text:
Władysław III of Poland

Władysław III of Poland (31 October 1424 – 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 from 1440 until his death at the Battle of Varna. He was the eldest son of Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) and the Lithuanian noblewoman Sophia of Halshany.

Władysław's 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'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 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 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 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.

Childhood, 1424–1431

Władysław 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 three of his consorts, and the birth of a male successor was widely regarded as a miracle. 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 Frederick II of Brandenburg, who was betrothed to Hedwig Jagiellon, Jogaila's daughter by his second wife. 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 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, especially that Siemowit was of royal Piast lineage and a member of a branch which 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 after which 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.

Coronation, 1434

Władysław 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's minority and the officials' active participation in the coronation. The act in which Władysław undertakes signum crucis with a sword in the direction of the four corners of the world was abandoned.

Chronicler Jan Długosz (in Latin named Johannes Longinus) writes that the boy king, dressed in royal garments and accompanied by bishops Oleśnicki and Stanisław z Pawłowic, Bishop of Płock, rode from Wawel Castle to greet the townsfolk. However, a customary feudal homage by the burghers at Kraków Town Hall did come into effect; this was due to a disagreement between the bishops and Masovian princes concerning the order of precedence in the royal procession and on sitting arrangements.

Regency, 1434–1438
Shortly after the coronation, senior nobles held both covert and open conventions to discuss the possibility of instituting a regency as the king was still a minor and could not govern. Duke Siemowit, who was staying in the capital of Kraków at the time, remained a valid contender for the role of regent or caretaker due to his personal qualities and rank, however, the idea was soon dismissed; many of the noble lords believed that Siemowit could usurp and seize the crown for himself than remain an inferior subject to the boy. Queen Sophia's attempts to be named regent, in accordance with her late husband's instructions, also failed and the general indecisiveness caused the apex of oligarch influence in medieval Poland. As compromise, a regency council was formed comprising regional governors called the provisores. Długosz noted three members, each selected for merit and "wisdom", which was possibly aimed at curtailing Zbigniew Oleśnicki's influence. Nonetheless, Oleśnicki retained considerable control over Władysław's upbringing.

It is believed that Władysław did not have a decisive voice in politics and the situation did not change even after the Sejm (Polish parliament) had gathered in Piotrków in 1438, and declared the fourteen-year-old king to have attained his majority.

Civil war in Lithuania, 1434–1438

Władysław faced certain challenges early in his reign, in particular the inherited situation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was precarious and the ensuing Lithuanian civil war (1432–1438) threatened Polish interests there. The conflict began when Władysław's paternal uncle, Švitrigaila, refused to acknowledge fealty to his brother Jogaila and proclaimed political independence, jeopardising the Polish–Lithuanian union. He subsequently battled against Polish–Lithuanian forces in Volhynia and established an anti-Polish coalition. In June 1431, he reached an agreement with the Teutonic State, which declared a surprise war and marched its army into Polish territory. Following a truce with the Teutonic Knights, the war resumed when Władysław became king. The situation swiftly transformed into a diplomatic struggle for Władysław and the Poles, who sought to turn Lithuanian nobles against Švitrigaila and have him ousted.

A Polish retinue of approximately 4,000 men under Jakub Kobylański assisted the Lithuanians headed by Sigismund Kęstutaitis and Michael Žygimantaitis; their joint army defeated Švitrigaila and his allies, Sigismund Korybut and the Livonian Order, on 1 September 1435 at the Battle of Wiłkomierz. Švitrigaila fled eastward, but eventually lost the support of the Ruthenians residing in the Grand Duchy and went into exile to Moldavia in 1438, thus ending civil war. However, unrest re-emerged when Sigismund Kęstutaitis was assassinated on 20 March 1440 and Władysław's younger brother, Casimir, was proclaimed Grand Duke by Jonas Goštautas and the Lithuanian Council of Lords on 29 June 1440. This was met with hostility at the Polish court, especially that Casimir was underage and that the Poles hoped for a vicegerent that would submit to Poland. Regardless of the outcome, Władysław continued to use the title of Supreme Duke of Lithuania until death under the conditions of the 1413 Union of Horodło.

The battle also proved momentous in combating the Livonian Order as its Grand Master, Franco Kerskorff, and komtur commanders were killed or taken prisoner. The Livonian Confederation agreement from 4 December 1435 officially terminated its crusading character, and a formal peace treaty was signed on 31 December 1435 in Brześć Kujawski whereby the Teutonic and Livonian Orders pledged not to intrude or disturb the internal affairs of both Poland and Lithuania. This act concluded the Polish–Teutonic War (1431–1435). Moreover, any association between the knights and the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor would violate this treaty. Due to his youth, Władysław did not engage directly in peace talks and the negotiations were predominantly undertaken by diplomats or the clergy.

Domestic and foreign policy, 1438–1440

The successive years were marked by the extirpation of Polish Hussites under the Edict of Wieluń, signed earlier in 1424. The initial hostilities eventually culminated in a minor rebellion during Władysław's reign. On 3 May 1439, Spytko of Melsztyn formed a small but armed ad hoc confederation in the town of Nowy Korczyn against Oleśnicki's desire to exterminate the Hussites and to challenge his authority over the young king. Consequently, Spytko was accused of high treason and maleficence. The cardinal sent crown troops to pacify the movement and execute the death warrant. Spytko was ultimately killed at the Battle of Grotniki. His corpse pierced with arrows laid bare in the field for three days, however, Władysław personally ordered Spytko's body to be returned to his widow and restored the family's noble status and privileges.

The court also devised the return of territories once lost, most notably the southern Duchies of Silesia which continued to be ruled by the Silesian Piasts. In the north, the gentry of Greater Poland and Kuyavia demanded the recovery of Pomerania. Speaking on behalf of Władysław, the cardinal was opposed to the idea of reclaiming Pomerania and believed that peace between Poland and the Teutonic Order was critical as the Teutonic Knights were no longer a tool of the Holy Roman Emperor and were wary of taking up arms. He also dedicated himself to subtler diplomatic measures when addressing the issue of Silesia, a large historical region within the Bohemian Crown, but was unwilling to support the Hussites militarily against Sigismund of Luxembourg and his son-in-law, Albert II of Germany. The priority was diverted towards stabilising domestic affairs as well as maintaining Poland's status as a great power and a pillar of the Catholic Church in East-Central Europe.

The union with Lithuania remained impregnable and a dynastic union with the Kingdom of Hungary was to be formed as Sigismund had no male heirs. The Polish Sejm and statesmen hoped that, by marrying Władysław to one of Sigismund's grand-daughters, Poland could secure his accession in Hungary and foist Jagiellonian rule there. This would restore a union of Hungary and Poland not seen since the reign of Louis I of Anjou (1370–1382). The union would allow Poland to re-negotiate disputed territories between the Poles and the Hungarians, including Halych (later constituting Galicia) and Moldavia. In response, Poland would propose a military alliance and vow the expulsion of the Ottoman Turks from Hungarian lands.

King of Hungary and Croatia, 1440

In October 1439, Albert II died leaving the Austrian, Bohemian and Hungarian thrones unoccupied. His only son, born in February 1440, became known as Ladislaus the Posthumous. Ladislaus' claim to the Duchy of Austria was acknowledged in accordance with Albert's testament. Under the influence and pressure of Oldřich II of Rosenberg, the Catholic nobles were also inclined to endorse Ladislaus' hereditary right to Bohemia. Conversely, the Hungarians were not willing to pass his candidacy and began dialogue with the Poles. In early January 1440, the Hungarian Estates rejected the deceased king's testament at an assembly in Buda that would place the regency in the hands of Frederick III Habsburg.

Due to the general animosity towards the Habsburg dynasty and the impending Ottoman threat, the Hungarians could not accept an infant as king and turned to Poland. Ladislaus' widowed mother, Queen Elizabeth of Luxembourg, was desperate to halt this and sent intermediaries to persuade the Hungarians to terminate all negotiations with Władysław. Contrary to her efforts, the Hungarian nobles proved resolute and elected Władysław king on 8 March 1440. Prior to his election, Władysław vowed to marry Elizabeth and protect her infant son's interests in Austria and Bohemia. Simultaneously, Władysław was made King of Croatia as the Croatian dominion was in a personal union with Hungary since 1102.

Elizabeth did not approve of the Estates' election and on 15 May 1440 she had her son crowned with the Holy Crown of Hungary, which one of Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting (Helene Kottanner) had stolen from safekeeping at the fortress of Visegrád. The Hungarians soon decried the ceremony as an unlawful farce and utilised a reliquary crown for Władysław's coronation on 17 July 1440 at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Székesfehérvár. He had also received significant support from Pope Eugene IV, in exchange for his help in organising an anti-Muslim crusade. Although still young and king solely by title, Władysław became deeply involved in the struggle against the Ottomans, having been brought up in the standard of a pious Christian monarch.

Discord and unrest, 1440–1442

Shortly after Władysław's accession the conflict with the supporters of Elizabeth deepened. The western and northern parts of the country remained on the side of the queen and opposing magnates, chiefly the Counts of Celje (Cilli), the Garai family and Dénes Szécsi, Archbishop of Esztergom. In turn, the eastern regions and Transylvania upheld Władysław and his partisans, among them John Hunyadi who became a leading political and military figure in Hungary.

In order to assert her claim, Elizabeth had to maintain the wealthy mining counties in what now constitutes Slovakia and hired Hussite mercenaries from Bohemia commanded by John Jiskra. Jiskra undertook a quick campaign and occupied much of the fortresses and defensive posts in northern Hungary, often with the support of local populations and devotees that held Jiskra in high regard due to his fight for religious freedoms. As a benefactor to the mercenaries, Elizabeth had to pawn the Holy Crown and transfer tutelage over her newborn son to Frederick III. However, this proved insufficient to fund the war against Władysław; she was then forced to handover her privately-owned Austrian estates and the Hungarian County of Sopron to the Habsburgs in late 1440 and early 1441. This conduct alienated many of the lords that initially supported Elizabeth's cause, including Nicholas of Ilok, Ban of Croatia, who switched sides and allied himself with Władysław and John Hunyadi.

The western territories as well as some 70 fortresses under Ulrich II, Count of Celje in modern-day Austria, Croatia and Slovenia remained stalwart and loyal to the queen. Before the end of 1440, Hunyadi attacked Győr but was unable to take the garrisoned city. He was, however, successful in capturing local townships and villages around Buda and Székesfehérvár to prevent the escape of nobles and designated traitors. This proved paramount when Ulrich II made an attempt to flee to Bratislava (Pozsony); he was caught by a Polish detachment and subsequently imprisoned at Władysław's behest. Concurrently, Ladislaus Garai instigated a rebellion in the south. Hunyadi, together with Nicholas of Ilok, annihilated Garai's army at Bátaszék on 10 September 1440. In January 1441, Ulrich was released from captivity, pledged an oath of loyalty to Władysław and freed the hostages held by his troops.

Elizabeth prolonged her resistance until December 1442, when a peace treaty was signed at Győr under the auspices of Cardinal Julian Cesarini. Elizabeth died not long after meeting Władysław and exchanging gifts; her supporters claimed that she was poisoned on his orders to prevent their marriage. Cesarini had the treaty ratified by Frederick under the pressure of Pope Eugene, though Frederick abstained from doing so until May 1444. Due to the internal unrest, Hungary became vulnerable militarily and was severely weakened for the Turkish campaign.

Crusade against the Muslim Ottomans, 1443–1444

The prelude to the crusade began when the Turks were defeated in the Hungarian–Ottoman War of 1437–1442 and temporarily lost jurisdiction over the Principality of Wallachia. In 1442, Sultan Murad II sent Mezid Bey into Transylvania with a large akinji army, raiding cities, towns and villages from the border to Sibiu (known in German as Hermannstadt and in Hungarian as Nagyszeben). Hunyadi initially lost the skirmish and one of the Hungarian leaders, Bishop György Lépes, was killed at Sântimbru, Alba. However, a few days later Hunyadi regrouped and attacked Ottoman positions with heavy cavalry at the Battle of Hermannstadt, capturing and beheading Mezid. This empowered Hungary to coerce the Wallachians and Moldavians to change loyalty and turn into the vassals of Hungary. Murad sought revenge and entrusted Hadım Şehabeddin, governor-general of Rumelia, with a new force to enter Wallachia; he too was defeated by Hunyadi near the Ialomița River.

Throughout the autumn of 1442, Cesarini and the Republic of Venice were planning a crusade against the Turks, with the papacy pledging patronage and considerable funding. The united force would set out from Hungary with an assembled fleet under Francesco Condulmer stationed at the Dardanelles Strait. The objective was to isolate routes and communication from Anatolia to Europe, protect Constantinople, and join with the land troops to capture Turkish defensive posts on the River Danube, thus leaving the Ottoman main army caught in Anatolia. Cesarini, acting as papal legate and gathering support, disseminated slogans and propaganda that would incite the Christian army to act. Moreover, Italian humanist Francesco Filelfo wrote a personal letter to Władysław, describing him in Latin as the propugnaculum, or the "bulwark of Christianity". On the other hand, Vlad II Dracul tried to dissuade Władysław from waging war against the Ottomans. Nevertheless, Vlad Dracul provided 7,000 (according to some accounts 4,000) horsemen under the command of his son, Mircea, to fight against the Ottomans.

On 15 April 1444, at the diet in Buda and in the presence of Cardinal Cesarini, Władysław swore to renew the war against Turkish infidels in the coming summer. Similar promises were made to the Venetian delegates, the Signoria of Florence and to the Kingdom of Bosnia. Philip the Good of Burgundy was also a generous benefactor to the Christian cause. Simultaneously, Władysław engaged Stojka Gisdanić and dispatched him to Edirne as an envoy and mediator in peace talks with the Ottomans. In June 1444, the fleet of Francesco Condulmer and Alvise Loredan was ready to sail and by mid-July arrived at Methoni, Messenia, in modern-day Greece. Murad already crossed into Asia Minor by this time and the fleet was tasked with preventing re-entry by holding the strait against him.

In August, a Polish assembly at Piotrków implored him to make peace with the Ottomans, dissatisfied with the level of taxes raised for the war and believing that Murad's terms could be lucrative. The Poles were convinced that this would encourage Władysław to leave the Balkans, return to Poland and re-establish himself there as king. Meanwhile, Cesarini sent letters of progress to Cyriacus of Ancona, who was staying in Constantinople; he then translated them from Latin into Greek for John VIII Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor. The Byzantines were ecstatic of the news brought by Cesarini, as were the Genoese colonies and Pera (Galata). Cyriacus also distributed letters to Neapolitan nobility and to Alfonso V of Aragon, urging them to join the campaign. The victory of Jean de Lastic and his Knights Hospitaller in the Siege of Rhodes contributed to the general euphoria surrounding the crusade.

In mid-August 1444, the Peace of Szeged was ratified in Oradea (Várad). However, Władysław abjured his oath and the war continued; on 20 September 1444 the king and Hunyadi crossed the Danube, beginning the army's march to the shores of the Black Sea to make contact with the allied fleet. The Pope annulled and released Gjergj Arianiti from peace he made with the Turks; Arianiti was then able to march with his troops to Macedonia and fight alongside the Christians if required. At this time, Murad concluded a favourable peace treaty with Ibrahim II of Karaman, who threatened Anatolia from the south. It allowed the Turks to focus their attention and resources on advancing into Europe; in late October 1444 he crossed the Bosphorus whilst the Christian fleet was stalled due to adverse winds and the Venetians did not make an effort to prevent this. Scholar Poggio Bracciolini appraised this as the true cause of the crusade's early failure. Genoese merchants and sailors were also accused of corruption and accepting bribes from Murad. According to witnesses, the Ottoman troops outnumbered the combined Christian forces and quickly marched to the Black Sea without a delay.

Death at Varna and succession, 1444

The Venetian treachery placed the large Ottoman army of around 60,000 men in proximity to the unsuspecting 16,000 crusaders, almost outnumbering the Christians by three to one. The crusader fleet, largely manned by Venetian mercenaries and sailors, did not engage in direct combat and desisted from sailing into the Black Sea. Thereafter, the battle began on 10 November 1444 at Varna, Bulgaria; the crusaders were initially successful in defending against Ottoman assaults and Murad sustained heavy losses. Acts of heroism were abundant on the Christian side, almost making up for the lack of men; as was the courage displayed on the battlefield by John Hunyadi. Murad was wary of the battle at first and contemplated escaping when the crusaders took the left flank, but the Janissaries restrained him.

Hunyadi is purported to have proposed that the Christian left assists the right flank to move the Turks out of position, and stated that "the son of Osman's army shall be defeated". The Ottoman troops under Hadım Şehabeddin of Rumelia began to break and some fled the battle, though the Turkish resistance was fierce. One of the crusaders, Andreas de Pallatio, later wrote in his memoirs that Władysław seized the initiative on the Christian right flank and tore into Şehabeddin's ranks like "a new Caesar", pushing the Rumelians up the valley's slope. Many of the novice yet still elite Janissaries and azebs were driven back. Pallatio also notes that the size of Murad's army was too great to counter and it seemed as if the Christian offensive barely inflicted any major casualties. Władysław's men quickly became exhausted, with many wounded by arrows and battered, including Hunyadi. In spite of this, the majority of the Ottoman army either fled or was dead. Consequently, Murad decided to seek refuge in his fortified encampment in the rear.

Facing desperate circumstances and seeing Hunyadi's struggle against the Rumelian sipahis, Władysław decided to take a chance by directly charging the sultan's camp and his armed retinue with heavy cavalry. Few men were able to see the charge and no one returned from the assault, which alarmed the crusaders. The young king was most certainly killed when his charge lost impetus and came to a standstill amongst the unyielding Janissaries protecting the sultan. It is possible that the king's horse fell into a trap; Pope Pius II writes that Władysław might have been dismounted from his horse by the Turks. The Janissaries then killed the king's bodyguard and beheaded Władysław, displaying his head on a lance, spear or pole. Records mention a severed male head candied in a bowl of honey by the Turks, however, the head contained blonde hair whereas Władysław was a brunette. Disheartened by the death of the king, the Hungarian army fled the battlefield and the remainder surrendered. On his return, Hunyadi tried frantically to salvage the king's body; neither Władysław's body nor his armour were ever found.

Władysław was succeeded in Poland by his younger brother, Duke Casimir IV of Lithuania, in 1447, after a three-year interregnum. In Hungary, he was succeeded by his former rival, the child-king Ladislaus the Posthumous.

Appearance and personal life
According to 19th-century sources based on medieval chronicles, Władysław was of medium height, with a swarthy (olive) complexion, dark hair, dark eyes, and possessed a graceful gaze. There are no other accounts disclosing his physical appearance. He did not indulge in overeating or excessive drinking, and was a person of extreme patience and piety. Furthermore, the king was known to be of strong character and merciful to his foes, when required.

Władysław had no children and did not marry. Contemporary sources suggest that he was homosexual. The chronicler Jan Długosz, known for his antipathy towards the Jagiellons, alleged that there was something unusual about the monarch's sexuality. Długosz did not specify the details behind this, stating "too subject to his carnal desires" and "he did not abandon his lewd and despicable habits". On the other hand, Długosz did note later that "No age has ever seen and will never see a more Catholic and holy ruler who, according to his highest goodness, has never harmed any Christian. [...] Finally, like a holy king and a second angel on Earth, he lived an unmarried and virgin life at home and during the war".

Legacy

Władysław's legacy as King of Hungary was tarnished in existing records by the Habsburgs; the largely unrealistic picture of his reign presented in the Annales chronicles were constructed as a consistent polemic comprising the allegations of what is described as "Habsburg propaganda". Furthermore, Władysław's claim to Hungary was deemed illegitimate and he was often portrayed as a usurper, who unsuccessfully launched a crusade against the Turks. Rumours also spread that Władysław had Elizabeth of Luxembourg poisoned as her death occurred suddenly after their meeting in December 1442.

Following his death, Władysław III was commemorated in many songs and poems.

A main boulevard and residential district in Varna are named after Władysław. In 1935 a park-museum, Władysław Warneńczyk, opened in Varna, with a symbolic cenotaph built atop of an ancient Thracian mound tomb. There had been also a football team named after Vladislav in Varna, present day its inheritor is known as PFC Cherno More Varna.

Legend of survival

According to a Portuguese legend Władysław survived the battle and then journeyed in secrecy to the Holy Land. He became a knight of Saint Catharine of Mount Sinai (O Cavaleiro de Santa Catarina) and then settled on Madeira. King Afonso V of Portugal granted him lands in the Madalena do Mar district of the Madeira Islands for life. He was known there as Henrique Alemão (Henry the German) and married Senhorinha Anes, with the King of Portugal acting as his best man). The marriage produced two sons. He established a church of Saint Catherine and Mary Magdalene at Madalena do Mar in 1471. There he was depicted in a painting as Saint Joachim meeting Saint Anne at the Golden Gate on a painting by Master of the Adoration of Machico (Mestre da Adoração de Machico) in the beginning of the 16th century.

According to the tradition, he felt his defeat at Varna was a warning sign from God (since he declared war on a false pretext, violating the truce with the Ottoman Muslims). Thus, he wandered as a pilgrim, seeking forgiveness, which he found in Jerusalem. For the rest of his life he would deny his identity. A delegation of Polish monks went to Madeira to question him and certified he was in fact the long lost king, now living in secrecy. He declined their suggestion to ascend the Polish throne again.

According to another controversial version of the legend, promoted by Manuel da Silva Rosa, Władysław (as Henrique Alemão) was the biological father of Christopher Columbus.

title: Władysław III of Poland


text:
Talk:Władysław II Jagiełło/Archive B

ANy Lithuanians here?

it would be nice to have some info about ancestors of Jagiello ruling in Lithuania. After all, Jagiello had not just came from nowhere. He was member of Lithuanian ruling dynasty, Jagiellonian dynasty is direct continuation to that dynasty... We need also date for Casimir IV. He started ruling Lithuania as Grand duke something around 1440 or 1441, anyway something close to battle of Grotniki

DavidParker, nice job BTW! i don't know if i would be patient enough to move all those entries into that iwth standard names...

szopen

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Władysław II Jagiełło/Archive B


text:
Władysław II Jagiełło

Jogaila (c. 1352/1362 – 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło, was Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1381 and 1382–1401), later giving the position to his cousin Vytautas in exchange for the title of Supreme Duke of Lithuania (1401–1434) and then King of Poland (1386–1434), first alongside his wife Jadwiga until 1399, and then sole ruler of Poland. Born a Lithuanian polytheist, he converted to Catholicism in 1386 and was baptized as Ladislaus (Władysław) in Kraków, married the young Queen Jadwiga, and was crowned King of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło. In 1387, he converted Lithuania to Catholicism. His own reign in Poland started in 1399, upon the death of Queen Jadwiga, lasted a further thirty-five years, and laid the foundation for the centuries-long Polish–Lithuanian union. He was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland that bears his name and was previously also known as the Gediminid dynasty in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The dynasty ruled both states until 1572, and became one of the most influential dynasties in late medieval and early modern Europe.

Jogaila was the last pagan ruler of medieval Lithuania. After he became King of Poland, as a result of the Union of Krewo, the newly formed Polish-Lithuanian union confronted the growing power of the Teutonic Order. The allied victory at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, followed by the Peace of Thorn, secured the Polish and Lithuanian borders and marked the emergence of the Polish–Lithuanian alliance as a significant force in Europe. The reign of Władysław II Jagiełło extended Polish frontiers and is often considered the beginning of Poland's Golden Age.

Lithuania
Little is known of Jogaila's early life, and even his year of birth is uncertain. Previously historians assumed he was born in 1352, but some recent research suggests a later date—about 1362. He was a descendant of the Gediminid dynasty and was the son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his second wife, Uliana of Tver, who was the daughter of the Yaroslavichi prince Alexander of Tver. His name had a meaning of more courageous and superior than others, he spent most of his early time in Vilnius, at his father's manor.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania to which Jogaila succeeded as Grand Duke in 1377 was a political entity composed of two leading, but very different nationalities and two political systems: ethnic Lithuania in the north-west and the vast Ruthenian territories of former Kievan Rus', comprising the lands of modern Ukraine, Belarus, and parts of western Russia. At first, Jogaila—like his father—based his rule in the southern and eastern territories of Lithuania, while his uncle, Kęstutis, the Duke of Trakai, continued to rule the north-western region. Jogaila's succession, however, soon placed this system of dual rule under strain.

At the start of his reign, Jogaila was preoccupied with unrest in the Lithuanian Rus' lands. In 1377–78, Andrei of Polotsk, the eldest son of Algirdas, challenged Jogaila's authority and sought to become Grand Duke. In 1380, Andrei and another brother, Dmitry, sided with Prince Dmitri of Moscow against Jogaila's alliance with emir Mamai, de facto khan of the Golden Horde. Jogaila failed to support Mamai, lingering in the vicinity of the battlefield, which led to Mamai's army's significant defeat at the hands of Prince Dmitri in the Battle of Kulikovo. The Muscovites' Pyrrhic victory over the Golden Horde, in the long term, signified, however, the beginning of a slow climb to power by the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which became within a century the most serious rival and threat to the integrity, well-being and survival of Lithuania. However, in 1380 Muscovy was greatly weakened by tremendous losses suffered during the battle and thus, in the same year, Jogaila was free to begin a struggle for supremacy with Kęstutis.

In the north-west, Lithuania faced constant armed incursions from the Teutonic Knights—founded after 1226 to fight and convert the pagan Baltic tribes of Prussians, Yotvingians and Lithuanians. In 1380, Jogaila concluded the secret Treaty of Dovydiškės, directed against Kęstutis. When Kęstutis discovered the plan, the Lithuanian Civil War began. He seized Vilnius, overthrew Jogaila, and pronounced himself grand duke in his place. In 1382, Jogaila raised an army from his father's vassals and confronted Kęstutis near Trakai. Kęstutis and his son Vytautas entered Jogaila's encampment for negotiations but were tricked and imprisoned in the Kreva Castle, where Kęstutis was found dead, probably murdered, a week later. Vytautas escaped to the Teutonic fortress of Marienburg and was baptised there under the name Wigand.

Jogaila formulated the Treaty of Dubysa, which rewarded the Knights for their aid in defeating Kęstutis and Vytautas by promising Christianisation and granting them Samogitia west of the Dubysa river. However, when Jogaila failed to ratify the treaty, the Knights invaded Lithuania in the summer of 1383. In 1384, Jogaila reconciled with Vytautas promising to return his patrimony in Trakai. Vytautas then turned against the Knights, attacking and looting several Prussian castles.

It is known that Jogaila, being ethnic Lithuanian by the man's line, himself knew and spoke in the Lithuanian language with Vytautas, his cousin from the Gediminids dynasty. Also, during the Christianization of Samogitia, none of the clergy, who came to Samogitia with Jogaila, were able to communicate with the natives, therefore Jogaila himself taught the Samogitians about the Catholicism, thus he was able to communicate in the Samogitian dialect of the Lithuanian language. According to the Teutonic Order's testimonial, he could not read nor write, and had to listen to others reading for him.

Baptism and marriage
Jogaila's Russian mother Uliana of Tver urged him to marry Sofia, daughter of Prince Dmitri of Moscow, who required him first to convert to Orthodoxy. That option, however, was unlikely to halt the crusades against Lithuania by the Teutonic Knights, who regarded Orthodox Christians as schismatics and little better than heathens. Jogaila chose therefore to accept a Polish proposal to become a Catholic and marry the eleven-year-old Queen Jadwiga of Poland. The nobles of Lesser Poland made this offer to Jogaila for many reasons. They wanted to neutralize the dangers posed by Lithuania itself and to secure the fertile territories of Galicia–Volhynia. The Polish nobles saw the offer as an opportunity for increasing their privileges and avoiding Austrian influence, brought by Jadwiga's previous fiancé William, Duke of Austria.

On 14 August 1385 in Kreva Castle, Jogaila confirmed his prenuptial promises in the Union of Krewo (Union of Kreva). The promises included the adoption of Christianity, repatriation of lands "stolen" from Poland by its neighbours, and terras suas Lithuaniae et Russiae Coronae Regni Poloniae perpetuo applicare, a clause interpreted by historians to mean anything from a personal union between Lithuania and Poland to a complete incorporation of Lithuania into Poland. The agreement at Kreva has been described both as far-sighted and as a desperate gamble.

Jogaila was duly baptised at the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków on 15 February 1386 and from then on formally used the name Władysław or Latin versions of it. The marriage took place three days later, and on 4 March 1386 Jogaila was crowned King Władysław by archbishop Bodzanta. He was also to be legally adopted by Jadwiga's mother, Elizabeth of Bosnia, so retaining the throne in the event of Jadwiga's death. He was the first Lithuanian to be crowned as the King of Poland. The royal baptism triggered the conversion of most of Jogaila's court and noblemen, as well as mass baptisms in Lithuanian rivers, a beginning of the final Christianization of Lithuania. Though the ethnic Lithuanian nobility were the main converts to Catholicism—both paganism and the Orthodox rite remained strong among the peasants—the king's conversion and its political implications created lasting repercussions for the history of both Lithuania and Poland. On 22 February 1387, he banned Catholics from marriages with Orthodox, and demanded those Orthodox who previously married with the Catholics to convert to Catholicism.

Accession
Władysław II Jagiello and Jadwiga reigned as co-monarchs; and though Jadwiga probably had little real power, she took an active part in Poland's political and cultural life. In 1387, she led two successful military expeditions to Red Ruthenia, recovered lands her father, Louis I of Hungary, had transferred from Poland to Hungary, and secured the homage of Voivode Petru I of Moldavia. In 1390, she also personally opened negotiations with the Teutonic Order. Most political responsibilities, however, fell to Jagiello, with Jadwiga attending to the cultural and charitable activities for which she is still revered.

Soon after Jagiello's accession to the Polish throne, Jagiello granted Vilnius a city charter like that of Kraków, modeled on the Magdeburg Law; and Vytautas issued a privilege to a Jewish commune of Trakai on almost the same terms as privileges issued to the Jews of Poland in the reigns of Boleslaus the Pious and Casimir the Great. Władysław's policy of unifying the two legal systems was partial and uneven at first but achieved a lasting influence. By the time of the Union of Lublin in 1569, there was not much difference between the administrative and judicial systems in force in Lithuania and Poland.

One effect of Jagiello's measures was to be the advancement of Catholics in Lithuania at the expense of Orthodox elements; in 1387 and 1413, for example, Lithuanian Catholic boyars were granted special judicial and political privileges denied to the Orthodox boyars. As this process gained momentum, it was accompanied by the rise of both Rus' and Lithuanian identity in the fifteenth century.

Challenges
Jagiello's baptism failed to end the crusade of the Teutonic Knights, who claimed his conversion was a sham, perhaps even a heresy, and renewed their incursions on the pretext that pagans remained in Lithuania. From then on, however, the Order found it harder to sustain the cause of a crusade and faced the growing threat to its existence posed by the Kingdom of Poland and a genuinely Christian Lithuania alliance. Władysław sponsored the creation of the diocese of Vilnius under bishop Andrzej Wasilko, the former confessor of Elizabeth of Poland. The bishopric, which included Samogitia, then largely controlled by the Teutonic Order, was subordinated to the see of Gniezno and not to that of Teutonic Königsberg. The decision may not have improved Władysław's relations with the Order, but it served to introduce closer ties between Lithuania and Poland, enabling the Polish church to freely assist its Lithuanian counterpart.

In 1389, Władysław's rule in Lithuania faced a revived challenge from Vytautas, who resented the power given to Skirgaila in Lithuania at the expense of his own patrimony. Vytautas started a civil war in Lithuania, aiming to become the Grand Duke. On 4 September 1390, the joint forces of Vytautas and Grand Master Konrad von Wallenrode of the Teutonic Order, laid siege to Vilnius, which was held by Władysław's regent Skirgaila with combined Polish, Lithuanian and Ruthenian troops. Although the Knights lifted the siege of the castle after a month, they reduced much of the outer city to ruins. This bloody conflict was eventually brought to a temporary halt in 1392 with the Treaty of Ostrów, by which Władysław handed over the government of Lithuania to his cousin in exchange for peace: Vytautas was to rule Lithuania as the grand duke (magnus dux) until his death, under the overlordship of the Supreme Duke (dux supremus) in the person of the Polish monarch. Skirgaila was moved from the Duchy of Trakai to become prince of Kiev. Vytautas initially accepted his status but soon began to pursue Lithuania's independence from Poland.

The protracted period of war between the Lithuanians and the Teutonic Knights was ended on 12 October 1398 by the Treaty of Salynas, named after the islet in the Neman River where it was signed. Lithuania agreed to cede Samogitia and assist the Teutonic Order in a campaign to seize Pskov, while the Order agreed to assist Lithuania in a campaign to seize Novgorod. Shortly afterwards, Vytautas was crowned as a king by local nobles; but the following year his forces and those of his ally, Khan Tokhtamysh of the White Horde, were crushed by the Timurids at the Battle of the Vorskla River, ending his imperial ambitions in the east and obliging him to submit to Władysław's protection once more.

Early actions
On 22 June 1399, Jadwiga gave birth to a daughter, baptised Elizabeth Bonifacia, but within a month the mother and daughter died, leaving Władysław sole ruler of the Kingdom of Poland and without an heir nor much legitimacy to rule the kingdom. Jadwiga's death undermined Władysław's right to the throne, and as a result old conflicts between the nobility of Lesser Poland, generally sympathetic to Władysław, and the gentry of Greater Poland began to surface. In 1402, Władysław answered the rumblings against his rule by marrying Anna of Cilli, a granddaughter of Casimir III of Poland, a political match that re-legitimised his reign.

The Union of Vilnius and Radom of 1401 confirmed the status of Vytautas as grand duke under Władysław's overlordship, while assuring the title of grand duke to the heirs of Władysław rather than those of Vytautas: should Władysław die without heirs, the Lithuanian boyars were to elect a new monarch. Since no heir had yet been produced by either monarch, the implications of the union were unforeseeable, but it forged bonds between the Polish and Lithuanian nobility and a permanent defensive alliance between the two states, strengthening Lithuania's hand for a new war against the Teutonic Order in which Poland officially took no part. While the document left the liberties of the Polish nobles untouched, it granted increased power to the boyars of Lithuania, whose grand dukes had till then been unencumbered by checks and balances of the sort attached to the Polish monarchy. The Union of Vilnius and Radom therefore earned Władysław a measure of support in Lithuania.

In late 1401, the new war against the Order overstretched the resources of the Lithuanians, who found themselves fighting on two fronts after uprisings in the eastern provinces. Another of Władysław's brothers, the malcontent Švitrigaila, chose this moment to stir up revolts behind the lines and declare himself grand duke. On 31 January 1402, he presented himself in Marienburg, where he won the backing of the Knights with concessions similar to those made by Jogaila and Vytautas during earlier leadership contests in the Grand Duchy.

Against the Teutonic Order
The war ended in the Treaty of Raciąż on 22 May 1404. Władysław acceded to the formal cession of Samogitia and agreed to support the Order's designs on Pskov; in return, Konrad von Jungingen undertook to sell Poland the disputed Dobrzyń Land and the town of Złotoryja, once pawned to the Order by Władysław Opolski, and to support Vytautas in a revived attempt on Novgorod. Both sides had practical reasons for signing the treaty at that point: the Order needed time to fortify its newly acquired lands, the Poles and Lithuanians to deal with territorial challenges in the east and in Silesia.

Also in 1404, Władysław held talks at Vratislav with Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, who offered to return Silesia to Poland if Władysław supported him in his power struggle within the Holy Roman Empire. Władysław turned the deal down with the agreement of both Polish and Silesian nobles, unwilling to burden himself with new military commitments in the west.

Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic war
In December 1408, Władysław and Vytautas held strategic talks in Navahrudak Castle, where they decided to foment a Samogitian uprising against Teutonic rule to draw German forces away from Pomerelia. Władysław promised to repay Vytautas for his support by restoring Samogitia to Lithuania in any future peace treaty. The uprising, which began in May 1409, at first provoked little reaction from the Knights, who had not yet consolidated their rule in Samogitia by building castles; but by June their diplomats were busy lobbying Władysław's court at Oborniki, warning his nobles against Polish involvement in a war between Lithuania and the Order. Władysław, however, bypassed his nobles and informed new Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen that if the Knights acted to suppress Samogitia, Poland would intervene. This stung the Order into issuing a declaration of war against Poland on 6 August, which Władysław received on 14 August in Nowy Korczyn.

The castles guarding the northern border were in such bad condition that the Knights easily captured those at Złotoryja, Dobrzyń and Bobrowniki, the capital of Dobrzyń Land, while German burghers invited them into Bydgoszcz (German: Bromberg). Władysław arrived on the scene in late September, retook Bydgoszcz within a week, and came to terms with the Order on 8 October. During the winter, the two armies prepared for a major confrontation. Władysław installed a strategic supply depot at Płock in Masovia and had a pontoon bridge constructed and transported north down the Vistula.

Meanwhile, both sides unleashed diplomatic offensives. The Knights dispatched letters to the monarchs of Europe, preaching their usual crusade against the heathens; Władysław countered with his own letters to the monarchs, accusing the Order of planning to conquer the whole world. Such appeals successfully recruited many foreign knights to each side. Wenceslas IV of Bohemia signed a defensive treaty with the Poles against the Teutonic Order; his brother, Sigismund of Luxembourg, allied himself with the Order and declared war against Poland on 12 July, though his Hungarian vassals refused his call to arms.

Battle of Grunwald
When the war resumed in June 1410, Władysław advanced into the Teutonic heartland at the head of an army of about 20,000 mounted nobles, 15,000 armed commoners, and 2,000 professional cavalry mainly hired from Bohemia. After crossing the Vistula over the pontoon bridge at Czerwińsk, his troops met up with those of Vytautas, whose 11,000 light cavalry included Lithuanians, Ruthenians, and Tatars. The Teutonic Order's army had about 18,000 cavalry, mostly Germans, and 5,000 infantry. On 15 July, at the Battle of Grunwald after one of the largest and most ferocious battles of the Middle Ages, the allies won a victory so overwhelming that the Teutonic Order's army was virtually annihilated, with most of its key commanders killed in combat, including Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen and Grand Marshal Friedrich von Wallenrode. Thousands of troops were reportedly slaughtered on either side.

The road to the Teutonic capital Marienburg now lay open, the city undefended; but for reasons the sources do not explain, Władysław hesitated to pursue his advantage. On 17 July, his army began a laboured advance, arriving at Marienburg only on 25 July, by which time the new Grand Master, Heinrich von Plauen, had organised a defence of the fortress. The apparent half-heartedness of the ensuing siege, called off by Władysław on 19 September, has been variously ascribed to the impregnability of the fortifications, high Lithuanian casualties, to Władysław's unwillingness to risk further casualties, or to his desire to keep the Order weakened but undefeated so as to not upset the balance of power between Poland (which would most likely acquire most of the Order possessions if it was totally defeated) and Lithuania; but a lack of sources precludes a definitive explanation.

Dissent
The war ended in 1411 with the Peace of Thorn, in which neither Poland nor Lithuania drove home negotiating advantages home to the full, much to the discontent of the Polish nobility. Poland regained Dobrzyń Land, Lithuania regained Samogitia, and Masovia regained a small territory beyond the Wkra river. Most of the Teutonic Order's territory, however, including towns that had surrendered, remained intact. Władysław then released many high-ranking Teutonic Knights and officials for apparently modest ransoms. The cumulative expense of the ransoms, however, proved a drain on the Order's resources. This failure to exploit the victory to his nobles' satisfaction provoked growing opposition to Władysław's regime after 1411, further fueled by the granting of Podolia, disputed between Poland and Lithuania, to Vytautas, and by the king's two-year absence in Lithuania.

In an effort to outflank his critics, Władysław promoted the leader of the opposing faction, bishop Mikołaj Trąba, to the archbishopric of Gniezno in autumn 1411 and replaced him in Kraków with Vytautas supporter Wojciech Jastrzębiec. He also sought to create more allies in Lithuania. The Union of Horodło on 2 October 1413 decreed that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was "tied to our Kingdom of Poland permanently and irreversibly", and granted the Catholic nobles of Lithuania privileges equal to those of Polish szlachta. The act included a clause prohibiting the Polish nobility from electing a monarch without the consent of the Lithuanian nobility, and the Lithuanian nobility from electing a grand duke without the consent of the Polish monarch.

Last conflicts
In 1414, a sporadic new war broke out, known as the "Hunger War" from the Knights' scorched-earth tactics of burning fields and mills; but both the Knights and the Lithuanians were too exhausted from the previous war to risk a major battle, and the fighting petered out in the autumn. Hostilities did not flare up again until 1419, during the Council of Constance, when they were called off at the papal legate's insistence.

The Council of Constance proved a turning point in the Teutonic crusades, as it did for several European conflicts. Vytautas sent a delegation in 1415, including the metropolitan of Kiev and Samogitian witnesses; they arrived at Constance at the end of that year to express their preference for being "baptised with water and not with blood". The Polish envoys, among them Mikołaj Trąba, Zawisza Czarny, and Paweł Włodkowic, lobbied for an end to the forced conversion of heathens and to the Order's aggression against Lithuania and Poland. As a result of the Polish–Lithuanian diplomacy, the council, though scandalised by Włodkowic's questioning of the legitimacy of the monastic state, denied the Order's request for a further crusade and instead entrusted the conversion of the Samogitians to Poland–Lithuania.

The diplomatic context at Constance included the revolt of the Bohemian Hussites, who looked upon Poland as an ally in their wars against Sigismund, the emperor elect and new king of Bohemia. In 1421, the Bohemian Diet declared Sigismund deposed and formally offered the crown to Władysław on condition that he accept the religious principles of the Four Articles of Prague, which he was not prepared to do. After Władysław's refusal, Vytautas was postulated (elected in absentia) as Bohemian king, but he assured the pope that he opposed the heretics. Between 1422 and 1428, Władysław's nephew, Sigismund Korybut, attempted a regency in war-torn Bohemia, with little success. Vytautas accepted Sigismund's offer of a royal crown in 1429—apparently with Władysław's blessing—but Polish forces intercepted the crown in transit and the coronation was cancelled.

In 1422, Władysław fought another war, known as the Gollub War, against the Teutonic Order, defeating them in under two months before the Order's imperial reinforcements had time to arrive. The resulting Treaty of Melno ended the Knights' claims to Samogitia once and for all and defined a permanent border between Prussia and Lithuania. Lithuania was given the province of Samogitia, with the port of Palanga, but the city of Klaipėda was left to the Order. This border remained largely unchanged for roughly 500 years, until 1920. The terms of this treaty have, however, been seen as turning a Polish victory into defeat, as a result of Władysław's renunciation of Polish claims to Pomerania, Pomerelia, and Chełmno Land, for which he received only the town of Nieszawa in return. The Treaty of Melno closed a chapter in the Knights' wars with Lithuania but did little to settle their long-term issues with Poland. Further sporadic warfare broke out between Poland and the Knights between 1431 and 1435.

Cracks in the cooperation between Poland and Lithuania after the death of Vytautas in 1430 had offered the Knights a revived opportunity for interference in Poland. Władysław supported his brother Švitrigaila as grand duke of Lithuania, but when Švitrigaila, with the support of the Teutonic Order and dissatisfied Rus' nobles, rebelled against Polish overlordship in Lithuania, the Poles, under the leadership of Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków, occupied Podolia, which Władysław had awarded to Lithuania in 1411, and Volhynia. In 1432, a pro-Polish party in Lithuania elected Vytautas's brother Žygimantas as grand duke, leading to an armed struggle over the Lithuanian succession which stuttered on for years after Władysław's death.

Succession and death
At the dying request of the childless Jadwiga he married a Styrian lady, Anna of Celje. She died in 1416, leaving a daughter : In 1417, Władysław married Elisabeth of Pilica, who died in 1420 without bearing him a child. Two years later, he married Sophia of Halshany (niece of Uliana Olshanska), who bore him two surviving sons : The death in 1431 of his daughter Hedwig (Jadwiga), the last heir of Piast blood, released Władysław to make his sons by Sophia of Halshany his heirs, though he had to placate the Polish nobility with concessions to ensure their agreement, since the monarchy was elective. In 1427 the Polish nobles had initiated an anti-Jagiellonian movement, seeking to have Władysław and Casimir excluded from the Polish throne as they had no blood link to the previous ruling Polish dynasty, the Piasts.
 * Hedwig (1408–1431).
 * Władysław (1424–1444)
 * Casimir (1427–1492).

During an excursion into Przemyśl Land in the 48th year of his reign, Władysław caught a cold from which he was unable to recover. He finally died in Grodek in 1434, leaving Poland to his elder son, Władysław III, and Lithuania to his younger, Casimir, both still minors at the time. The Lithuanian inheritance, however, could not be taken for granted. Władysław's death ended the personal union between the two realms, and it was not clear what would take its place.

Legacy
Władysław is depicted on the obverse of the modernized 100 Polish złoty banknote.

The Jagiełło Oak, an ancient tree in Białowieża Forest, is named in honour of the fact that he initiated the tradition of royal hunting in the area.

In 2021, asteroid 2004 TP17 was officially named as Jogaila (the Lithuanian language variant of his name).

title: Władysław II Jagiełło


text:
Binding

Binding may refer to:

Computing

 * Binding, associating a network socket with a local port number and IP address
 * Data binding, the technique of connecting two data elements together
 * UI data binding, linking an user interface element to an element of a domain model, such as a database field
 * XML data binding, representing XML document data using objects and classes
 * Key binding, or keyboard shortcut, mapping key combinations to software functionality
 * Language binding, a library providing a functional interface to second library in a different programming language
 * Name binding, the association of code or data with an identifier in a programming language
 * Late binding, name binding which is resolved at run-time rather than in pre-execution time

Science

 * Binding problem, a term for several problems in cognitive science and philosophy
 * Neural binding, synchronous activity of neurons and neuronal ensembles
 * Molecular binding, an attractive interaction between two molecules
 * Binding (linguistics), the distribution of pronouns etc. to identify syntactic relationships

People

 * Carly Binding (born 1978), New Zealand pop singer-songwriter
 * Karl Binding (1841–1920), German jurist
 * Lee Binding (born 1975), graphic designer
 * Lothar Binding (born 1950), German politician
 * Rudolf G. Binding (1867–1938), German writer and supporter of Adolf Hitler

Textiles

 * Binding (knitting), a type of gather also known as a pullover stitch
 * Binding (sewing), a finish to a seam or hem
 * Binding knot, a knot used to keep objects together
 * Binding off, in knitting, a family of techniques for ending a column of stitches

Other uses

 * Binding and loosing, in the New Testament, both forbidding and permitting an action
 * Binding Brauerei, a brewery in Frankfurt, Germany
 * Binding precedent, a legal decision that must be applied or followed
 * Binding (woodworking), an inlaid edging, often used to reduce fluctuations in the wood's humidity
 * Bookbinding, the protective cover of a book and the art of its construction
 * Coil binding or spiral binding, is a commonly used book binding style for documents
 * Comb binding, cerlox or surelox binding, a method of binding pages into a book
 * Breast binding or chest binding, a wrapping to form a bra-like structure
 * Foot binding, a Chinese custom practiced on young girls from the 10th to early 20th centuries
 * Legally binding, enforceable by law
 * Ski binding, an attachment which anchors a ski boot to the ski
 * Snowboard binding, a device for connecting a foot to a snowboard
 * The Binding (2016 film), an American psychological thriller film
 * The Binding (2020 film), an Italian film

title: Binding


text:
Security Service (Poland)

The Security Service (Służba Bezpieczeństwa; ), in full Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and commonly known as SB, was a secret police force established in the Polish People's Republic in 1956 as a successor to the Ministry of Public Security (UB). The SB was the chief foreign and domestic security organization in Poland from 1956 until the fall of communism in 1989.

The parent agency of SB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, had been established in 1954, but the Ministry did not play a significant role until the winding-up of the Committee for Public Safety in 1956.

History
The post-World War II Ministry of Public Security (UB) was responsible for security, intelligence and counterintelligence. It controlled over 41,000 soldiers of the Internal Security Corps, 57,500 members of the Citizens' Militia, 32,000 border troops, 10,000 prison officers and 125,000 members of the Volunteer Reserve Citizen Militia.

After the 1954 defection to the West of Józef Światło (born Izaak Fleischfarb), a high-ranking Ministry of Public Security officer instrumental in arresting Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, this Ministry of Public Security was abolished.

In December 1954, the Communist Party divided the old UB into two parts: the Committee for Public Security (Komitet do spraw Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego, or KDSBP) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MSW). The former was a secret police responsible for internal and external intelligence and counterintelligence to fight underground movements and the influence of the Catholic Church. The MSW was responsible for administrative duties, and eventually controlled the Internal Security Corps, militia, border troops, prison guards and the Volunteer Reserve Citizen Militia.

1956 reform
The year 1956 brought change to Polish politics. Recently released from prison, Władysław Gomułka became the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party. Reforms were made in the structure of state security. The Committee of Public Safety was abolished, and its duties were taken over by the MSW.

The introduction of Security Service to the Interior Ministry (which was already in the Polish public safety system since 1954), came as a result of directive number 00238/56 made by Władysław Wicha on 29 November 1956. Wicha was a Polish communist and politician PZPR member and then the first Minister of Internal Affairs from 1954 to 1964. After that his directive, the MSW was the only security body in Poland.

Officers working in the Security Service were nicknamed "SB-eks" ( S łużba B ezpieczeństwa agents). SB also contracted individuals as secret collaborators (Tajny Współpracownik or TW), who usually received money for the services rendered.

Tasks and organizational structure
The tasks of the Security Service were identical to that of its predecessors (MBP, UB and KdsBP): to protect the communist system in the country (and beyond) through control and penetration into all structures of social life in Poland and abroad. The centrally-based MSW was divided into departments, bureaus, sections and directorates. The following was observed in the SB after the agency was founded:

 * Division I (Intelligence): Replaced I (1st) KdsBP Division in 1956.
 * Division II (Counter-intelligence): Replaced II (2nd) KdsBP Division in 1956.
 * Division III (Anti-State Activity): Replaced Divisions III-VI (3rd-6th) of the KdsBP in 1956. Later replaced with Division of protection of the constitutional order of the state in 1989.
 * Division A (Ciphers): Replaced the A Department of KdsBP in 1956.
 * Division B (Observation): Replaced the B section of KdsBP in 1956
 * Division C (Operational Records): Replaced the X (10th) KdsBP Division in 1956.
 * Division T (Operational Technology): Replaced the IX (9th) KdsBP Division in 1956.
 * Division W (Correspondence Investigation): Replaced the W section of KdsBP in 1956
 * Investigation Division: Replaced the VII (7th) KdsBP Division in 1956.
 * Government Protection Division: Replaced the VIII (8th) KdsBP Division in 1956.
 * Foreigner Registration Division: Operational assets taken from MO in 1960. In 1965, it was integrated to the Border Control Department.
 * Division IV (Protection of churches and religious associations): Separated from Division III in 1962. From 1981–1984, it's tasked to protect Polish agriculture. It was replaced in 1989 with Study and Analysis Division.
 * Passports Division: Operational assets taken from MO in 1964. From 1972 to 1990, it was tasked to register foreigners living/working in Poland.
 * RKW Division (Radio counter-intelligence): Separated from Division II in 1965. Integrated with Division A in 1989.
 * Border Control Department: Operational assets taken from the Border Protection Troops in 1965. Worked alongside the FRD until BCD was sent back to the BPT in 1972 with some duties taken by Division II and MO.
 * Division IIIA / V (Operational protection of Industry): Originally separated from Division III in 1979. Later replaced in 1989 with Division of Economic Protection. Operational assets transferred from MO in 1981-82.
 * Censorship Division: Operated during the martial law period of 1981. Intercepted phone calls and postal items. Involved SB agents from W and T Divisions.
 * Study Division (Investigation of opposition), replaced in 1989 with Study and Analysis Division.
 * Communication Division: Operational assets taken from MO in 1984.
 * Division VI (Operational protection of Agriculture), replaced in 1989 with Division of Economic Protection.
 * Officer Protection Division: Operational assets taken from MO in 1985.

1981 SB Structure
The SB was further reorganized in 1981 due to reforms made by Czesław Kiszczak. This was made under Resolution No. 144 of the Council of Ministers of October 21, 1983 on granting the organizational statute to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, later amended by Resolution No. 128 of the Council of Ministers of August 22, 1989.

 * Intelligence/Counter-intelligence Service
 * Security Service
 * Operational Security Service
 * Bureau of Investigation
 * Government Protection Bureau
 * Security Board Officers

Ranks
The following ranks were observed until 1990:

Activities
After it was renamed the SB in 1956, it entered a period of relative inactivity during the era of reform instituted by Władysław Gomułka. However, after 1968 it was revived as a stronger body responsible for political repression (most notably of the Solidarity movement, the leader of which, Lech Wałęsa, was under constant SB surveillance. Throughout the martial law (1981-1983), SB played a key role in wiretapping telephones in public areas and institutions. It also participated in infiltrating Solidarity's committees and gatherings.

The torture and execution of Catholic priest Jerzy Popiełuszko by SB members (who were later convicted of murder) in 1984 shook Poland. The agency is also suspected of killing Stanisław Pyjas, Catholic priest Stefan Niedzielak, and is reported to have abused priest Roman Kotlarz, who died mysteriously after a beating.

Victims
An infamous case was the torture and execution by the SB of Catholic priest Jerzy Popiełuszko in 1984. Since 1990, several SB operatives have been tried for their crimes. The SB is also suspected of killing Stanisław Pyjas and Catholic priest Stefan Niedzielak. It is reported to have abused priest Roman Kotlarz, who died mysteriously after a beating.

In popular culture
The SB is featured in the Polish TV series 1983 which is set in an alternative 2003 where Poland is still a communist country.

title: Security Service (Poland)


text:
TAT-2

TAT-2 was AT&T Corporation's second transatlantic telephone cable. It was in operation from 1959 to 1982, initially carrying 48 telephone circuits on two cables between Penmarch, France and Clarenville, Newfoundland. It was operated by AT&T and the national operators of Germany and France.

title: TAT-2


text:
TAT-3

TAT-3 was the third transatlantic telephone cable, in operation from 1963 to 1986. It had 414 kHz of bandwidth, allowing it to carry 138 telephone circuits (simultaneous calls). It was 3,518 nmi long, connecting Widemouth Bay in Cornwall, England to Tuckerton, New Jersey in the United States. It was owned by AT&T and GPO (now BT). It cost £12m in 1960.

title: TAT-3


text:
TAT-4

TAT-4 was the fourth transatlantic telephone cable, in operation from 1965 to 1987. It operated at 384 kHz, initially carrying 128 telephone circuits between Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, (France) and Tuckerton, New Jersey (United States). It was co-owned by AT&T and France Telecom.

title: TAT-4


text:
TAT-5

TAT-5 was AT&T Corporation's 5th transatlantic telephone cable, in operation from 1970 to 1993, carrying 720 3kHz channels, between Rhode Island, United States and Conil de la Frontera, (Cádiz), Spain. It had 361 repeaters.

title: TAT-5


text:
TAT-6

TAT-6 was the sixth transatlantic telephone cable. It was in operation from 1976 to 1994, with a bandwidth of 12MHz (4,000 telephone circuits) between Green Hill (United States) and Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, Vendée, (France).

Known as the SG coaxial cable system, designed by Bell Labs, the cable is 3396 nmi with repeater spacing of 5.1 nmi. The deep sea portion, some 3000 nmi in length, was laid by the Cable Ship Long Lines, owned by AT&T. Portions of the shore sections were laid by the French Cable Ship Vercors.

The SG Undersea Cable System was designed by Bell Laboratories at their Allentown, PA, Greensboro, NC, Holmdel, NJ, and Whippany, NJ facilities.

A few years later, TAT-7 was put into service between Tuckerton, New Jersey, and Lands End, England, and was the last analog Transatlantic undersea system.

The following system, TAT-8, was implemented by AT&T Corp. (with Bell Laboratories), STC (with British Telecom), and Alcatel (with France Telecom). This was the first Transatlantic fiber-optic system, had greatly increased capacity and performance.

title: TAT-6


text:
TAT-7

TAT-7 was the seventh transatlantic telephone cable, in operation from 1983 to 1994, initially carrying 4,000 3 kHz telephone circuits between New Jersey, United States and Porthcurno in southwest England. It was owned by AT&T, British Telecom and France Telecom.

Although optical fiber had been invented in 1970, this cable was still using coaxial cable technology.

title: TAT-7


text:
TAT-8

TAT-8 was the 8th transatlantic communications cable and first transatlantic fiber-optic cable, carrying 280 Mbit/s (40,000 telephone circuits) between the United States, United Kingdom and France. It was constructed in 1988 by a consortium of companies led by AT&T Corporation, France Télécom, and British Telecom. AT&T Bell Laboratories developed the technologies used in the cable. The system was made possible by opto-electric-opto regenerators acting as repeaters with advantages over the electrical repeaters of former cables. They were less costly and could be at greater spacing with less need for associated hardware and software. It was able to serve the three countries with a single transatlantic crossing with the use of an innovative branching unit located underwater on the continental shelf off the coast of Great Britain. The cable lands in Tuckerton, New Jersey, USA, Widemouth Bay, England, UK, and Penmarch, France.

The system was built at an initial cost of US$335 million in 1988 and was retired from service in 2002. Capacity was reached in eighteen months despite optimistic predictions that the capacity would not be filled for a decade and some that it would never be filled and no other cables would be needed.

History
This was the first transatlantic cable to use optical fibers, a revolution in telecommunications. The system contained two working pairs of optical fibers; a third fiber pair (in the AT&T segment only) was reserved as a span-wise spare. The signal on each optical fiber was modulated at 295.6 Mbit/s (carrying 280 Mbit/s of traffic) and fully regenerated in equipment placed in pressure housings separated by about 40 km of cable.

There were several problems with the early reliability of this cable during its first two years of operation. The cable was buried on the continental shelf on the European and the American side of the ocean. The burial was largely effective, and the cable issues were primarily related to manufacturing defects. AT&T laid a trial optical cable in the Canary Islands in 1985. This cable did not have an electrical screen and was attacked by sharks. It was never proved whether these attacks were due to the sharks sensing the electrical radiation from the cable or the vibration of the cable moving on the sea floor where it might have been suspended, or a combination of both. TAT-8 did not have the screen conductor over the vast majority of its length, as the threat of shark attack was deemed to be small over the majority of the route. Because the Canary Island cable was the first fiber-optic cable and not a coaxial cable, the electrical interference shielding for the high voltage supply lines was removed. This removal did not affect the fiber, but it did cause feeding frenzies in sharks that swam nearby. The sharks would then attack the cable until the voltage lines killed them. This caused numerous, prolonged outages. Eventually, a shark shielding was developed for the cable and was available for TAT-8. PTAT-1, the next cable to go in the Atlantic was put in with the shark shielding across its entire length; the added reliability provided by this shield has not been fully evaluated.

The system was manufactured by a consortium of three established submarine system suppliers: AT&T, Standard Telephones and Cables and Alcatel. The idea was that each manufacturer would manufacture part of the system, so French technology procured by France Télécom would land in France, US technology in America procured by AT&T and British technology procured by BT in the UK. The systems were designed to interoperate although the regenerator supervisory systems were all proprietary. The transition between one supplier to another supplier's regenerators was achieved using a "mid-span meet". AT&T was appointed the integration coordinator and integration trials were held in Freehold, New Jersey.

Impact
In 1989, with the new available capacity due to the TAT-8 cable, IBM agreed to fund a dedicated T1 link between Cornell University and CERN, which was completed in February 1990. It greatly increased the connectivity between the American and European portions of the early Internet. This allowed Tim Berners-Lee a high-speed, direct and open connection to the NSFNET, which greatly aided the first demonstrations of the World Wide Web ten months later. It was also crucial, along with the collapse of the Warsaw Pact at the same time, to the acceptance of TCP/IP protocols in Europe.

title: TAT-8


text:
AT

AT or at may refer to:

Austria

 * Austria (ISO 2-letter country code)
 * .at, Internet country code top-level domain

United States

 * Atchison County, Kansas (county code)
 * The Appalachian Trail (A.T.), a 2,180+ mile long mountainous trail in the Eastern United States

Elsewhere

 * Antigua and Barbuda, World Meteorological Organization country code
 * Ashmore and Cartier Islands (FIPS 10-4 territory code, and obsolete NATO country code)
 * At, Bihar, village in Aurangabad district of Bihar, India
 * Province of Asti, Italy (ISO 3166-2:IT code)
 * Australia, LOC MARC code

Politics

 * Awami Tahreek a left-wing Pakistani political party

Computing

 * @ (or "at sign"), the punctuation symbol now typically used in e-mail addresses and tweets)
 * at (command), used to schedule tasks or other commands to be performed or run at a certain time
 * IBM Personal Computer/AT
 * AT (form factor) for motherboards and computer cases
 * AT connector, a five-pin DIN connector for a keyboard
 * The Hayes command set for computer modems (each command begins with the character string "AT")

Biology and medicine

 * Anaerobic threshold, in physiology
 * Análisis transaccional (Spanish for "transactional analysis"), a psychological method
 * Antithrombin, a small protein molecule
 * Ataxia–telangiectasia, an immunodeficiency disorder
 * Athletic training
 * Atrial tachycardia

Physics and chemistry

 * Astatine (symbol At), a chemical element
 * Ampere-turn (symbol A t), an International System of Units (MKS) unit of magnetomotive force
 * Attotesla (symbol aT), 10−18 tesla, an SI derived unit of magnetic flux density
 * Technical atmosphere (symbol at), a physical unit of pressure

Other uses in science and technology

 * Acceptance testing, in engineering
 * Appropriate technology, an ideological movement to scale technology to be appropriate to its context
 * Assistive technology, devices for people with disabilities
 * AT Protocol, a decentralized social network protocol by Bluesky
 * Anti-tank warfare
 * Automatic transmission, in vehicles

Other uses

 * At, a preposition
 * At (cuneiform), a cuneiform sign
 * At, 1/100 of a Lao kip, a unit of currency
 * Aarne–Thompson classification system, used to classify folktales
 * Archive Team, a digital preservation group
 * Aliança da Terra, a Brazilian non-governmental organization
 * Alternative Tentacles, an independent record label
 * Auckland Transport, New Zealand, a public transport agency
 * Audiotool, a Digital audio workstation
 * Autolinee Toscane, Italy, a public transport agency
 * Aviation electronics technician (United States Navy), a job specialty
 * Royal Air Maroc (IATA airline designator AT)
 * A US Navy hull classification symbol: Fleet tug (AT)

title: AT


text:
TAT-9

TAT-9 was the 9th transatlantic telephone cable system, in operation from 1992 to 2004, operating at 560 Mbit/s (80,000 telephone circuits) between Europe (Goonhilly, United Kingdom ; Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, France ; Conil de la Frontera, Spain) and North America (Manahawkin, United States ; Pennant Point, Nova Scotia, Canada). It was built by an international consortium of co-owners and suppliers. Co-owners included AT&T Corporation, British Telecom and France Telecom.

TAT-9 was the first fiber optic system to operate at 565 Mbit/s, twice the speed of the first transatlantic fiber optic system, TAT-8. It was also the first system to have the ability to switch traffic on demand between the five landing points: Canada, the United States, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. This enabled the smaller countries in the network to afford their own landing points, and also allowed the network to accommodate for large changes in traffic demands at any individual station, such as the dramatic increase during the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

The first-ever fiber optic switching devices that allowed for switching were called Undersea Branching Multiplexers (UBMs).

title: TAT-9


text:
TAT-10

TAT-10 was AT&T Corporation's 10th transatlantic telephone cable, in operation from 1992 to 2003, initially carrying 2 x 565 Mbit/s between United States and Norden in Germany.

The A-segment was the part on the US continental shelf, the B-segment went North of Scotland, the C-segment crossed the North-Sea continental shelf to Norden. The D-segment was a special festoon leg that carried 3 x 565 Mbit/s from Norden, repeatered at land at West-Terschelling to Bergen near Alkmaar.

title: TAT-10


text:
TAT-11

TAT-11 was AT&T Corporation's 11th transatlantic telephone cable, in operation from 1993, initially carrying 2 x 565 Mbit/s between the United States and France.

The cable ran between Manahawkin, New Jersey, United States to Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez in France and Oxwich Bay in Wales.

Its capacity was 3x565 between the US and the UK or between France and the US or between the UK and France. Its usual working configuration was 2x565 between UK - US, 1x565 between UK - France and 1x565 between US and France. The system was retired in 2004.

title: TAT-11


text:
TAT-12/13

TAT-12/13 is a ring cable system consisting of the 12th and 13th consortia transatlantic telephone cables, in operation from 1996, initially carrying 2 × 5 Gbit/s.

This was the first TAT cable to use a ring structure, involving two stretches of cable across the ocean floor, which explains why two numbers (12 and 13) were used. All later cables also use a ring structure, but only use one number (TAT-14 etc.). The cable connected between Long Island (at Shirley, New York), USA; Green Hill, Rhode Island, USA; Porthcurno, UK; Bude, UK; and Penmarch, France.

The cable was constructed for US$740 million and was supplied jointly by AT&T Submarine Systems, Inc (now TE Subcom owned by TE Connectivity), STC Submarine Systems (acquired by Alcatel-Lucent) and Alcatel Submarcom. Ring switching equipment was provided by the Toshiba Corporation in each of the four cable stations.

The cables in this system were the first on the trans-Atlantic route to make use of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers.

The TAT-12/13 consortia removed the cable from normal commercial service on 31 December 2008.

title: TAT-12/13


text:
TAT-14

TAT-14 was the 14th consortium transatlantic telecommunications cable system. In operation from 2001 to 2020, it used wavelength division multiplexing. The cable system was built from multiple pairs of fibres—one fibre in each pair was used for data carried in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. Although optical fibre can be used in both directions simultaneously, for reliability it is better not to require splitting equipment at the end of the individual fibre to separate transmit and receive signals—hence a fibre pair is used. TAT-14 used four pairs of fibres—two pairs as active and two as backup. Each fibre in each pair carried 16 wavelengths in one direction, and each wavelength carried up to an STM-256 (38,486,016 kbit/s as payload). The fibres were bundled into submarine cables connecting the United States and the European Union (United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark) in a ring topology.

By the time this cable went into operation, the expected long boom (term coined by Wired magazine) was already ending in the dot-com death. The overinvestment in transcontinental optical fiber capacity led to a financial crisis in private cable operators like Global Crossing.

In the diplomatic cables leak, it is revealed that the landing point in Katwijk, the Netherlands is included in a US Government list of critical infrastructure susceptible to terrorist attack.

Use of the cable was ceased on December 15, 2020, shortly after the Havfrue cable, whose main trunk also lands at Blaabjerg, was lit in November 2020. In 2021 the permanent dismantling of the system was begun.

Cable failure
In November 2003, TAT-14 suffered two breaks within weeks of each other, first on the southern link between the US and UK, then on the link between France and the Netherlands which had been providing redundant service to the UK via the northern link through Denmark, resulting in disruption to Internet services in the United Kingdom.

On May 19, 2014, preliminary reports from hosting provider Digital Ocean suggested that TAT-14 was the cause for the disrupted services between the EU and the US.

Decommissioning of the TAT-14
Subsea Environmental Services has removed and recycle the cable shore-ends in the U.S., U.K., France, Denmark and The Netherlands as well as the deep-water segments in the North Atlantic.

title: TAT-14


text:
CANTAT-1

CANTAT-1 was the first Canadian transatlantic telephone cable, between Hampden, Newfoundland and eventually Grosses-Roches, Quebec and Oban, United Kingdom, which followed on from the success of TAT-1. It was conceived and approved as stage one of a proposed commonwealth round the world cable and was done at a cost of $8,500,000. The system was jointly owned by Cable & Wireless and the Canadian Overseas Telecommunication Corporation (COTC).

The system, involving the first commercial use of a new lightweight deep sea cable with a weight in water of about one-fifth that of armored deep sea cable, was laid in two phases. The first, CANTAT A, was the 2072 nmi ocean section laid by HMTS Monarch with the U.K. shore end laid by HMTS Ariel and the Canadian end laid by the U.S. Army CS Albert J. Myer. The second phase, linked by overland cable from Hampden to Corner Brook, Newfoundland, was the 400 nmi segment laid by HMTS CS Alert with both shore ends laid by CS Hadsund.

The new Trans Atlantic cables, TAT-1, CANTAT-1 and TAT-2, with their high capacity brought about a major change in regulations, with specific changes in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission policies regarding lease of foreign cable channels by U.S. international record carriers. CANTAT-1 operated from 1961 to 1986, initially carrying 60 telephone circuits, later modified from 4 kHz channels to 3 kHz channels, expanding capacity to 80 telephone circuits.

title: CANTAT-1


text:
CANTAT-2

CANTAT-2 was the second Canadian transatlantic telephone cable, in operation from 1974 to 1992. It could carry 1,840 simultaneous telephone calls between Beaver Harbour, Nova Scotia and England. The parties involved were Canadian Overseas Telecommunication Corporation (now Teleglobe) and the British General Post Office. The cable was rerouted to Sable Island as Sitifofog 2000 for a period, and was eventually decommissioned.

The work on the U.K. end of the cable involved an accident in which Pisces III, engaged in repeater burial of the newly laid cable on the shelf off Ireland, sank. The submersible sank in 1575 ft of water and was recovered with the crew safe after 76 hours.

title: CANTAT-2


text:
CANTAT-3

CANTAT-3 was the third Canadian transatlantic telecommunications cable, in regular operation from 1994 to 2010, carrying 3 x 2.5 Gbit/s between Canada and Europe. It branches to both Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It is out of normal service for international bandwidth and is currently operated by Føroya Tele to service oil platforms in the North Sea.

Landing Points
The landing points are:
 * 1) Pennant Point, Nova Scotia, Canada (defunct since 2010)
 * 2) Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland (Turned off in 2023)
 * 3) Tjørnuvík, Faroe Islands
 * 4) Redcar, North Yorkshire, UK (defunct)
 * 5) Blaabjerg, Denmark
 * 6) Sylt, Germany
 * 7) Valdemar Oil Platforms, North Sea (connected in 2012)

History
CANTAT-3 is the only NL-16 laser regenerative 2.5 Gig/s submarine system built in the world. Part of this huge system was built at STC Submarine Networks, Portland, Oregon, USA, from 1993-1994 (which later became Alcatel Submarine Networks). STC Submarine Networks in Southampton, Hampshire, UK. made the rest of the system. The Canadian portion (shore end system) was laid off Nova Scotia by the Teleglobe cable ship CS John Cabot. The main-lay portion was deployed off Nova Scotia towards the Faroes on board the AT&T ship Global Mariner. Other cable ships were involved in the completion of this system. This was the northernmost cable system ever deployed at the time.

CANTAT-3 was operated by India's Teleglobe.

On December 17, 2006, CANTAT-3 services were disrupted due to damage to the submarine cable, resulting in degradation of service to hundreds of thousands of users connecting via internet and media providers (Síminn, Vodafone and Hive). The country was however backed up by the second submarine cable, FARICE-1 The most notable effect of the event was a temporary shut-down of data communications by Iceland's universities and hospitals, which relied exclusively on CANTAT-3's services. Although it was predicted that a full recovery of the cable would take ten days, starting from midnight on January 13, 2007, it actually took until July 29, 2007 before service was fully restored. During that time, the Icelandic universities and hospitals in Akureyri and Reykjavík relied on emergency connectivity obtained via local internet providers Síminn and Vodafone. The Icelandic government decided not to buy extra bandwidth for the university network through the functioning FARICE-1 cable, despite being a large shareholder in FARICE-1.

Given that CANTAT-3 suffered multiple interruptions, the alternative cables FARICE-1, DANICE and Greenland Connect were established and/or expanded to ensure cabled telecommunication connectivity in Iceland. CANTAT-3 also had too little capacity by 2007 for domestic Internet usage, and became outdated as soon as the DANICE cable came into operation by 2009.

Usage
Føroya Tele (Faroese Telecom) took over ownership and operation of the cable in 2012 to service oil platforms in the North Sea.

As of 2022, CANTAT-3 is still in use and is powered from the Faroe Islands, Germany, Denmark and Valdemar Oil Platforms. Given its obselete bandwidth capacity, providing service to oil platforms is the currently the primary function of CANTAT-3. The transatlantic portion as well as the spur to England is no longer in operation and has not been replaced.

title: CANTAT-3