Novák Ádám (szerk.): Fontes Memoriae Hungariae III. Varsóban őrzött magyar vonatkozású oklevelek, 1439–1489. Közreadja: Novák Ádám, Tóth Orsolya és Tóth Péter (Debrecen, 2019)
Sobiesław Szybkowski: Polish-Hungarian Relations between 1437 and 1490. A Short Introduction
XIII Vladislaus III strengthened, since on 19 December Elisabeth died unexpectedly and her supporters lost their natural leader. 38 Internal problems were settled, so Vladislaus III and the Kingdom of Hungary could focus on the Turkish problem which was something the papacy wanted to handle as well. It resulted in a provocative action against the Turkish army which started in 1442. Its most important element was the so-called crusade of Varna, which took place between 1443 and 1444. Even though the king himself participated in the campaign, the actual commander was a talented Hungarian magnate, John Hunyadi, Voivode of Transylvania. Initially, the military campaign was successful, as it led to a very favourable peace treaty with the Turks.39 However, under pressure from the papal legate, Cesarini, the peace was soon broken. The new Hungarian military campaign against the Turks ended with the death of Vladislaus III in the fatal battle of Varna on 10 November 1444. 40 As the literature testifies, the personal union between Poland and Hungary which lasted little over four years has not yet been analysed in detail from a legal and social perspective. We know more about the military and political events. Both countries preserved their autonomy. In Poland, power was held by two deputies appointed by Vladislaus III right before he set off to Hungary (they were called locum tenentes domini regis ): Jan of Czyżów, Castellan of Cracow (he ruled Lesser Poland and Red Ruthenia) and Wojciech Malski, Voivode of Łęczyca (he ruled the provinces of Greater Poland). They were supported by the Polish royal council.41 However, the king did not manage to appoint a royal deputy in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This was very important because soon after Vladislaus III had gained the Hungarian crown, plotters killed the previous Grand Duke of Lithuania, Sigismund Kęstutaitis, who supported the union with Poland. The king decided to send his younger brother, Casimir to Lithuania to act as his deputy, but when Casimir arrived at Vilnius the Lithuanian magnates elected and crowned him Grand Duke. This meant that the personal union between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 38 Biskup, 1982A. 416–417.; Baczkowski, 1995A. 25–26.; Olejnik, 2008. 126–133.; Dąbrowski, 2014. 88–105. 39 Engel, Pál: János Hunyadi: the decisive years of his career 1440–1444. In: From Hunyadi to Rákóczi. Ed. Bak, János M., Király, Béla K. New York, 1982. 103–123.; Olejnik, 2008. 155–168.; Dąbrowski, 2014. 107–138. 40 Dąbrowski, Jan: Rok 1444. Spór o traktat szegedyński . Wrocław, 1966. passim.; Sroka, Stanisław A.: Turecko-węgierskie rokowania pokojowe w roku 1444 w świetle najnowszej historiografii węgierskiej. In: Świat chrześcijański . 43–46.; Olejnik, 2008. 168–224.; Dąbrowski, 2014. 139–202. 41 Latocha, Krzysztof G.: Wojciech Malski (ok. 1380–1454) – wojewoda łęczycki i sieradzki oraz namiestnik królewski na Wielkopolskę. Warszawa, 2015. 82–99.; Sochacka, Anna: Jan z Czyżowa – namiestnik Władysława Warneńczyka. Kariera rodziny Półkozów w średniowieczu. Oświęcim, 2016 (first edition: Lublin, 1993). 119–171.
