 Wladislaus II Jagiello, 1490-1516. Taler, 1506. Kremnitz. Within a circle and ornate inner frame: St. Ladislaus on horseback charging l., spear raised, small Madonna and Child above. Rv. Crowned Arms, .KREMIZ on the left, TVRSO. on the right. 18.38 grams. Réthy 269-b, Dav.8255 var. Rare. Mount removed at 12:30. Weak obverse center. About Fine. (Est. $150-$200)
Upon the death of the great Matthias Corvinus in 1490, Hungary's feudal nobles sought to reassert themselves. They sought a weak, malleable ruler, one ''whose beard they could hold in their fists'' and their eyes fell upon Wladislaus Jagiello, king of Bohemia. Reputed to say ''Yes'' to anything, Wladislaus was dubbed ''King all Right'' by his Bohemian subjects. János Corvinus, Matthias' natural son, was cajoled out of succession, and the nobles elected Wladislaus as their new king.
Alas for Hungary, the hapless Wladislaus lived up to his reputation, proving quite unable to stand up to a ''nobility'' that was self-serving, ignorant, corrupt and avaricious. All of Matthias' Austrian conquests were surrendered to appease the Hapsburgs, while Hungary's standing army was dissolved because the nobles had cut off all real financial support. Capping the kingdom's woes and draining what was left of national wealth, a massive peasant rebellion erupted in 1514 against the brutal exploitation by the aristocracy. It was viciously suppressed by the head of the nobility, the Transylvanian voivode John Zápolya.
At Wladislaus' death in 1516, his ten-year old son Louis II inherited a country reeling in chaos. Ten years later, Louis and most of his 27,000-man army died at Mohács beneath the blades of the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Suleyman. Not far off was Zápolya with an army of some 40,000 men, but he budged not an inch to help his king. Louis' death led to a fierce contest for succession between the Hapsburgs and the Transylvanian princes.
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