Visegrád 1335 (Budapest, 2009)
The Congress of Visegrád by György Rácz
Tlie Congress or Visegrad the Polish king, for a fiancee. His marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of the newly crowned Wladislaw I Lokietek, in 1320 forged a strong alliance between Hungary and Poland. At the same time, King John provided further support to Charles’s campaign against Matthew Chak, his major adversary - a favour Charles did not let go unreturned. With the subsequent corruption of Hungarian-Austrian relations, the ties between the two kings strengthened, owing to the long-standing acrimony between the Luxembourgs and the Habsburgs. Charles’s good relations with both countries were eclipsed, however, by the animosity between the Bohemians and the Poles. One of the causes of this conflict lies in the Luxembourgs’ claim to the Polish throne on the grounds of the same claim of the earlier Premyslid kings. According to the rules of contemporary international relations such a claim was legally justifiable and entailed the whole heritage of Wenceslaus III (1305-1306). The realization of this goal, however, was hindered by the unsuccessful campaign of the Bohemian king on the one hand, and the diplomatic policies of the Anjous, supportive of Lokietek, on the other. As a result, John of Luxembourg reduced his claim to Greater Poland and yielded Pomerania to the Teutonic Order. The Piasts had intended to lay claim to Silesia, a one-time Polish territory, but by the beginning of the 14th century the majority of the Silesian rulers were already under the over-lordship of the Luxembourgs. After the death of Wladislaw I Lokietek in 1333 his son Casimir III ascended to the throne, which created a new dynamic in the relations of the three countries. Once in power, Casimir launched himself into the task of sorting out matters left to him by his father. Poland was not only burdened by the feud with the Luxembourgs but by territorial disputes with the Teutonic Order as well. With the new king on the Polish throne, John of Luxembourg also took an interest in ameliorating Bohemian-Polish relations, for he was in search of an ally against his long-time enemies, the Austrians and Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig of Bavaria, with whom he had disputes over the heritage of Henry, Duke of Carinthia. English s?- 21
