Home > Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor

(Non-contemporary) portrait by Albrecht Dürer

The third and last German Emperor and fourth Bohemian king of the Luxembourg dynasty, Sigismund, second son of the Emperor Charles IV, was born in Nuremberg.

Through his marriage to Mary, queen ( 1382Events End of the reign of Emperor Go-En'yu of Japan, fifth and last of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders Emperor Go-Komatsu ascends to the throne of Japan John Wyclif's teachings are condemned by the Synod of London. September, 30: Trieste being donated b- 1385Events August 14 Battle of Aljubarrota between the Portuguese under John I of Portugal and the Castilians, under John I of Castile. The decisive Portuguese victory garantees independence and ends the 1383-1385 Crisis John I of Portugal becomes the first P and 1386Events End of reign of Poland by Capet-Anjou family. Dan I is succeeded as ruler of Wallachia by Mircea the Old. The Viking colony of Greenland submits itself to the Norwegian king. Births March 12 Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Ashikaga shogun Deaths 1386.- 1395Events End of reign of Hungary by Capet-Anjou family. Alexander IV becomes archduke of Austria. Rama Ratchathirat becomes king of the Ayutthaya kingdom in Thailand. Births George of Trebizond, Greek philosopher and scholar Deaths March 13 John Barbour, Sc) of HungaryThe Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. It is known locally as the Country of the Magyars or Magyarorszag''. Magyar Koztarsasag ( In Detail) ( Full s, Sigismund became the country's king in 1386 despite opposition among the nobility. In 1396Events September 25 Bayezid I defeats Sigismund of Hungary and John of Nevers at the Battle of Nicopolis. Births Alfonso V of Aragon June 30 Dijon, France, Philip III the Good (Philippe le Bon), Duke of Burgundy (1419) Deaths 1396. he organised a crusade to repel the OttomanOsmanlı İmparatorluğu Devlet-i Aliye-i Osmaniye The Ottoman Coat of Arms Imperial motto: unknown The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul ( Constantinople) Sovereigns Sultans Turks, who were threatening Hungary from the south, but the Christian forces were routed at the Battle of NicopolisThe Battle of Nicopolis took place on September 25, 1396, between a French- Hungarian alliance and the Ottoman Empire. It is often referred to as the crusade of Nicopolis and was both the largest and last large-scale " crusade" of the Middle Ages. The bat (now Nikopol, Bulgaria).

In about 1406 he remarried with Barbara Celjska (Barbara of Celje), daughter of Hermann II , Count of Celje (Cilli).

In 1410 he was elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, though his title was not universally recognised until a year later. He was margrave of Brandenburg in 1378- 1388 and again from 1411 until 1415, when he granted the territory to Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg, burgrave of Nuremberg, making the Hohenzollern family one of the most important in Germany.

It was as king of Bohemia from 1419 in succession to his elder half-brother Wenceslaus IV that Sigismund faced the greatest challenge of his reign. Accused of complicity in the burning of the Czech religious reformer Jan Hus by the Catholic Church leadership in Constance ( 1415), Sigismund was ejected by the Hussite forces on his attempt to take over the country ( 1420). A bitter conflict (the Hussite Wars) continued for 15 years, extending across Bohemia's borders. Only in 1437, the year of his death, Sigismund was accepted by the major Czech factions.

Sigismund had no children by Mary of Hungary, but he had a single daughter with Barbara Celjska, Elizabeth (1409-1442). Elizabeth married Albert II, Holy Roman Emperor, who was eventually to succeed his father-in-law as King of Hungary and Bohemia, and as German King.

Names in other languages: German: Sigismund, Hungarian: Zsigmond, Czech: Zikmund, Slovak and Croatian: Žigmund, Slovene: Sigismund Luksemburški