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Post by user 'linas' in forum.istorija.lt (original thread here):

I remember that once in the Russian part of this forum, the Hungarian member Andras Zoltan expressed himself somewhere - oh, if only the Hungarians invited Jogaila to the throne... I'd say that it sounded with a little bit of disappointment. So - I'm interested, what do the members of the forum think of this alternative to a union with Poland? Say, if in 1385, the bride is not Hedwig, but Mary, and she is brought to Krewo by Hungarian followers. Obviously, regarding "what would have happened" we can only speculate instead of calculate, but it's still interesting to hear "what would be different". What joys me in this situation is that Hungarians are not Slavs, so there is little chance of "Magyarization". From the end of the 14th century, the Hungarians were involved in wars against Turks, so Lithuania would have to be pulled into that conflict as well. Would Žalgiris be possible while in a union with Hungary? On the other hand, Hungary was a stronger partner than Poland at this time, would its influence be enough to stop the wars with the Order? How would central and eastern Europe be different if the Hungarians arrived to Krewo in 1385?

Obviously, this is a very unlikely prospect, but, on the other hand, not an implausible one - Budapest is not much farther away from Vilnius than Krakow is, and there are examples of personal unions in European history where the members are separated by a large distance (Canute's union of England, Denmark and Sweden, or Charles V's empire). Sure, none of them were nearly as long enduring as the Polish-Lithuanian union, but the Polish-Lithuanian union is an exception than the rule regarding PU endurance.

So what do you think?
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