Vladislas II of Bohemia ^{1 2 3}

   Other names for Vladislas were Ladislaus II, Uladislaus II and Ulászló II.

  General Notes:

Designated by George of Podebrad as his successor, he was elected to the Bohemian throne. Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, invaded his territories and in 1478 acquired Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia from him. In Bohemia, Uladislaus openly favored the Roman Church against the Hussites. His weak rule enabled the nobles to pass laws in the diets of 1487 and 1497 that made the peasants virtual serfs. On the death of Matthias Corvinus (1490), the Hungarian magnates elected Uladislaus king in preference to Maximilian of Hapsburg (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I). In Hungary the nobles also exploited the king’s weakness, abolishing the reforms of Matthias Corvinus and worsening the lot of the peasants. When Cardinal Bakocz issued the call for a crusade against the Ottomans, the peasants revolted and were cruelly repressed by John Zapolya (later John I). In 1515, Uladislaus concluded with Maximilian I a treaty that eventually brought Hungary and Bohemia under Hapsburg rule—his daughter Anna was promised to Archduke Ferdinand (later Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I); his son and successor, Louis II, was to marry Ferdinand’s sister, Mary; if Louis died childless (as he did), Hungary and Bohemia were to pass to the Hapsburgs.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Acceded: King of Bohemia, 1471.

• Acceded: King of Hungary, 1490.

Vladislas married Beatrice of Naples, daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples and Isabel de Clermont, in 1490. The marriage ended in divorce in 1500. (Beatrice of Naples was born in 1457 and died on 23 Sep 1508 in Ischia.)

Vladislas next married Anne de Foix, daughter of Gaston II de Foix and Catherine de Foix, on 6 Oct 1502. (Anne de Foix was born in 1484 and died on 26 Jul 1506.)

  Marriage Notes:

Ladislaus was married four times, including his first with the widow of Matthias (Beatrice of Naples), and his fourth with Anne de Foix, who finally gave birth to his only surviving legitimate children, Anne and Louis.
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