ireland and Duke of Saluzzo
1288-1293 : John II [Plantagenet] [5]
Plantagenet of Ireland
1293-1212: John II [Plantagenet] [5]
1212-1216: John II and __________ [Plantagenet]
John Plantagenet, sometimes called Jean, sometimes called Eoin, sometimes called Sean, sometimes called Gian, sometimes called Ionnes, was the eldest son of Charles Plantagent and Luisa of Saluzzo. John’s mother’s inheritance was contested so, John’s family spent most of his early childhood bouncing between the various Plantagent royal courts.
In 1286, Charles and Luisa would finally gain control of Saluzzo. But a year later, Luisa and Charles would both die when a fever spread through the household. John was now Duke of Saluzzo. Mere months afterwards, John received word that his cousin, Henry Plantagent was dead, and John was heir to the throne of Ireland.
Upon receiving word of Réamonn’s death, John would travel to Ireland quickly where he was crowned. He inherited a kingdom intensely divided between the native Lords and the descendants of the Saxons that had come with Henry I. Additionally John brought with him a collection of lords (second sons, or cousins from minor branches) that he had befriended during his youth.
John would work to connect these various factions with a plethora of marriages; the first step in his effort to create an Irish-Saxon culture. (This culture was also influenced by the English, the Bretons, and the other cultures John brought with him).
After four years, John would travel back to Saluzzo. He would take his time in continental Europe to arrange several favorable trade agreements and, once he was done, transfer the ducal dignity to his younger brother, Charles. On his way back to Ireland, John stopped in Aquitaine and wed his distant cousin Mechtilde of Aquitaine. They would have five children.
Back in Ireland, John continued to try and urge a blending of cultures. This and efforts to have Ireland engage with the rest of Europe were his two main goals during his reign.
In 1212, John would copy his ancestor and crown __________ his co-King. This would free John to leave for the Fifth Crusade. (The crusade was part of John’s effort to expand Ireland’s influence. Also, to get some troublesome lords out of Ireland). Towards the end of the crusade, John would be killed in battle leaving _________ as sole ruler of Ireland.
John I Plantagenet, King of Ireland, b. 1166, d. 1227 married a) Rose O’Conor, b. 1163, d. 1192; b) Teresa Sánchez, b. 1179
a) William I Plantagent, King of Ireland, b. 1188, d. 1210 married Margaret Dunkeld, b. 1193
1) Henry Plantagent, King of Ireland, b. 1210, d. 1262 married a) Eileen O’Conor b) Eleanor Barcelona
a) William II Plantagent, King of Ireland, b. 1227, d. 1267
a) Eileen Plantagent
a) Teresa Plantagent
b) Réamonn I Plantagent, King of Ireland, b. 1237 m. Alix Plantagent
1) Henry Plantagent, d. 1287
b) Charles Plantagent, b. 1239 m. Luisa di Saluzzo, Duchess of Saluzzo
1) John II Plantagent, King of Ireland, b. 1270, d. 1216 m. Mechtilde Plantagent
five children
2) Charles Plantagent, Duke of Saluzzo
b) Richard Plantagent m. Lady O’Conor
b) two daughters
a) two other children
b) four sons
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Kings of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Kings of Hungary and Croatia
1555-1580: Catherine I and Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1580-1584: Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
[8] Princess Catherine was born in 1538 as the older of the two daughters of King Andrew IV and would become heir to the throne as a result of her brothers all dying in the Anti-Hungarian Crusade. With that, Catherine would be betrothed to her cousin Louis, grandson of Sigismund's younger brother Charles, in 1554 with Louis being elected as the new King of Hungary after Andrew IV's suicide, naming Catherine as his co-ruler after his election as King. While King Louis and Queen Catherine, as a condition for their election, were forced to accept a basic charter restricting the monarch's power, the two were not willing to let their realm slip quietly into the night.
One of the main developments in King Louis and Queen Catherine's reign would be Hungary's unlikely alliance with the Ottoman Empire, when the Hungarians, who had been the "bulwark" of Christendom against the Turks, would end up allying with the Ottomans during their reign. While many have deemed such an alliance to be "unlikely", Hungary's status as a pariah in Europe with neither Catholic nor Protestant willing to ally with them has been deemed by many to be the main factor in said alliance. Owing to the newfound alliance with the Ottomans, Hungary would reclaim most of Croatia during this period after a war in the 1570s with Louis crowning himself King of Croatia in 1577 after a joint Ottoman-Hungarian invasion.
In domestic matters, the royal couple would end up presiding over a period of recovery from the devastation of the Anti-Hungary Crusade with much of their reign, outside of their alliance with the Ottomans, being focused on reconstruction of a Kingdom shattered by war. While Hungary was still a shadow of its former glory by the end of their reign, it was well on its way to recovery. In religious matters, King Louis' reign would be marked by Hungary becoming a Calvinist realm with Calvinism being adopted as the state religion in 1574, making Hungary a center of Calvinism in Europe.
Catherine would die at the age of 42 giving birth to her tenth and last child with Louis, never fully recovering from his wife's loss, dying in 1584, being succeeded by __________.
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Kings of Hungary and Croatia
1555-1580: Catherine I and Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1580-1584: Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
[1] Charles V was born in 1409 as the sole son and heir of Sigismund I and would grow up to be an intelligent and brave young Prince, a worthy heir to his father when he died in 1437, leaving the 28-year old Charles as King. His reign would be marked by peace and relative stability with a reign which saw the Triple Monarchy of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia enter a golden age after the Hussite Wars. Charles V would marry Margaret of Austria in 1431 with the couple having five children between 1431 and Charles' death in 1455 during the Siege of Belgrade while leading forces against the Ottomans. In the aftermath of his death in battle, John would become the next ruler of the Kingdom.
[2] John I was the eldest child of Charles V an Margaret of Austria, born in 1433. He was brought up in the opulent courts of his father in Prague and Buda, a son of the golden age that the Triple Monarchy was going through. He was raised alongside the likes of Corvinus and Podebrady and it was clear that the young heir was a talented man. Finding a keen tact for martial and political affairs, John followed his father into his campaign to stop the Ottoman army of Mehmed the II in the frontier of Hungary. John I was a fine warrior, and thus, was the standard bearer for his father and saw him die in front of his eyes. Hungarian historians ratify John's following rallying of the Hungaro-Bohemian troops and his leadership in the subsequent battle as the major factor for the christian victory in Belgrade and John's tenacity for the reason over the capture of Mehmed the II and much of his entourage. Hunyadi, Charles the V's right-hand and John's often-tutor would take 10000 men and lead an invasion of Serbia with the hope of reconquering the region for Christianity but this, despite failing, would see many uprisings in the European part of the Ottoman Empire.
His coronation in both Buda and Prague was attended by many of the lords of Christendom and even the pope, as he procedeed to drag both Mehmed the II and Zaganos Pasha everywhere he went. The Ottoman Empire fell into a state of civil war during this time, as being deprived of both it's Sultan and Grand Vizier cut off the head of the Empire. John the II and I, respectivelly, would use his great victory and the presence of the pope in his domains to force both the Hungarian and Bohemian diets to aprove new taxes to re-fill the royal treasury and famously forced both diets to acquiesce to him as sovereign in perpetuety, ending the elective monarchies of both crowns. It was a great victory for the House of Luxembourg, as this sucess guaranteed them a permanent place in the Empire and dynastic stability for their domains, allowing the King to rule without bending for the nobility. It was this major victory that would be the birth of John's ambitions of ruling the Holy Roman Empire, as his ancestors, Charles and Sigismund had done.
Mehmed the II was delivered to the care of Rome, (Where he was paraded in shackles as Caesar had done to Vercingetorix) and John was given a triumph in the fashion of Rome of old. It is this event was the inspiration for the famous statue of "Janos the Victorious".
John's return to Hungary saw him continue his victories in the diet, succeeding in expanding the royal domains in both of his crown (Hungary and Bohemia), expand the civil service in an alliance with the peasantry and bourgeousie of his Kingdoms and reduce the powers of the Bans of Croatia and the Voivodes of Transylvania. The peace treaties with the Ottoman regency saw most of Northern Serbia ceded to him and Johh would combine with Hunyadi to form one of Europe's first professional armies, "The Black Armies of Hungary and Bohemia", perhaps one of the most effective fighting forces of the day. Many of the Turkish officer corps captured by John in Belgrade would convert to Christianity and come serve John, giving the Kingdoms dear insight in the workings of the Ottoman state and army. In 1463 John would invade Bosnia during a civil war and would conquer it for himself, integrating Bosnia under his Croatian crown.
John would marry Margaret of Brandenburg, with whom he would have six children. Margaret and John would have a loving albeit distant relationship, as Margaret and the children for the most part remained in Prague while John spent many months in Croatia and Hungary. It would be Margaret that would famously gain the allegiance of the Danubian principalities during one of her rare visits to Transylvania, although the principalities remained relatively free of Hungarian interference.
John would have a stable and grand reign, mostly peaceful after 1467, the year he briefly clashed with Frederick the III, but afterwards resigned himself from war and retired to Prague to spend his last years with his wife. John the II would never overcome the fact that despite his great victories, he did not manage to recover the Holy Roman Crown for the House of Luxembourg. He died of a heart attack in 1483 after a swim in the Danube.
[3] Born in 1467, Sigsimund II was the third child and first son of John and Margaret.
His father had betrothed Sisgismund to Marie de Valois (OTL born a boy Francis, Duke of Berry) as part of an alliance designed to put pressure on the Hapsburgs and perhaps recover the Holy Roman Crown. As Marie was five years younger than Sigismund, they wouldn’t wed till he was 20 years old.
Sigsimund grew up in Prague, where his mother insured he had the best tutors. His father was an impactful if distant presence on young Sigismund’s life. At an early age, he was struck with the fear that he would never measure up to his father. So, Sigsimund never tried.
Now, Sigsimund wasn’t a bad King: he didn’t over spend nor was he pick fights. Sigsimund was just really found of delegation. He allowed the respective diets handle a great number of things his father had denied them, though he retained the new hereditary nature of the crown. He had his uncle Charles handle military. Throughout his life, Sigsimund did little to no ruling.
Instead Sigismund devoted himself to having a good time. He went through many different hobbies: writing poetry, hosting masques, hunting, wrestling, archery, tennis, astronomy, and watching plays. He invited an Italian dance master to arrange elaborate dance entertainments. He adored boardgames, and sponsored many new games. He also loved throwing weddings and many a European noble was invited to hold their wedding in Prague.
For all his general uselessness (at least in regard to general kingly things) Sigsimund was generally well liked and the Triple Crown Golden Age continued through his reign. The common folk liked the peace that resulted from Sigismund’s lack of ambition. The nobles found him affable and charming. And since Sigisimund loved nothing more than trying something new, he won many a nobleman over by participating in their pet project and lavishing them and their efforts with praise.
Sigsimund never pursued the Holy Roman Crown and this did put strain on his relationship with his wife. (Marie firmly felt that for France and Bohemia/Hungary/Croatia to flourish, Sigsimund should become Holy Roman Emperor). Due to this strain Sigsimund and Marie only managed two children and Sigsimund would acquire a long term mistress: Zsuzsanna, the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman. Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna would have five children.
Marie would die during a miscarriage in 1500 and Sigsimund would take the opportunity to wed Zsuzsanna. He would petition the pope to legitimize his and Zsuzsanna’s children, and the pope would eventually acquiesce (He needed Sigsimund’s army) with the caveat that their children couldn’t inherit. But Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna's marriage would only last two years as Zsuzsanna would passageway from winter chill.
Since Zsuzsanna’s children were ineligible to inherit, Sigsimund only had two heirs and so was pressured to remarry. He married Sibylle of Bavaria as the two had met at the wedding of Palatine Louis V and her sister Sidonie of Bavaria and shared a love of boardgames. Sigsimund and Sibylle had three children before his death in 1513. Sigsimund was succeeded by his son Louis.
[4] Louis was the son of Sigsimund and Marie, born in 1483. He adored his mother and agreed with her on most things, viewing his father as a weak and ineffectual leader. Their relationship would get worse when his father married his longtime mistress, refusing to see her as a queen or her children as his siblings He once loudly accused Zsuzanna of poisoning his mother and after his father's death, he would banish his illegitimate half-siblings from his kingdoms. There are dark whispers that he killed Zsuzsanna in a fit of rage and the winter chill was merely a story to cover it up. He almost got excommunicated for ordering his father's dead mistress's tomb to be destroyed and her body to be thrown into the river. Luckily, he was talked down by his full brother, the only person who could control his tempers.
Despite his rather dark reputation, Louis was a strong candidate for the Holy Roman Emperor. He managed to sway many of the electors and King Francois of France, swayed by promises of alliances and the return of the Burgaidian Netherlands to France, backed him.
It was a close election, but Louis managed to win much to the shock and anger of the young King Charles of Spain. But Louis' glee was short lived as he soon found himself fighting a war on two sides. The Ottoman Empire was attacking Hungary while the disgruntled Charles of Spain had decided to attack Navarre in hopes of finishing what his grandfather started, deciding to declare himself, the Emperor of Iberia.
In retaliation, Francois attacked the Burgundian Netherlands. Meanwhile, Louis divided his army into two, leading one half against the Turks, while sending his brother to help their French allies. Hungry for the glory of his grandfather, Louis would charge into battle, trying to carve a bloody line to the commander. Unfortunately he was cut down by accidental friendly fire. There were some rumors that the unknown bowman had meant to hit the emperor, assassinating him, with some stories making the bowman be one of Zsuzsanna's sons, wanting revenge on Louis.
[5] Prince Sigismund was the oldest son of King Louis, being born in 1499. As Prince, Sigismund would grow up to be an intelligent young man, albeit one with a deep ruthless streak. In the aftermath of his father's death from friendly fire, Sigismund would be elected as Holy Roman Emperor, even if Charles would dispute the title for the rest of his reign.
As ruler, Sigismund would prove to be a surprisingly intelligent and competent ruler, effective in his rule over the Holy Roman Empire as he and King Francis would decisively triumph in the wars against the Hapsburgs, even if the Hapsburgs in Austria would remain a problem. With the Hapsburgs defeated and the electors satisfied, Sigismund would be a ruler who would supervise the centralization of the Holy Roman Empire into a more centralized entity with the opportunity that his triumph presented. However, his reign would also be marked by the Reformation in Germany and while Sigismund was a Catholic, he would be relatively moderate in his religious policies, allowing Protestantism to flourish as long as Protestants swore loyalty to him.
As Emperor, Sigismund would marry Bona Sforza in 1517 with the couple having five children who survived infancy. However, Sigismund's reign would be cut short as he would die at the age of 41 from smallpox, leaving his son, Charles as his heir.
[6] An emperor should be composed, brave, just and of sound mind. Charles was none of those things. He started out as a weak willed boy, who was easily lead and often ill. His councilors conspired to use him to push their agenda: putting an end to the spread of the reformation. They conjoled him into having harsher punishments and restrictions against those of Lutheran faith, infulencing him to be suspecious and parinoid of them.
It worked a little too well. Charles invited the leaders of the Lutheran League to his palace in Vienna for peace talks, even throwing a feast. At the feast, he had his men murder all the heretics, including the women and children who had the misfortune of attending. When the Elector of Saxony begged the mad emperor to let his wife and his children leave for they had done nothing wrong, the emperor, sitting safely at his table, famously replied, "There is no such thing as an innocent heretic. All must answer for their crimes."
To top off the utter brutalness of this act, Charles sent the pope, boxes containing boxes of the severed heads of Saxony and the other leaders of the Lutheran League, claiming that God's enemy was dead.
To say the pope was horrified would be an understatement. He immediately excommunicated Charles, proclaiming his actions unchristian. Charles was enraged and fired back that if the pope felt pity for the heretics than he must be one too and should be removed.
However, before he could make any plans to march on Rome----and burn in to the ground as he declared----Charles was ambushed and captured by his brother Andrew, who had him overthrown and locked up. Three months later, he died after eating---he was suspected to have been poisoned. No one mourned him.
[7] Born as Sigismund II and Bona Sforza's second son, Andrew grew into a intelligent and capable prince, unlike his older brother Charles, whom he despised. He was barely elected as Holy Roman Emperor in 1544 with the Austrian Hapsburgs and Charles of Spain (the other competitors in the election) claiming that Andrew had bribed the Imperial Electors to vote for him. The Pope, furious that Andrew's brother Charles almost burned down Rome, declared a Crusade against Hungary, with it becoming known as the Anti-Hungary Crusade (1544-1547).
The Crusade would be a decisive victory for the Papal States and it's allies as they burnt down the cities of Esztergom, Szekesfehervar and Buda, killed the three surviving sons of Andrew IV in battle (Sigismund, John, and Stephen), and the capture of Andrew himself. He was taken to Rome and paraded in shackles during the triumph of Ernest of Saxony, one of the main leaders of the Battle of Pilsen and the killer of Sigismund.
Hungary was greatly strip of it's lands as Croatia became ruled by a noble Venetian family, Bohemia given to Austria, and Hungary itself was made to elect a new monarch upon the death of Andrew IV. He also was removed of his title of Holy Roman Empire, with it given to Charles of Spain, having the title until his death in 1556.
The Anti-Hungary Crusade would also be notable for being the start of the regconciliaton between the Protestants and Catholics as the Lutheran Leauge fought on the same side as the Papal States.
Andrew would stay under house arrest for the rest of his life, with his only company being his wife Louise of France. He committed suicide in 1555 and was succeeded by __________ as King of Hungary.
[2] John I was the eldest child of Charles V an Margaret of Austria, born in 1433. He was brought up in the opulent courts of his father in Prague and Buda, a son of the golden age that the Triple Monarchy was going through. He was raised alongside the likes of Corvinus and Podebrady and it was clear that the young heir was a talented man. Finding a keen tact for martial and political affairs, John followed his father into his campaign to stop the Ottoman army of Mehmed the II in the frontier of Hungary. John I was a fine warrior, and thus, was the standard bearer for his father and saw him die in front of his eyes. Hungarian historians ratify John's following rallying of the Hungaro-Bohemian troops and his leadership in the subsequent battle as the major factor for the christian victory in Belgrade and John's tenacity for the reason over the capture of Mehmed the II and much of his entourage. Hunyadi, Charles the V's right-hand and John's often-tutor would take 10000 men and lead an invasion of Serbia with the hope of reconquering the region for Christianity but this, despite failing, would see many uprisings in the European part of the Ottoman Empire.
His coronation in both Buda and Prague was attended by many of the lords of Christendom and even the pope, as he procedeed to drag both Mehmed the II and Zaganos Pasha everywhere he went. The Ottoman Empire fell into a state of civil war during this time, as being deprived of both it's Sultan and Grand Vizier cut off the head of the Empire. John the II and I, respectivelly, would use his great victory and the presence of the pope in his domains to force both the Hungarian and Bohemian diets to aprove new taxes to re-fill the royal treasury and famously forced both diets to acquiesce to him as sovereign in perpetuety, ending the elective monarchies of both crowns. It was a great victory for the House of Luxembourg, as this sucess guaranteed them a permanent place in the Empire and dynastic stability for their domains, allowing the King to rule without bending for the nobility. It was this major victory that would be the birth of John's ambitions of ruling the Holy Roman Empire, as his ancestors, Charles and Sigismund had done.
Mehmed the II was delivered to the care of Rome, (Where he was paraded in shackles as Caesar had done to Vercingetorix) and John was given a triumph in the fashion of Rome of old. It is this event was the inspiration for the famous statue of "Janos the Victorious".
John's return to Hungary saw him continue his victories in the diet, succeeding in expanding the royal domains in both of his crown (Hungary and Bohemia), expand the civil service in an alliance with the peasantry and bourgeousie of his Kingdoms and reduce the powers of the Bans of Croatia and the Voivodes of Transylvania. The peace treaties with the Ottoman regency saw most of Northern Serbia ceded to him and Johh would combine with Hunyadi to form one of Europe's first professional armies, "The Black Armies of Hungary and Bohemia", perhaps one of the most effective fighting forces of the day. Many of the Turkish officer corps captured by John in Belgrade would convert to Christianity and come serve John, giving the Kingdoms dear insight in the workings of the Ottoman state and army. In 1463 John would invade Bosnia during a civil war and would conquer it for himself, integrating Bosnia under his Croatian crown.
John would marry Margaret of Brandenburg, with whom he would have six children. Margaret and John would have a loving albeit distant relationship, as Margaret and the children for the most part remained in Prague while John spent many months in Croatia and Hungary. It would be Margaret that would famously gain the allegiance of the Danubian principalities during one of her rare visits to Transylvania, although the principalities remained relatively free of Hungarian interference.
John would have a stable and grand reign, mostly peaceful after 1467, the year he briefly clashed with Frederick the III, but afterwards resigned himself from war and retired to Prague to spend his last years with his wife. John the II would never overcome the fact that despite his great victories, he did not manage to recover the Holy Roman Crown for the House of Luxembourg. He died of a heart attack in 1483 after a swim in the Danube.
[3] Born in 1467, Sigsimund II was the third child and first son of John and Margaret.
His father had betrothed Sisgismund to Marie de Valois (OTL born a boy Francis, Duke of Berry) as part of an alliance designed to put pressure on the Hapsburgs and perhaps recover the Holy Roman Crown. As Marie was five years younger than Sigismund, they wouldn’t wed till he was 20 years old.
Sigsimund grew up in Prague, where his mother insured he had the best tutors. His father was an impactful if distant presence on young Sigismund’s life. At an early age, he was struck with the fear that he would never measure up to his father. So, Sigsimund never tried.
Now, Sigsimund wasn’t a bad King: he didn’t over spend nor was he pick fights. Sigsimund was just really found of delegation. He allowed the respective diets handle a great number of things his father had denied them, though he retained the new hereditary nature of the crown. He had his uncle Charles handle military. Throughout his life, Sigsimund did little to no ruling.
Instead Sigismund devoted himself to having a good time. He went through many different hobbies: writing poetry, hosting masques, hunting, wrestling, archery, tennis, astronomy, and watching plays. He invited an Italian dance master to arrange elaborate dance entertainments. He adored boardgames, and sponsored many new games. He also loved throwing weddings and many a European noble was invited to hold their wedding in Prague.
For all his general uselessness (at least in regard to general kingly things) Sigsimund was generally well liked and the Triple Crown Golden Age continued through his reign. The common folk liked the peace that resulted from Sigismund’s lack of ambition. The nobles found him affable and charming. And since Sigisimund loved nothing more than trying something new, he won many a nobleman over by participating in their pet project and lavishing them and their efforts with praise.
Sigsimund never pursued the Holy Roman Crown and this did put strain on his relationship with his wife. (Marie firmly felt that for France and Bohemia/Hungary/Croatia to flourish, Sigsimund should become Holy Roman Emperor). Due to this strain Sigsimund and Marie only managed two children and Sigsimund would acquire a long term mistress: Zsuzsanna, the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman. Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna would have five children.
Marie would die during a miscarriage in 1500 and Sigsimund would take the opportunity to wed Zsuzsanna. He would petition the pope to legitimize his and Zsuzsanna’s children, and the pope would eventually acquiesce (He needed Sigsimund’s army) with the caveat that their children couldn’t inherit. But Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna's marriage would only last two years as Zsuzsanna would passageway from winter chill.
Since Zsuzsanna’s children were ineligible to inherit, Sigsimund only had two heirs and so was pressured to remarry. He married Sibylle of Bavaria as the two had met at the wedding of Palatine Louis V and her sister Sidonie of Bavaria and shared a love of boardgames. Sigsimund and Sibylle had three children before his death in 1513. Sigsimund was succeeded by his son Louis.
[4] Louis was the son of Sigsimund and Marie, born in 1483. He adored his mother and agreed with her on most things, viewing his father as a weak and ineffectual leader. Their relationship would get worse when his father married his longtime mistress, refusing to see her as a queen or her children as his siblings He once loudly accused Zsuzanna of poisoning his mother and after his father's death, he would banish his illegitimate half-siblings from his kingdoms. There are dark whispers that he killed Zsuzsanna in a fit of rage and the winter chill was merely a story to cover it up. He almost got excommunicated for ordering his father's dead mistress's tomb to be destroyed and her body to be thrown into the river. Luckily, he was talked down by his full brother, the only person who could control his tempers.
Despite his rather dark reputation, Louis was a strong candidate for the Holy Roman Emperor. He managed to sway many of the electors and King Francois of France, swayed by promises of alliances and the return of the Burgaidian Netherlands to France, backed him.
It was a close election, but Louis managed to win much to the shock and anger of the young King Charles of Spain. But Louis' glee was short lived as he soon found himself fighting a war on two sides. The Ottoman Empire was attacking Hungary while the disgruntled Charles of Spain had decided to attack Navarre in hopes of finishing what his grandfather started, deciding to declare himself, the Emperor of Iberia.
In retaliation, Francois attacked the Burgundian Netherlands. Meanwhile, Louis divided his army into two, leading one half against the Turks, while sending his brother to help their French allies. Hungry for the glory of his grandfather, Louis would charge into battle, trying to carve a bloody line to the commander. Unfortunately he was cut down by accidental friendly fire. There were some rumors that the unknown bowman had meant to hit the emperor, assassinating him, with some stories making the bowman be one of Zsuzsanna's sons, wanting revenge on Louis.
[5] Prince Sigismund was the oldest son of King Louis, being born in 1499. As Prince, Sigismund would grow up to be an intelligent young man, albeit one with a deep ruthless streak. In the aftermath of his father's death from friendly fire, Sigismund would be elected as Holy Roman Emperor, even if Charles would dispute the title for the rest of his reign.
As ruler, Sigismund would prove to be a surprisingly intelligent and competent ruler, effective in his rule over the Holy Roman Empire as he and King Francis would decisively triumph in the wars against the Hapsburgs, even if the Hapsburgs in Austria would remain a problem. With the Hapsburgs defeated and the electors satisfied, Sigismund would be a ruler who would supervise the centralization of the Holy Roman Empire into a more centralized entity with the opportunity that his triumph presented. However, his reign would also be marked by the Reformation in Germany and while Sigismund was a Catholic, he would be relatively moderate in his religious policies, allowing Protestantism to flourish as long as Protestants swore loyalty to him.
As Emperor, Sigismund would marry Bona Sforza in 1517 with the couple having five children who survived infancy. However, Sigismund's reign would be cut short as he would die at the age of 41 from smallpox, leaving his son, Charles as his heir.
[6] An emperor should be composed, brave, just and of sound mind. Charles was none of those things. He started out as a weak willed boy, who was easily lead and often ill. His councilors conspired to use him to push their agenda: putting an end to the spread of the reformation. They conjoled him into having harsher punishments and restrictions against those of Lutheran faith, infulencing him to be suspecious and parinoid of them.
It worked a little too well. Charles invited the leaders of the Lutheran League to his palace in Vienna for peace talks, even throwing a feast. At the feast, he had his men murder all the heretics, including the women and children who had the misfortune of attending. When the Elector of Saxony begged the mad emperor to let his wife and his children leave for they had done nothing wrong, the emperor, sitting safely at his table, famously replied, "There is no such thing as an innocent heretic. All must answer for their crimes."
To top off the utter brutalness of this act, Charles sent the pope, boxes containing boxes of the severed heads of Saxony and the other leaders of the Lutheran League, claiming that God's enemy was dead.
To say the pope was horrified would be an understatement. He immediately excommunicated Charles, proclaiming his actions unchristian. Charles was enraged and fired back that if the pope felt pity for the heretics than he must be one too and should be removed.
However, before he could make any plans to march on Rome----and burn in to the ground as he declared----Charles was ambushed and captured by his brother Andrew, who had him overthrown and locked up. Three months later, he died after eating---he was suspected to have been poisoned. No one mourned him.
[7] Born as Sigismund II and Bona Sforza's second son, Andrew grew into a intelligent and capable prince, unlike his older brother Charles, whom he despised. He was barely elected as Holy Roman Emperor in 1544 with the Austrian Hapsburgs and Charles of Spain (the other competitors in the election) claiming that Andrew had bribed the Imperial Electors to vote for him. The Pope, furious that Andrew's brother Charles almost burned down Rome, declared a Crusade against Hungary, with it becoming known as the Anti-Hungary Crusade (1544-1547).
The Crusade would be a decisive victory for the Papal States and it's allies as they burnt down the cities of Esztergom, Szekesfehervar and Buda, killed the three surviving sons of Andrew IV in battle (Sigismund, John, and Stephen), and the capture of Andrew himself. He was taken to Rome and paraded in shackles during the triumph of Ernest of Saxony, one of the main leaders of the Battle of Pilsen and the killer of Sigismund.
Hungary was greatly strip of it's lands as Croatia became ruled by a noble Venetian family, Bohemia given to Austria, and Hungary itself was made to elect a new monarch upon the death of Andrew IV. He also was removed of his title of Holy Roman Empire, with it given to Charles of Spain, having the title until his death in 1556.
The Anti-Hungary Crusade would also be notable for being the start of the regconciliaton between the Protestants and Catholics as the Lutheran Leauge fought on the same side as the Papal States.
Andrew would stay under house arrest for the rest of his life, with his only company being his wife Louise of France. He committed suicide in 1555 and was succeeded by __________ as King of Hungary.
[8] Princess Catherine was born in 1538 as the older of the two daughters of King Andrew IV and would become heir to the throne as a result of her brothers all dying in the Anti-Hungarian Crusade. With that, Catherine would be betrothed to her cousin Louis, grandson of Sigismund's younger brother Charles, in 1554 with Louis being elected as the new King of Hungary after Andrew IV's suicide, naming Catherine as his co-ruler after his election as King. While King Louis and Queen Catherine, as a condition for their election, were forced to accept a basic charter restricting the monarch's power, the two were not willing to let their realm slip quietly into the night.
One of the main developments in King Louis and Queen Catherine's reign would be Hungary's unlikely alliance with the Ottoman Empire, when the Hungarians, who had been the "bulwark" of Christendom against the Turks, would end up allying with the Ottomans during their reign. While many have deemed such an alliance to be "unlikely", Hungary's status as a pariah in Europe with neither Catholic nor Protestant willing to ally with them has been deemed by many to be the main factor in said alliance. Owing to the newfound alliance with the Ottomans, Hungary would reclaim most of Croatia during this period after a war in the 1570s with Louis crowning himself King of Croatia in 1577 after a joint Ottoman-Hungarian invasion.
In domestic matters, the royal couple would end up presiding over a period of recovery from the devastation of the Anti-Hungary Crusade with much of their reign, outside of their alliance with the Ottomans, being focused on reconstruction of a Kingdom shattered by war. While Hungary was still a shadow of its former glory by the end of their reign, it was well on its way to recovery. In religious matters, King Louis' reign would be marked by Hungary becoming a Calvinist realm with Calvinism being adopted as the state religion in 1574, making Hungary a center of Calvinism in Europe.
Catherine would die at the age of 42 giving birth to her tenth and last child with Louis, never fully recovering from his wife's loss, dying in 1584, being succeeded by __________.
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Kings of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Kings of Hungary and Croatia
1555-1580: Catherine I and Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1580-1584: Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1584-1585: Sigisumnd IV (House of Luxembourg) [9]
[9]
Sigsimund was the eldest son of Catherine and Louis. Wed to Princess Catherine d’Albret of Navarre as part of a Calvinist alliance, the two had three children before he was crowned in 1584.
Highly educated and a devote Calvinist, Sigsimund was a man with a lot of promise. Unfortunately he would not live to see his potential fulfilled. Barely a year after he was crowned Sigsimund would cut himself shaving. The wound would grow infected and he would die wracked with pain four days later. He was succeeded by ________.
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Kings of Hungary and Croatia
1555-1580: Catherine I and Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1580-1584: Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1584-1585: Sigisumnd IV (House of Luxembourg) [9]
[1] Charles V was born in 1409 as the sole son and heir of Sigismund I and would grow up to be an intelligent and brave young Prince, a worthy heir to his father when he died in 1437, leaving the 28-year old Charles as King. His reign would be marked by peace and relative stability with a reign which saw the Triple Monarchy of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia enter a golden age after the Hussite Wars. Charles V would marry Margaret of Austria in 1431 with the couple having five children between 1431 and Charles' death in 1455 during the Siege of Belgrade while leading forces against the Ottomans. In the aftermath of his death in battle, John would become the next ruler of the Kingdom.
[2] John I was the eldest child of Charles V an Margaret of Austria, born in 1433. He was brought up in the opulent courts of his father in Prague and Buda, a son of the golden age that the Triple Monarchy was going through. He was raised alongside the likes of Corvinus and Podebrady and it was clear that the young heir was a talented man. Finding a keen tact for martial and political affairs, John followed his father into his campaign to stop the Ottoman army of Mehmed the II in the frontier of Hungary. John I was a fine warrior, and thus, was the standard bearer for his father and saw him die in front of his eyes. Hungarian historians ratify John's following rallying of the Hungaro-Bohemian troops and his leadership in the subsequent battle as the major factor for the christian victory in Belgrade and John's tenacity for the reason over the capture of Mehmed the II and much of his entourage. Hunyadi, Charles the V's right-hand and John's often-tutor would take 10000 men and lead an invasion of Serbia with the hope of reconquering the region for Christianity but this, despite failing, would see many uprisings in the European part of the Ottoman Empire.
His coronation in both Buda and Prague was attended by many of the lords of Christendom and even the pope, as he procedeed to drag both Mehmed the II and Zaganos Pasha everywhere he went. The Ottoman Empire fell into a state of civil war during this time, as being deprived of both it's Sultan and Grand Vizier cut off the head of the Empire. John the II and I, respectivelly, would use his great victory and the presence of the pope in his domains to force both the Hungarian and Bohemian diets to aprove new taxes to re-fill the royal treasury and famously forced both diets to acquiesce to him as sovereign in perpetuety, ending the elective monarchies of both crowns. It was a great victory for the House of Luxembourg, as this sucess guaranteed them a permanent place in the Empire and dynastic stability for their domains, allowing the King to rule without bending for the nobility. It was this major victory that would be the birth of John's ambitions of ruling the Holy Roman Empire, as his ancestors, Charles and Sigismund had done.
Mehmed the II was delivered to the care of Rome, (Where he was paraded in shackles as Caesar had done to Vercingetorix) and John was given a triumph in the fashion of Rome of old. It is this event was the inspiration for the famous statue of "Janos the Victorious".
John's return to Hungary saw him continue his victories in the diet, succeeding in expanding the royal domains in both of his crown (Hungary and Bohemia), expand the civil service in an alliance with the peasantry and bourgeousie of his Kingdoms and reduce the powers of the Bans of Croatia and the Voivodes of Transylvania. The peace treaties with the Ottoman regency saw most of Northern Serbia ceded to him and Johh would combine with Hunyadi to form one of Europe's first professional armies, "The Black Armies of Hungary and Bohemia", perhaps one of the most effective fighting forces of the day. Many of the Turkish officer corps captured by John in Belgrade would convert to Christianity and come serve John, giving the Kingdoms dear insight in the workings of the Ottoman state and army. In 1463 John would invade Bosnia during a civil war and would conquer it for himself, integrating Bosnia under his Croatian crown.
John would marry Margaret of Brandenburg, with whom he would have six children. Margaret and John would have a loving albeit distant relationship, as Margaret and the children for the most part remained in Prague while John spent many months in Croatia and Hungary. It would be Margaret that would famously gain the allegiance of the Danubian principalities during one of her rare visits to Transylvania, although the principalities remained relatively free of Hungarian interference.
John would have a stable and grand reign, mostly peaceful after 1467, the year he briefly clashed with Frederick the III, but afterwards resigned himself from war and retired to Prague to spend his last years with his wife. John the II would never overcome the fact that despite his great victories, he did not manage to recover the Holy Roman Crown for the House of Luxembourg. He died of a heart attack in 1483 after a swim in the Danube.
[3] Born in 1467, Sigsimund II was the third child and first son of John and Margaret.
His father had betrothed Sisgismund to Marie de Valois (OTL born a boy Francis, Duke of Berry) as part of an alliance designed to put pressure on the Hapsburgs and perhaps recover the Holy Roman Crown. As Marie was five years younger than Sigismund, they wouldn’t wed till he was 20 years old.
Sigsimund grew up in Prague, where his mother insured he had the best tutors. His father was an impactful if distant presence on young Sigismund’s life. At an early age, he was struck with the fear that he would never measure up to his father. So, Sigsimund never tried.
Now, Sigsimund wasn’t a bad King: he didn’t over spend nor was he pick fights. Sigsimund was just really found of delegation. He allowed the respective diets handle a great number of things his father had denied them, though he retained the new hereditary nature of the crown. He had his uncle Charles handle military. Throughout his life, Sigsimund did little to no ruling.
Instead Sigismund devoted himself to having a good time. He went through many different hobbies: writing poetry, hosting masques, hunting, wrestling, archery, tennis, astronomy, and watching plays. He invited an Italian dance master to arrange elaborate dance entertainments. He adored boardgames, and sponsored many new games. He also loved throwing weddings and many a European noble was invited to hold their wedding in Prague.
For all his general uselessness (at least in regard to general kingly things) Sigsimund was generally well liked and the Triple Crown Golden Age continued through his reign. The common folk liked the peace that resulted from Sigismund’s lack of ambition. The nobles found him affable and charming. And since Sigisimund loved nothing more than trying something new, he won many a nobleman over by participating in their pet project and lavishing them and their efforts with praise.
Sigsimund never pursued the Holy Roman Crown and this did put strain on his relationship with his wife. (Marie firmly felt that for France and Bohemia/Hungary/Croatia to flourish, Sigsimund should become Holy Roman Emperor). Due to this strain Sigsimund and Marie only managed two children and Sigsimund would acquire a long term mistress: Zsuzsanna, the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman. Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna would have five children.
Marie would die during a miscarriage in 1500 and Sigsimund would take the opportunity to wed Zsuzsanna. He would petition the pope to legitimize his and Zsuzsanna’s children, and the pope would eventually acquiesce (He needed Sigsimund’s army) with the caveat that their children couldn’t inherit. But Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna's marriage would only last two years as Zsuzsanna would passageway from winter chill.
Since Zsuzsanna’s children were ineligible to inherit, Sigsimund only had two heirs and so was pressured to remarry. He married Sibylle of Bavaria as the two had met at the wedding of Palatine Louis V and her sister Sidonie of Bavaria and shared a love of boardgames. Sigsimund and Sibylle had three children before his death in 1513. Sigsimund was succeeded by his son Louis.
[4] Louis was the son of Sigsimund and Marie, born in 1483. He adored his mother and agreed with her on most things, viewing his father as a weak and ineffectual leader. Their relationship would get worse when his father married his longtime mistress, refusing to see her as a queen or her children as his siblings He once loudly accused Zsuzanna of poisoning his mother and after his father's death, he would banish his illegitimate half-siblings from his kingdoms. There are dark whispers that he killed Zsuzsanna in a fit of rage and the winter chill was merely a story to cover it up. He almost got excommunicated for ordering his father's dead mistress's tomb to be destroyed and her body to be thrown into the river. Luckily, he was talked down by his full brother, the only person who could control his tempers.
Despite his rather dark reputation, Louis was a strong candidate for the Holy Roman Emperor. He managed to sway many of the electors and King Francois of France, swayed by promises of alliances and the return of the Burgaidian Netherlands to France, backed him.
It was a close election, but Louis managed to win much to the shock and anger of the young King Charles of Spain. But Louis' glee was short lived as he soon found himself fighting a war on two sides. The Ottoman Empire was attacking Hungary while the disgruntled Charles of Spain had decided to attack Navarre in hopes of finishing what his grandfather started, deciding to declare himself, the Emperor of Iberia.
In retaliation, Francois attacked the Burgundian Netherlands. Meanwhile, Louis divided his army into two, leading one half against the Turks, while sending his brother to help their French allies. Hungry for the glory of his grandfather, Louis would charge into battle, trying to carve a bloody line to the commander. Unfortunately he was cut down by accidental friendly fire. There were some rumors that the unknown bowman had meant to hit the emperor, assassinating him, with some stories making the bowman be one of Zsuzsanna's sons, wanting revenge on Louis.
[5] Prince Sigismund was the oldest son of King Louis, being born in 1499. As Prince, Sigismund would grow up to be an intelligent young man, albeit one with a deep ruthless streak. In the aftermath of his father's death from friendly fire, Sigismund would be elected as Holy Roman Emperor, even if Charles would dispute the title for the rest of his reign.
As ruler, Sigismund would prove to be a surprisingly intelligent and competent ruler, effective in his rule over the Holy Roman Empire as he and King Francis would decisively triumph in the wars against the Hapsburgs, even if the Hapsburgs in Austria would remain a problem. With the Hapsburgs defeated and the electors satisfied, Sigismund would be a ruler who would supervise the centralization of the Holy Roman Empire into a more centralized entity with the opportunity that his triumph presented. However, his reign would also be marked by the Reformation in Germany and while Sigismund was a Catholic, he would be relatively moderate in his religious policies, allowing Protestantism to flourish as long as Protestants swore loyalty to him.
As Emperor, Sigismund would marry Bona Sforza in 1517 with the couple having five children who survived infancy. However, Sigismund's reign would be cut short as he would die at the age of 41 from smallpox, leaving his son, Charles as his heir.
[6] An emperor should be composed, brave, just and of sound mind. Charles was none of those things. He started out as a weak willed boy, who was easily lead and often ill. His councilors conspired to use him to push their agenda: putting an end to the spread of the reformation. They conjoled him into having harsher punishments and restrictions against those of Lutheran faith, infulencing him to be suspecious and parinoid of them.
It worked a little too well. Charles invited the leaders of the Lutheran League to his palace in Vienna for peace talks, even throwing a feast. At the feast, he had his men murder all the heretics, including the women and children who had the misfortune of attending. When the Elector of Saxony begged the mad emperor to let his wife and his children leave for they had done nothing wrong, the emperor, sitting safely at his table, famously replied, "There is no such thing as an innocent heretic. All must answer for their crimes."
To top off the utter brutalness of this act, Charles sent the pope, boxes containing boxes of the severed heads of Saxony and the other leaders of the Lutheran League, claiming that God's enemy was dead.
To say the pope was horrified would be an understatement. He immediately excommunicated Charles, proclaiming his actions unchristian. Charles was enraged and fired back that if the pope felt pity for the heretics than he must be one too and should be removed.
However, before he could make any plans to march on Rome----and burn in to the ground as he declared----Charles was ambushed and captured by his brother Andrew, who had him overthrown and locked up. Three months later, he died after eating---he was suspected to have been poisoned. No one mourned him.
[7] Born as Sigismund II and Bona Sforza's second son, Andrew grew into a intelligent and capable prince, unlike his older brother Charles, whom he despised. He was barely elected as Holy Roman Emperor in 1544 with the Austrian Hapsburgs and Charles of Spain (the other competitors in the election) claiming that Andrew had bribed the Imperial Electors to vote for him. The Pope, furious that Andrew's brother Charles almost burned down Rome, declared a Crusade against Hungary, with it becoming known as the Anti-Hungary Crusade (1544-1547).
The Crusade would be a decisive victory for the Papal States and it's allies as they burnt down the cities of Esztergom, Szekesfehervar and Buda, killed the three surviving sons of Andrew IV in battle (Sigismund, John, and Stephen), and the capture of Andrew himself. He was taken to Rome and paraded in shackles during the triumph of Ernest of Saxony, one of the main leaders of the Battle of Pilsen and the killer of Sigismund.
Hungary was greatly strip of it's lands as Croatia became ruled by a noble Venetian family, Bohemia given to Austria, and Hungary itself was made to elect a new monarch upon the death of Andrew IV. He also was removed of his title of Holy Roman Empire, with it given to Charles of Spain, having the title until his death in 1556.
The Anti-Hungary Crusade would also be notable for being the start of the regconciliaton between the Protestants and Catholics as the Lutheran Leauge fought on the same side as the Papal States.
Andrew would stay under house arrest for the rest of his life, with his only company being his wife Louise of France. He committed suicide in 1555 and was succeeded by __________ as King of Hungary.
[8] Princess Catherine was born in 1538 as the older of the two daughters of King Andrew IV and would become heir to the throne as a result of her brothers all dying in the Anti-Hungarian Crusade. With that, Catherine would be betrothed to her cousin Louis, grandson of Sigismund's younger brother Charles, in 1554 with Louis being elected as the new King of Hungary after Andrew IV's suicide, naming Catherine as his co-ruler after his election as King. While King Louis and Queen Catherine, as a condition for their election, were forced to accept a basic charter restricting the monarch's power, the two were not willing to let their realm slip quietly into the night.
One of the main developments in King Louis and Queen Catherine's reign would be Hungary's unlikely alliance with the Ottoman Empire, when the Hungarians, who had been the "bulwark" of Christendom against the Turks, would end up allying with the Ottomans during their reign. While many have deemed such an alliance to be "unlikely", Hungary's status as a pariah in Europe with neither Catholic nor Protestant willing to ally with them has been deemed by many to be the main factor in said alliance. Owing to the newfound alliance with the Ottomans, Hungary would reclaim most of Croatia during this period after a war in the 1570s with Louis crowning himself King of Croatia in 1577 after a joint Ottoman-Hungarian invasion.
In domestic matters, the royal couple would end up presiding over a period of recovery from the devastation of the Anti-Hungary Crusade with much of their reign, outside of their alliance with the Ottomans, being focused on reconstruction of a Kingdom shattered by war. While Hungary was still a shadow of its former glory by the end of their reign, it was well on its way to recovery. In religious matters, King Louis' reign would be marked by Hungary becoming a Calvinist realm with Calvinism being adopted as the state religion in 1574, making Hungary a center of Calvinism in Europe.
Catherine would die at the age of 42 giving birth to her tenth and last child with Louis, never fully recovering from his wife's loss, dying in 1584, being succeeded by his son, Sigsimund.
[9]
Sigsimund was the eldest son of Catherine and Louis. Wed to Princess Catherine d’Albret of Navarre as part of a Calvinist alliance, the two had three children before he was crowned in 1584.
Highly educated and a devote Calvinist, Sigsimund was a man with a lot of promise. Unfortunately he would not live to see his potential fulfilled. Barely a year after he was crowned Sigsimund would cut himself shaving. The wound would grow infected and he would die wracked with pain four days later. He was succeeded by ________.
Kings of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Kings of Hungary and Croatia
1555-1580: Catherine I and Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1580-1584: Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1584-1585: Sigismund IV (House of Luxembourg) [9]
1585-1591: Matthias I (House of Luxembourg) [10]
King of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia
1591-1611: Matthias I (House of Luxembourg) [10]
[9]
Sigsimund was the eldest son of Catherine and Louis. Wed to Princess Catherine d’Albret of Navarre as part of a Calvinist alliance, the two had three children before he was crowned in 1584.
Highly educated and a devote Calvinist, Sigsimund was a man with a lot of promise. Unfortunately he would not live to see his potential fulfilled. Barely a year after he was crowned Sigsimund would cut himself shaving. The wound would grow infected and he would die wracked with pain four days later. He was succeeded by his brother Matthias.
[10] The second eldest of Catherine and Louis, Matthias inherited the throne over Sigismund's daughters as the Luxembourg policy established that only males should inherit over females. Matthias first policies after his coronation would be to stabilize Hungary and it's military as the Ottoman Empire under the ambitious Sultan Abdullah of the Ottoman Empire rallied his troops for an invasion of Hungary to subdue the country. The famed professional armies of the Luxembourg dinasty were still well-trained and well-armed, however, and the battle of Branicevo would see the Ottoman Empire defeated and the Hungarian armies move to secure Bosnia once again for the Croatian crown. Matthias would use this victory to cement an alliance with the Catholic Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania, marrying the daughter of King Alexander Jaggielon, Anna. The peace treaty would see Bosnia and Dalmatia ceded to Hungary, while Hungarian sovereignty over Wallachia and Polish sovereignty over Moldavia would be recognized.
Matthias would make frequent visits now to his very enlarged Croatian crown, adding both Dalmatia and Bosnia once again to it. A perfect speaker of Czech, Hungarian, Croatian, German, French and Polish, Matthias was an extremely good public speaker and diplomat, and it would be his personal handling of the region that would see calvinism penetrate Italian Dalmatia and see major conversions in Bosnia, destroying the growing Islamic movement there in it's crib. He would, in the manner of the Habsburg Netherlands, build a series of impressive fortifications against Austria and against the Turks, often arming various rebellious movements both in Bohemia, Serbia and Bulgaria.
Speaking of the Habsburg, the holders of the Imperial Crown and the Luxembourg's major rivals throughout history, Charles V's ceding of all his imperial holdings to Ferdinand of Austria had seen the Habsburg's encircle Germany through the Netherlands and Austria proper. The addition of Bohemia and even more secured their hold of the Empire, and to many, with their growing North American holdings and their trade Empire in the Indian Ocean, the Habsburg seemed unstopable. But not everything was clear, and the epicenter of discontent to the Habsburgs was centered in very Calvinist Bohemia, where many still remembered the Golden Age of the Luxembourgs. Thus, when Ferdinand II of Austria was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Aachen and rode to Austria to organize his coronation as King of Bohemia, his regents found themselves thrown the windows of his palace in Prague. The Bohemian diet would thus elect Matthias King of Bohemia, forcing Matthias to rise to arms to recover his home and the historical center of the Luxembourg Empire.
The war would last for many years, and Matthias would eventually come out victorious due to the uprising of many protestant nobles of the Empire and Spain's refusal to help their German kinsmen due to their colonies in America. The recovery of Bohemia would be the highmark of Matthias' reign, and thankfully, the rest of his reign would be peaceful. He would marry his nieces to many protestant nobles of the Empire, including the Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia, and would spend many years at court to stabilize the situation.
He would die of gout in 1611, leaving the renewed Triple Monarchy to _____________________.
1387-1437: Sigismund I (House of Luxembourg)
1437-1455: Charles V (House of Luxembourg) [1]
1455-1483: John II and I (House of Luxembourg) [2]
1483-1513: Sigismund II (House of Luxembourg) [3]
1513-1524: Louis II (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles VI "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Holy Roman Emperor
1518-1524: Louis V (House of Luxembourg) [4]
1524-1540: Sigismund III (House of Luxembourg) [5]
1540-1544: Charles V "the Butcher" (House of Luxembourg) [6]
1544-1555: Andrew IV "the Unfortunate" (House of Luxembourg) [7]
Kings of Hungary and Croatia
1555-1580: Catherine I and Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1580-1584: Louis III (House of Luxembourg) [8]
1584-1585: Sigismund IV (House of Luxembourg) [9]
1585-1591: Matthias I (House of Luxembourg) [10]
King of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia
1591-1611: Matthias I (House of Luxembourg) [10]
[1] Charles V was born in 1409 as the sole son and heir of Sigismund I and would grow up to be an intelligent and brave young Prince, a worthy heir to his father when he died in 1437, leaving the 28-year old Charles as King. His reign would be marked by peace and relative stability with a reign which saw the Triple Monarchy of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia enter a golden age after the Hussite Wars. Charles V would marry Margaret of Austria in 1431 with the couple having five children between 1431 and Charles' death in 1455 during the Siege of Belgrade while leading forces against the Ottomans. In the aftermath of his death in battle, John would become the next ruler of the Kingdom.
[2] John I was the eldest child of Charles V an Margaret of Austria, born in 1433. He was brought up in the opulent courts of his father in Prague and Buda, a son of the golden age that the Triple Monarchy was going through. He was raised alongside the likes of Corvinus and Podebrady and it was clear that the young heir was a talented man. Finding a keen tact for martial and political affairs, John followed his father into his campaign to stop the Ottoman army of Mehmed the II in the frontier of Hungary. John I was a fine warrior, and thus, was the standard bearer for his father and saw him die in front of his eyes. Hungarian historians ratify John's following rallying of the Hungaro-Bohemian troops and his leadership in the subsequent battle as the major factor for the christian victory in Belgrade and John's tenacity for the reason over the capture of Mehmed the II and much of his entourage. Hunyadi, Charles the V's right-hand and John's often-tutor would take 10000 men and lead an invasion of Serbia with the hope of reconquering the region for Christianity but this, despite failing, would see many uprisings in the European part of the Ottoman Empire.
His coronation in both Buda and Prague was attended by many of the lords of Christendom and even the pope, as he procedeed to drag both Mehmed the II and Zaganos Pasha everywhere he went. The Ottoman Empire fell into a state of civil war during this time, as being deprived of both it's Sultan and Grand Vizier cut off the head of the Empire. John the II and I, respectivelly, would use his great victory and the presence of the pope in his domains to force both the Hungarian and Bohemian diets to aprove new taxes to re-fill the royal treasury and famously forced both diets to acquiesce to him as sovereign in perpetuety, ending the elective monarchies of both crowns. It was a great victory for the House of Luxembourg, as this sucess guaranteed them a permanent place in the Empire and dynastic stability for their domains, allowing the King to rule without bending for the nobility. It was this major victory that would be the birth of John's ambitions of ruling the Holy Roman Empire, as his ancestors, Charles and Sigismund had done.
Mehmed the II was delivered to the care of Rome, (Where he was paraded in shackles as Caesar had done to Vercingetorix) and John was given a triumph in the fashion of Rome of old. It is this event was the inspiration for the famous statue of "Janos the Victorious".
John's return to Hungary saw him continue his victories in the diet, succeeding in expanding the royal domains in both of his crown (Hungary and Bohemia), expand the civil service in an alliance with the peasantry and bourgeousie of his Kingdoms and reduce the powers of the Bans of Croatia and the Voivodes of Transylvania. The peace treaties with the Ottoman regency saw most of Northern Serbia ceded to him and Johh would combine with Hunyadi to form one of Europe's first professional armies, "The Black Armies of Hungary and Bohemia", perhaps one of the most effective fighting forces of the day. Many of the Turkish officer corps captured by John in Belgrade would convert to Christianity and come serve John, giving the Kingdoms dear insight in the workings of the Ottoman state and army. In 1463 John would invade Bosnia during a civil war and would conquer it for himself, integrating Bosnia under his Croatian crown.
John would marry Margaret of Brandenburg, with whom he would have six children. Margaret and John would have a loving albeit distant relationship, as Margaret and the children for the most part remained in Prague while John spent many months in Croatia and Hungary. It would be Margaret that would famously gain the allegiance of the Danubian principalities during one of her rare visits to Transylvania, although the principalities remained relatively free of Hungarian interference.
John would have a stable and grand reign, mostly peaceful after 1467, the year he briefly clashed with Frederick the III, but afterwards resigned himself from war and retired to Prague to spend his last years with his wife. John the II would never overcome the fact that despite his great victories, he did not manage to recover the Holy Roman Crown for the House of Luxembourg. He died of a heart attack in 1483 after a swim in the Danube.
[3] Born in 1467, Sigsimund II was the third child and first son of John and Margaret.
His father had betrothed Sisgismund to Marie de Valois (OTL born a boy Francis, Duke of Berry) as part of an alliance designed to put pressure on the Hapsburgs and perhaps recover the Holy Roman Crown. As Marie was five years younger than Sigismund, they wouldn’t wed till he was 20 years old.
Sigsimund grew up in Prague, where his mother insured he had the best tutors. His father was an impactful if distant presence on young Sigismund’s life. At an early age, he was struck with the fear that he would never measure up to his father. So, Sigsimund never tried.
Now, Sigsimund wasn’t a bad King: he didn’t over spend nor was he pick fights. Sigsimund was just really found of delegation. He allowed the respective diets handle a great number of things his father had denied them, though he retained the new hereditary nature of the crown. He had his uncle Charles handle military. Throughout his life, Sigsimund did little to no ruling.
Instead Sigismund devoted himself to having a good time. He went through many different hobbies: writing poetry, hosting masques, hunting, wrestling, archery, tennis, astronomy, and watching plays. He invited an Italian dance master to arrange elaborate dance entertainments. He adored boardgames, and sponsored many new games. He also loved throwing weddings and many a European noble was invited to hold their wedding in Prague.
For all his general uselessness (at least in regard to general kingly things) Sigsimund was generally well liked and the Triple Crown Golden Age continued through his reign. The common folk liked the peace that resulted from Sigismund’s lack of ambition. The nobles found him affable and charming. And since Sigisimund loved nothing more than trying something new, he won many a nobleman over by participating in their pet project and lavishing them and their efforts with praise.
Sigsimund never pursued the Holy Roman Crown and this did put strain on his relationship with his wife. (Marie firmly felt that for France and Bohemia/Hungary/Croatia to flourish, Sigsimund should become Holy Roman Emperor). Due to this strain Sigsimund and Marie only managed two children and Sigsimund would acquire a long term mistress: Zsuzsanna, the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman. Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna would have five children.
Marie would die during a miscarriage in 1500 and Sigsimund would take the opportunity to wed Zsuzsanna. He would petition the pope to legitimize his and Zsuzsanna’s children, and the pope would eventually acquiesce (He needed Sigsimund’s army) with the caveat that their children couldn’t inherit. But Sigsimund and Zsuzsanna's marriage would only last two years as Zsuzsanna would passageway from winter chill.
Since Zsuzsanna’s children were ineligible to inherit, Sigsimund only had two heirs and so was pressured to remarry. He married Sibylle of Bavaria as the two had met at the wedding of Palatine Louis V and her sister Sidonie of Bavaria and shared a love of boardgames. Sigsimund and Sibylle had three children before his death in 1513. Sigsimund was succeeded by his son Louis.
[4] Louis was the son of Sigsimund and Marie, born in 1483. He adored his mother and agreed with her on most things, viewing his father as a weak and ineffectual leader. Their relationship would get worse when his father married his longtime mistress, refusing to see her as a queen or her children as his siblings He once loudly accused Zsuzanna of poisoning his mother and after his father's death, he would banish his illegitimate half-siblings from his kingdoms. There are dark whispers that he killed Zsuzsanna in a fit of rage and the winter chill was merely a story to cover it up. He almost got excommunicated for ordering his father's dead mistress's tomb to be destroyed and her body to be thrown into the river. Luckily, he was talked down by his full brother, the only person who could control his tempers.
Despite his rather dark reputation, Louis was a strong candidate for the Holy Roman Emperor. He managed to sway many of the electors and King Francois of France, swayed by promises of alliances and the return of the Burgaidian Netherlands to France, backed him.
It was a close election, but Louis managed to win much to the shock and anger of the young King Charles of Spain. But Louis' glee was short lived as he soon found himself fighting a war on two sides. The Ottoman Empire was attacking Hungary while the disgruntled Charles of Spain had decided to attack Navarre in hopes of finishing what his grandfather started, deciding to declare himself, the Emperor of Iberia.
In retaliation, Francois attacked the Burgundian Netherlands. Meanwhile, Louis divided his army into two, leading one half against the Turks, while sending his brother to help their French allies. Hungry for the glory of his grandfather, Louis would charge into battle, trying to carve a bloody line to the commander. Unfortunately he was cut down by accidental friendly fire. There were some rumors that the unknown bowman had meant to hit the emperor, assassinating him, with some stories making the bowman be one of Zsuzsanna's sons, wanting revenge on Louis.
[5] Prince Sigismund was the oldest son of King Louis, being born in 1499. As Prince, Sigismund would grow up to be an intelligent young man, albeit one with a deep ruthless streak. In the aftermath of his father's death from friendly fire, Sigismund would be elected as Holy Roman Emperor, even if Charles would dispute the title for the rest of his reign.
As ruler, Sigismund would prove to be a surprisingly intelligent and competent ruler, effective in his rule over the Holy Roman Empire as he and King Francis would decisively triumph in the wars against the Hapsburgs, even if the Hapsburgs in Austria would remain a problem. With the Hapsburgs defeated and the electors satisfied, Sigismund would be a ruler who would supervise the centralization of the Holy Roman Empire into a more centralized entity with the opportunity that his triumph presented. However, his reign would also be marked by the Reformation in Germany and while Sigismund was a Catholic, he would be relatively moderate in his religious policies, allowing Protestantism to flourish as long as Protestants swore loyalty to him.
As Emperor, Sigismund would marry Bona Sforza in 1517 with the couple having five children who survived infancy. However, Sigismund's reign would be cut short as he would die at the age of 41 from smallpox, leaving his son, Charles as his heir.
[6] An emperor should be composed, brave, just and of sound mind. Charles was none of those things. He started out as a weak willed boy, who was easily lead and often ill. His councilors conspired to use him to push their agenda: putting an end to the spread of the reformation. They conjoled him into having harsher punishments and restrictions against those of Lutheran faith, infulencing him to be suspecious and parinoid of them.
It worked a little too well. Charles invited the leaders of the Lutheran League to his palace in Vienna for peace talks, even throwing a feast. At the feast, he had his men murder all the heretics, including the women and children who had the misfortune of attending. When the Elector of Saxony begged the mad emperor to let his wife and his children leave for they had done nothing wrong, the emperor, sitting safely at his table, famously replied, "There is no such thing as an innocent heretic. All must answer for their crimes."
To top off the utter brutalness of this act, Charles sent the pope, boxes containing boxes of the severed heads of Saxony and the other leaders of the Lutheran League, claiming that God's enemy was dead.
To say the pope was horrified would be an understatement. He immediately excommunicated Charles, proclaiming his actions unchristian. Charles was enraged and fired back that if the pope felt pity for the heretics than he must be one too and should be removed.
However, before he could make any plans to march on Rome----and burn in to the ground as he declared----Charles was ambushed and captured by his brother Andrew, who had him overthrown and locked up. Three months later, he died after eating---he was suspected to have been poisoned. No one mourned him.
[7] Born as Sigismund II and Bona Sforza's second son, Andrew grew into a intelligent and capable prince, unlike his older brother Charles, whom he despised. He was barely elected as Holy Roman Emperor in 1544 with the Austrian Hapsburgs and Charles of Spain (the other competitors in the election) claiming that Andrew had bribed the Imperial Electors to vote for him. The Pope, furious that Andrew's brother Charles almost burned down Rome, declared a Crusade against Hungary, with it becoming known as the Anti-Hungary Crusade (1544-1547).
The Crusade would be a decisive victory for the Papal States and it's allies as they burnt down the cities of Esztergom, Szekesfehervar and Buda, killed the three surviving sons of Andrew IV in battle (Sigismund, John, and Stephen), and the capture of Andrew himself. He was taken to Rome and paraded in shackles during the triumph of Ernest of Saxony, one of the main leaders of the Battle of Pilsen and the killer of Sigismund.
Hungary was greatly strip of it's lands as Croatia became ruled by a noble Venetian family, Bohemia given to Austria, and Hungary itself was made to elect a new monarch upon the death of Andrew IV. He also was removed of his title of Holy Roman Empire, with it given to Charles of Spain, having the title until his death in 1556.
The Anti-Hungary Crusade would also be notable for being the start of the regconciliaton between the Protestants and Catholics as the Lutheran Leauge fought on the same side as the Papal States.
Andrew would stay under house arrest for the rest of his life, with his only company being his wife Louise of France. He committed suicide in 1555 and was succeeded by __________ as King of Hungary.
[8] Princess Catherine was born in 1538 as the older of the two daughters of King Andrew IV and would become heir to the throne as a result of her brothers all dying in the Anti-Hungarian Crusade. With that, Catherine would be betrothed to her cousin Louis, grandson of Sigismund's younger brother Charles, in 1554 with Louis being elected as the new King of Hungary after Andrew IV's suicide, naming Catherine as his co-ruler after his election as King. While King Louis and Queen Catherine, as a condition for their election, were forced to accept a basic charter restricting the monarch's power, the two were not willing to let their realm slip quietly into the night.
One of the main developments in King Louis and Queen Catherine's reign would be Hungary's unlikely alliance with the Ottoman Empire, when the Hungarians, who had been the "bulwark" of Christendom against the Turks, would end up allying with the Ottomans during their reign. While many have deemed such an alliance to be "unlikely", Hungary's status as a pariah in Europe with neither Catholic nor Protestant willing to ally with them has been deemed by many to be the main factor in said alliance. Owing to the newfound alliance with the Ottomans, Hungary would reclaim most of Croatia during this period after a war in the 1570s with Louis crowning himself King of Croatia in 1577 after a joint Ottoman-Hungarian invasion.
In domestic matters, the royal couple would end up presiding over a period of recovery from the devastation of the Anti-Hungary Crusade with much of their reign, outside of their alliance with the Ottomans, being focused on reconstruction of a Kingdom shattered by war. While Hungary was still a shadow of its former glory by the end of their reign, it was well on its way to recovery. In religious matters, King Louis' reign would be marked by Hungary becoming a Calvinist realm with Calvinism being adopted as the state religion in 1574, making Hungary a center of Calvinism in Europe.
Catherine would die at the age of 42 giving birth to her tenth and last child with Louis, never fully recovering from his wife's loss, dying in 1584, being succeeded by his son, Sigsimund.
[9]
Sigsimund was the eldest son of Catherine and Louis. Wed to Princess Catherine d’Albret of Navarre as part of a Calvinist alliance, the two had three children before he was crowned in 1584.
Highly educated and a devote Calvinist, Sigsimund was a man with a lot of promise. Unfortunately he would not live to see his potential fulfilled. Barely a year after he was crowned Sigsimund would cut himself shaving. The wound would grow infected and he would die wracked with pain four days later. He was succeeded by his brother Matthias.
[10] The second eldest of Catherine and Louis, Matthias inherited the throne over Sigismund's daughters as the Luxembourg policy established that only males should inherit over females. Matthias first policies after his coronation would be to stabilize Hungary and it's military as the Ottoman Empire under the ambitious Sultan Abdullah of the Ottoman Empire rallied his troops for an invasion of Hungary to subdue the country. The famed professional armies of the Luxembourg dinasty were still well-trained and well-armed, however, and the battle of Branicevo would see the Ottoman Empire defeated and the Hungarian armies move to secure Bosnia once again for the Croatian crown. Matthias would use this victory to cement an alliance with the Catholic Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania, marrying the daughter of King Alexander Jaggielon, Anna. The peace treaty would see Bosnia and Dalmatia ceded to Hungary, while Hungarian sovereignty over Wallachia and Polish sovereignty over Moldavia would be recognized.
Matthias would make frequent visits now to his very enlarged Croatian crown, adding both Dalmatia and Bosnia once again to it. A perfect speaker of Czech, Hungarian, Croatian, German, French and Polish, Matthias was an extremely good public speaker and diplomat, and it would be his personal handling of the region that would see calvinism penetrate Italian Dalmatia and see major conversions in Bosnia, destroying the growing Islamic movement there in it's crib. He would, in the manner of the Habsburg Netherlands, build a series of impressive fortifications against Austria and against the Turks, often arming various rebellious movements both in Bohemia, Serbia and Bulgaria.
Speaking of the Habsburg, the holders of the Imperial Crown and the Luxembourg's major rivals throughout history, Charles V's ceding of all his imperial holdings to Ferdinand of Austria had seen the Habsburg's encircle Germany through the Netherlands and Austria proper. The addition of Bohemia and even more secured their hold of the Empire, and to many, with their growing North American holdings and their trade Empire in the Indian Ocean, the Habsburg seemed unstopable. But not everything was clear, and the epicenter of discontent to the Habsburgs was centered in very Calvinist Bohemia, where many still remembered the Golden Age of the Luxembourgs. Thus, when Ferdinand II of Austria was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Aachen and rode to Austria to organize his coronation as King of Bohemia, his regents found themselves thrown the windows of his palace in Prague. The Bohemian diet would thus elect Matthias King of Bohemia, forcing Matthias to rise to arms to recover his home and the historical center of the Luxembourg Empire.
The war would last for many years, and Matthias would eventually come out victorious due to the uprising of many protestant nobles of the Empire and Spain's refusal to help their German kinsmen due to their colonies in America. The recovery of Bohemia would be the highmark of Matthias' reign, and thankfully, the rest of his reign would be peaceful. He would marry his nieces to many protestant nobles of the Empire, including the Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia, and would spend many years at court to stabilize the situation.
He would die of gout in 1611, leaving the renewed Triple Monarchy to _____________________.