Ladislaus of Varna

Ladislaus of Varna (1424-1444), crowned king of Poland in 1434, and king of Hungary in 1440; the son of Ladislaus Jagiello and Sophia of Holszany. Since he ascended the Polish throne at the age of ten, the country was ruled in his name by Cardinal Zbigniew Olesnicki. The accepting of the Hungarian crown involved Ladislaus directly in a war with the Turks, who were a threat to Hungary. Encouraged by the papal legate, the young king set out against the Turks at the head of a small, poorly prepared army. In the decisive battle fought at Varna on 10 November 1444, the anti-Turkish forces were routed and Ladislaus slain. Ladislaus is one of the best known rulers of medieval Poland. His defeat on the battlefield of Varna gave rise to a legend about a young king who died in a war between two different civilisations. [art]