Sigismund Korybut ( lt, Žygimantas Kaributaitis; be, Жыгімонт Карыбутавіч; pl, Zygmunt Korybutowicz; cz, Zikmund Korybutovič; uk, Жиґимонт Корибутович or Сигізмунд Корибутович, 1395 – 1435 near Vilkmergė) was a duke from the Korybut dynasty, best known as a military commander of the

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

army and a governor of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

during the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, Eur ...

. Sigismund was most likely born in Novhorod-Siverskyi to

Dymitr Korybut Kaributas (''Koribut'', ''Korybut'', baptized ''Dmitry''; after 1350 – after 1404) was a son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and reigned in Severian Novgorod until 1393. Kaributas was born some time after 1350 (exact date is unknown) ...

, son of

Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his br ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power— Ho ...

, and Anastasia, daughter of Grand Prince Oleg of

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Cens ...

, and raised in the court of Korybut's brother (his uncle) Jogaila (Władysław Jagiełło) in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

since 1404. Sigismund was rumored to be expected to become his successor on the Polish throne. Being just an adolescent, he commanded his own banner of the Army of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

in the victorious

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

in 1410. His elder sister, Olena (Helena) had been married to an important magnate of Bohemian kingdom, duke Jan of Opava and Ratiborz.

Biography

As a regent of Bohemia for

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

, he was commissioned to lead his army to Bohemia in April 1422. The army of Sigismund of Hungary retreated to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

in avoidance of the encounter. Sigismund Korybut arrived in Prague on 16 May 1422, and was acknowledged ruler of Bohemia. He became commander of local Hussites, and fought in Hussite internal disputes.

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...

insisted that Vytautas and Jogaila recall Sigismund from Bohemia. On 24 December 1423, under Jogaila's agreement with Sigismund of Hungary, Sigismund Korybut left Prague with his army. However, he could not refuse an offer of the Bohemian throne and on 29 June 1424 he once again came to Prague with 1,500-strong army, this time without Vytautas' and Jogaila's consent; their primary objective had been a successful implementation of the

Treaty of Melno The Treaty of Melno ( lt, Melno taika; pl, Pokój melneński) or Treaty of Lake Melno (german: Friede von Melnosee) was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on 27 September 1422, between the Teutonic Knights and an alliance of th ...

, thus a conflict with Sigismund of Hungary was undesirable. Therefore, Jogaila ordered a confiscation of Sigismund's estates, and the

Papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

him. Meanwhile, as a governor of Prague, he dismissed the city's council, summoned a new one and succeed in ending the internal discords between Jan Žižka and the

Utraquist Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds") or Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', mug, borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', shell, husk; Czech: kališníci) was a belief amongst Hussites, a reformist Christi ...

s, enabling a successful Hussite military campaign to

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...

against Emperor Sigismund. After Žižka's death, he became a supreme commander of his army, leading it to victory in the Battle of Usti nad Labem on 16 June 1426. Sigismund Korybut began negotiations with Sigismund of Hungary, with an intention to reconcile the Catholics and Hussites. However, his political career came to an end in 1427, when by the initiative of suspicious Prague Taborites, he was imprisoned in

Valdštejn Castle Valdštejn Castle (German: ''Waldstein'') is an early Gothic fortress near Turnov, in the Czech Republic. It can be found in the cliff dwelling city of Hruboskalsko, in the Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj). The city was built on three sandstone ...

for the organization of a revolt in Prague. After release from prison in 1428, Sigismund participated in Taborite battles in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

. The decisive loss in the Battle of Lipany forced him to return to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Sigismund Korybut was among the commanders in the Battle of Wiłkomierz on the side of his uncle

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund ...

on 1 September 1435. His army was decisively defeated by Sigismund Kęstutaitis' forces. Sigismund Korybut was wounded during the battle, however he fought till the end. According to

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

, the cause of his death was severe infection of his wounds (''extremo mortis horrendae supplicio'').

Literature

* Chłędowski Kazimierz. ''Zygmunt Korybut: szkic historyczny (1420–1428)''. Warszawa, 1864. * Grygiel Jerzy. ''Życie i działalność Zygmunta Korybutowicza. Studium z dziejów stosunków polsko-czeskich w pierwszej połowie XV wieku'' // PAN, oddział w Krakowie. Wydawnictwo Ossolineum. Wrocław, 1988. * Nikodem Jarosław. ''Polska i Litwa wobec husyckich Czech w latach 1420–1433. Studium o polityce dynastycznej Władysława Jagiełły i Witolda Kiejstutowicza'' // Instytut Historii UAM. Poznań, 2004.

References

Biography of Žygimantas Kaributaitis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korybut, Sigismund 1390s births 1435 deaths People from Novhorod-Siverskyi People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Gediminids People of the Hussite Wars Pretenders to the Bohemian throne 15th-century soldiers

Biography

See also

Literature

References