Władysław III of Poland (31 October 1424 – presumably 10 November 1444), also known as Ladislaus of Varna, was King of Poland and Supreme Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1434, as well as King of Hungary and Croatia as Vladislaus I from 1440 until his presumed death at the Battle of Varna. He was the eldest son of Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) by his fourth wife, Lithuanian noblewoman Sophia of Halshany.
Władysław III succeeded his father shortly before turning ten in 1434 and was, therefore, deemed unfit to rule until coming of age. Cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki acted as regent and a temporary provisores council executed power in the king's name. However, Władysław III's legitimacy to the crown was contested by Lesser Polish nobles favouring the candidacy of Siemowit V of Masovia, who was of Piast lineage. In the aftermath of the coronation, Spytko III of Melsztyn accused Oleśnicki, the council and the Catholic Church of exploiting the king's youth to hold authority. A sympathiser with the Czech Hussites, Spytko was killed at the Battle of Grotniki in 1439, thus ending the hostilities.
Władysław III simultaneously faced the effects of the Polish–Teutonic War, which commenced under his father's reign in 1431. The Teutonic Knights began supporting Švitrigaila and the Livonian Order in a military struggle against Poland and Sigismund Kęstutaitis of Lithuania in 1434, shortly after Władysław III assumed the throne. Consequently, the king and the Polish Royal Council, the curia regis, renewed their war efforts by fortifying the borderland regions and sending an army to Lithuania, which was engulfed in a civil war since 1432. Švitrigaila, the Livonians and their allies were ultimately defeated at the Battle of Wiłkomierz, and Władysław forced the Peace of Brześć Kujawski on the Teutonic State in December 1435, which curtailed Teutonic influence in East-Central Europe.
The policy of the Kingdom of Poland under Władysław and Oleśnicki was to reclaim lost territories such as Silesia or Pomerania and expand its influence to neighbouring realms. In 1440, Władysław was elected King of Hungary and Croatia following the death of Albert II of Germany. Albert's widow, Elizabeth of Luxembourg, spurned the outcome and advocated for her infant son, Ladislaus the Posthumous, to rule under the guardianship of Frederick III Habsburg whilst purloining the Holy Crown of Hungary. Prolonged hostilities from the Habsburgs, the imminent Ottoman advance into Hungary and Elizabeth's sudden death solidified Władysław's legitimacy to the Hungarian throne. Ruling much of Southeastern and Central Europe, Władysław became compelled in confronting the Ottoman Empire.
With the Turkish grip over the Balkans weakened in the aftermath of the Hungarian–Ottoman War (1437–1442), the papacy and papal legate Julian Cesarini urged Władysław to launch the Crusade of Varna. After initial successes, the outnumbered Christian forces engaged in a decisive battle at Varna, where Władysław was reportedly killed in a heroic cavalry charge against Sultan Murad II. His body was never recovered and its disappearance led to numerous survival theories or legends, none of which have been confirmed. Władysław's legacy in Poland and Hungary is divisive, yet Władysław remains a notable figure in countries like Bulgaria, which were under Ottoman domination. He was succeeded in Poland by his younger brother Casimir IV, and in Hungary-Croatia by his rival Ladislaus V the Posthumous.
Władysław III was born in Kraków on 31 October 1424, the first-born son of Władysław II Jagiełło (his pagan name was Jogaila) and Sophia of Halshany, both of whom were Lithuanian in origin. His father was already an elderly man, having outlived his first three wives, and the birth of a male successor was widely regarded as a miracle. Based on two possible dates for Władysław's conception, it appears his birth was either premature or postterm.
He was baptised at Wawel Cathedral in mid-February 1425 by Wojciech Jastrzębiec, Bishop of Gniezno and Primate of Poland. It took place in the presence of Andrzej Łaskarz Laskary, Bishop of Poznań and Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Bishop of Kraków as well as statesmen and royal emissaries from the surrounding realms. The ceremony was unequivocally grandiose; the most probable day of the baptism is 18 February, though this continues to be contested by historians and various sources.
In 1427, the Polish nobility initiated anti-Jagiellonian opposition and attempted to have Jogaila's sons declared illegitimate to the Polish throne as they possessed no blood relation to their Piast and Anjou predecessors. In the same year, Queen Sophia was accused of adultery, which aggravated the conflict. Despite the agreements signed between Jogaila and the magnates to ensure the succession for his sons, the opposing faction opted for Hedwig Jagiellon, Jogaila's daughter by his second wife, and her betrothed Frederick II of Brandenburg. However, the conspiracy was resolved by the death of the princess in December 1431, rumoured to have been poisoned by Sophia.
Opposition and Cardinal Oleśnicki, 1432–1434
From a young age, Władysław III was surrounded by advisors loyal to Zbigniew Oleśnicki (known in Latin as Sbigneus), a cardinal who acted as royal guardian and aimed at maintaining his influence and high position at court. Oleśnicki learned of Jogaila's death on 1 June 1434 in Poznań, whilst he was en route to the Council of Basel, but decided to remain in Poland and usurp the role of interrex. He subsequently convened an assembly in Poznań with the assistance of Chancellor Jan Taszka Koniecpolski, and called for the nobles of Greater Poland to warrant Władysław's right to the crown. This arbitrary behaviour displayed by the assembly vexed the nobility of Lesser Poland, who were outmanoeuvred and excluded from the vote.
There was growing antagonism in the demesne and the challengers feared that crowning a young and inexperienced king would invest Oleśnicki with too much power over the affairs of state. Others repudiated a son of formerly-pagan Jogaila on the Polish throne and yearned for a living descendant of the Piast dynasty. The candidacy of Siemowit V remained a considerable threat to Władysław III, especially since Siemowit was of royal Piast lineage and a member of a branch that ruled the Duchy of Masovia since the testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth in the 12th century.
Many opponents also attempted to counter the power of the Catholic clergy, notably under the influence of Hussitism from neighbouring Bohemia. Among the chief adversaries were Abraham Zbąski, the judge royal of Poznań and a fierce propagator of the Hussites' proto-Protestant movement, Dziersław Rytwiański, and Spytko III of Melsztyn, a supporter of pro-Hussite military expeditions led by Sigismund Korybut to Bohemia in the years 1422–1427. They received clandestine sponsorship from influential magnates and nobles from Lesser Poland, who persuaded Oleśnicki to delay the coronation until 25 July 1434. This granted the opposition additional time to establish an independent assembly on 13 July in Opatów, where forthcoming actions were to be discussed. Oleśnicki, having discovered their intent, arrived to the proceedings unannounced and successfully questioned its purpose, and the council hastily dissolved. Negotiations were held in Kraków prior to 25 July with the dignitaries sent by Sigismund Kęstutaitis and Spytko, who attempted to obstruct Władysław's accession. Jan Głowacz Oleśnicki, Crown Marshal of Poland and the brother of Zbigniew Oleśnicki, called for a decisive vote, which ended the dispute.
Władysław III was crowned at Wawel Cathedral on 25 July 1434 by the elderly Wojciech Jastrzębiec. There is evidence that the coronation was closely supervised by Oleśnicki, who was instrumental in determining how the investiture is conducted. Changes were made to the order of formalities under Oleśnicki's Ordo ad cornandum ad regem Poloniae, notably the young monarch was obliged to take an oath before the anointment and the handing over of Polish royal insignia. This act was to be seen as submission to the privileges of nobles; the king-elect's fulfillment of the elites' requirements, not hereditary rights, was a condition for obtaining the throne in the Kingdom of Poland. Furthermore, the crown jewels were given to the officials, rather than being placed at the altar, implying Władysław III's minority and the officials' active participation in the coronation. The act in which Władysław III undertook signum crucis with a sword in the direction of the four corners of the world was abandoned.