Sigismund II Augustus

King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Sigismund II Augustus (1520-1572) was a Polish king, the last member of the Jagiellon dynasty.[1] He was also the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1548 to 1572.[2]

Sigismund II Augustus
Portrait by Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1553
King of Poland
Grand Duke of Lithuania
Reign1 April 1548 – 7 July 1572
Coronation20 February 1530
PredecessorSigismund I
SuccessorHenry of Valois
Born1 August 1520
Kraków, Poland
Died7 July 1572 (aged 51)
Knyszyn, Poland
Burial10 February 1574
Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland
FatherSigismund I
MotherBona Sforza

Biography

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Sigismund II Augustus was born in Kraków on 1 August 1520.[3] He was the only son (he had sisters) of king Sigismund I the Old and his wife, Italian princess Bona Sforza. His great grandfather was Wladislaw II Jagiello,[4] the founder of the dynasty. Sigismund II Augustus was crowned as a child on 20 February 1530[5] when his father was still alive (in Latin vivente rege).[6] From 1544 he ruled in Lithuania.[7] He was married three times but remained childless.[8] He died on 7 July 1572 in Knyszyn.[9] He was a Roman Catholic, but was known for his tolerance for Protestants.[10]

When king Sigismund II Augustus received diplomats or made important decisions, he did so in the audience hall in the royal castle.[11] This room was also called "Under the Heads" for the carved heads set in the ceiling.[11] One of these was a woman's head.[11] The legend says whenever he would make a decision she would speak in Latin (using rhyme and alliteration): Rex Auguste, iudica iuste ("King August, judge justly").[11] He followed her advice but after that her mouth was covered with a ribbon so she would never again interfere in royal decisions.[11]

 
Wooden heads at the Wawel castle in Cracow

References

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  1. Philip W. Barker, Religious Nationalism in Modern Europe: If God be for Us (London; New York: Routledge, 2009), p. 86
  2. Henry Kamen, Who's who in Europe, 1450-1750 (London; New York: Routledge, 2000), p. 274
  3. "Lithuania". MedievalCoinage.com. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  4. Władysław II Jagiełło, king of Poland, Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  5. Zygmunt II August, Encyklopaedia PWN (in Polish).
  6. Elekcja, Encyklopedia PWN.
  7. Zygmunt II August, Encyklopedia PWN.
  8. Sigismund-II-Augustus, Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  9. Sigismund-II-Augustus, Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  10. Sigismund-II-Augustus, Nekropole.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "Wawel Royal Castle". KAR Net. Kraków Travel. Retrieved 9 October 2016.

Other sources

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  • Stanisław Cynarski, Zygmunt August, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1988 (in Polish).

Other websites

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