Wlad Goes Home: A Poland TL
- Thread starter Zorqal
- Start date
Hmmm, interesting. I'm not sure Wlad's completely hit rock bottom yet, so sadly enough for him, it can get worse. 
Hmmm, interesting. I'm not sure Wlad's completely hit rock bottom yet, so sadly enough for him, it can get worse.
Maybe... the nation hates him, John Hunyadi is dead, his brother is breaking away from the crown... I think things are looking up, right?
Wlad Goes Home: A Poland TL
III: Pax Poloniae
Amongst the leaders of the Hungarian Rebellion was Vlad II Dracul, voivode of Wallachia, and a staunch adversary of King Wladyslaw III’s rule. Dracul was an important figure in Hungary in the first half of the 1400s, belonging to a well known family, the Drăculești branch of the Basarab Dynasty, and for being a member of the Order of the Dragon, an order which was, in theory, similar to the Knights of the White Cape. In the previous civil war against Elizabeth of Luxembourg and her pretender son Ladislaus, Dracul had refused to help King Wladyslaw, causing there to be bitterness between the two ever since. After the capitulation of Pest in mid 1456, Dracul was captured and branded a traitor by other lords. This gave King Wladyslaw a valid reason to execute the troublesome voivode. Wladyslaw’s reputation had been tarnished by the civil war though, which was seen as selfish by the Poles and Hungarians alike. Specifically in Hungary was Dracul loved, and executing him could have pushed the king into a war he could not support.
III: Pax Poloniae
Seeing no other option, Wladyslaw, supported by the Sejm and his personal council, decided to leave Dracul in prison indefinitely, hoping he would be forgotten about and be executed, or he would die in prison. Dracul’s twenty-eight year old son, Mircea Drăculești, publically denounced the King for his actions in November of 1456, causing a minor stir in Hungary. Luckily, Ladislaus Hunyadi managed to put an end to the riot by making an example of a rebellion lord kept in his dungeon. This, for the time being, kept the peasants of Hungary in enough fear and respect of Hunyadi, as not to question Hunyadi’s judgement in his king (1). In an attempt to fix relations between the Hungarians and Poles, Ladislaus proposed the first marriage between the two kingdom’s since their unification nearly twenty years before. He proposed that he marry the king’s eldest daughter, eleven year old Sophia Jagiellon, once she reaches fifteen years of age.
This proposal was quickly agreed to by King Wladyslaw, who saw this as an opportunity to unite the two kingdoms. The king had also wanted to bind the two houses since the first war where he had fought next to John Hunyadi. While this betrothal distracted people from the Dracul issue for a few months, the marriage itself wouldn’t take place for years still. By March of 1457, Mircea Drăculești, ruling as voivode of Wallachia is his father’s stead, declared what became known as the Dracul Revolt (2). His goal was to forcibly release his father and the other rebel lords from prison and take them back to Wallachia. King Wladyslaw was frantic, knowing full well he couldn’t support another war based around him or protecting his honour or family. Luckily, he need not worry as the rebellion quickly ended in June of 1457, when Vlad II Dracul passed away quietly in his cell on May twenty-ninth. On June second, Mircea Drăculești mysteriously died while leading his army. It is said that a hawk flew to him while and clawed his eyes out, causing him to fall off of his horse and break his neck. This theory is widely unaccepted, and modern historians now believe he was poisoned, and that the poison took effect while on his horse, but by the time he hit the ground, he was long dead. Whatever the case, two voivodes of Wallachia died in a weeks time, and the threat to King Wladyslaw of Varna’s reign was no more.
In the fall of the year 1460, Ladislaus Hunyadi, Grandmaster of the Knights of the White Cape and voivode of Transylvania, was wed to Princess Sophia Jagiellon of Poland-Hungary. He was twenty-nine, she fifteen. The plan of bringing the two people together seemingly worked, as Polish and Hungarian lords both attended the ceremony, a feat not accomplished since the feast King Wladyslaw held after he defeated the Turks. Even Voivode Vlad II Dracula of Transylvania, son of Vlad Dracul and younger brother of Mircea Drăculești, attended the ceremony in seemingly high spirits.
One February seventh, 1465 King Wladyslaw’s wife, Dorothea of Brandenburg, died from unknown causes. The death is a heavy blow to Wladyslaw, and begins his downward spiral. While Wladyslaw did not love Dorothea, the two had lived together for twenty years, and had six children together. They had grown fond of one another, especially in the years before her death. His mental condition gets worse and worse over the coming years, including paranoia, depression, and isolationism (3). The Sejm end up being in nearly full control of the country by 1469, and declares Wladyslaw’s son, Casimir, regent in 1470. While Wladyslaw was technically king until his death in 1475, the nation was ruled by the joint actions of the Sejm and Casimir, who was at the start of his time as Regent, twenty-three years old. On July first, 1475, the troubled reign of King Wladyslaw of Varna officially came to an end. His son, Casimir IV Jagiellon, inherited both of the Kingdoms of Poland and Hungary. The twenty-eight year old king’s reign, would not start easy.
(1.) After everything that the Hunyadi’s have done and gone through up to this point, they are easily one of the most powerful and most respected houses in all of Hungary. One reason the nation hasn’t fallen apart yet is the respect the Hungarian peasants and lords have for the Hunyadis, who are staunch supporters of King Wladyslaw.
(2). I’ll probably just say Dracul or Dracula rather than Drăculești, because of simplicity to type. I may end up trying to use names like Drăculești with their fancy letters and whatnot later, but for now I’m just going to work with Dracul. The Drăculești will not be going away yet.
(3). Something was wrong with him mentally. After all of the battles and close calls Wlad had, he was broken by the death of someone close to him.
This is a shorter update, but the end of Wladyslaw's reign only saw the Dracul revolt and his descent into madness, so it couldn't be super long. Also, the picture is supposed to be Casimir IV, but its a painting of OTL Casimir IV's son Jan I Olbracht. But pretend it's Wladyslaw's son Casimir.
great update
Thanks! I haven't talked about the Croatians yet, but I've got some plans for them.
The Teutons are coming up soon, during Casimir's reign.
Casimir IV ruled in Lithuania, I think.
Wiki says, that there were no contacts between Lithuania and Poland in 1440-1444 while Wladislaw was alive. In 1444-45 Casimir helped Novgorod, in 1444 he warred against Moscow, and in OTL he can continue the war.
It maybe interesting
Wiki says, that there were no contacts between Lithuania and Poland in 1440-1444 while Wladislaw was alive. In 1444-45 Casimir helped Novgorod, in 1444 he warred against Moscow, and in OTL he can continue the war.
It maybe interesting
Caesar Biden
Banned
Why would you want that? The Empire is a shadow of its former self, and (without ridiculous luck) cannot recover. Better to have the Ottomans take over and create a new empire at this point.
Anyways, great TL Zorqal. We have a lack of good TLs about 15th Century Central/Eastern Europe
What happens to Lithuania now?
You'll see...
Casimir IV ruled in Lithuania, I think.
Wiki says, that there were no contacts between Lithuania and Poland in 1440-1444 while Wladislaw was alive. In 1444-45 Casimir helped Novgorod, in 1444 he warred against Moscow, and in OTL he can continue the war.
It maybe interesting
Yes, OTL Casimir IV was Wladyslaw's brother. He inherited after Wlad's death in '44. He'll be in the next update, don't worry.
I have some plans for the Byzantines, just not would most people would be expecting.
Thanks! I did notice the strange lack of 15th Century TL's out there, despite the numerous events that they could be based off of .
Always good to see more Poland TLs.
What is going on in Bohemia in this TL? I would assume that George Poděbrad has become king there and that the Hapsburgs are fighting a war to contest that...
fasquardon
What is going on in Bohemia in this TL? I would assume that George Poděbrad has become king there and that the Hapsburgs are fighting a war to contest that...
fasquardon
Great timeline so far
Thank you very much!
Yeah, I would assume so. I haven't thought about Bohemia really so far.
Further thought about Bohemia: I'm not sure whoever ends up king there will be too keen on Poland-Hungary-Lithuania remaining a united realm.
fasquardon
fasquardon
You're right. Most of the HRE probably wouldn't be to into that. Anyway, right now, Lithuania is just a satellite of Poland, not directly ruled by the king, but not independent either. Not to mention Lithuania is singing songs of freedom, and Poland and Hungary are at each other's throats, I think the HRE is probably just brushing it off.
Also, the Ottomans. Just wanted to point out they they have had a rough patch after their loss at Varna, which is why they haven't conquered more of the Balkans or invaded Poland-Hungary.... yet......
Sorry about the update delay guys. I really meant to have it up over the weekend, I'm just having trouble finding a good way to right the beginning of Casimir's reign. Once his reign begins though, the real fun starts and the TL should get a lot more interesting. I have world updates planned for around 1490, and another around 1510 or so, so those should be fun, and not to far off. Anyway, again, sorry about the delay, hopefully I can have the update up soon.
I would try, but to be honest I'm not very good. I've given it a shot, but it's hard. I also don't like the large gray maps with color's, but the really detailed ones that look like real map, so I set my goals way high.
Alo, I'm really interested in Etymology, but no good at it, so if anyone would be willing to help me with languages message me and we can talk.