[March 22] George, king of Bohemia

True Name: Jiří z Poděbrad

Parents:  Victor of Kunštát and Poděbrady and Anna of Wartenberg

Date of Birth: 23 April 1402

House: Poděbrady

Predecessor: Ladislaus I Posthumous

Spouse: Kunigunde, daughter of Smil of Sternberg and Barbara of Pardubice, then Johana, daughter of John of Rožmitál and Ludmilla of Strakonicz

Reign: 1458 – 1471

Summary: George was born into a fighting family of moderate Hussites, a group of Czech Christian reformers that predate the Protestant Reformation. When he was fourteen, he participated in the Battle of Lipany which was a battle between radical Hussites and moderate Hussites allied with the Catholics. George's group won and George went on to become of the leaders of the Hussites, defeating Austrian troops a few years later. During the reign of King Ladislaus, Bohemia divided into Catholics and Hussites, with George leading the latter. In 1448, George raised an army and led it on campaign to Prague which he captured with little resistance. Civil war broke out across Bohemia and George eventually defeated the Catholics. Fearing further revolt, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III made George regent of Bohemia in 1451 until Ladislaus came of age. But the war continued and was not aided by the young king who was raised a staunch Catholic. When Ladislaus was crowned king in 1453, things took a turn for the worst. Ladislaus died unexpectedly in 1457 and George took control of the government within a year, drawing support from the estates and, unexpectedly, the Catholics.

The first non-Habsburg ruler of Bohemia in a number of years, George had to face opposition not just from papal loyalists but from Austria as well. George ruled on the edge of a knife. To resolve all his problems, he suggested a Christian Union between the German states (including Bohemia), France, and the Italian states. It was the first of its kind since Roman times and a precursor to the European Union. He proposed expanding the union to include the Hispanic states in a few years. As a part of this union, he suggested that the leaders of each nation meet in parliament at times of strife and settle their differences through peace. He suggested a Christian union to suggest an alliance against the Turks who had conquered Constantinople a decade earlier. Unfortunately, Pope Pius II declined the offer of a union and continued to seek a crusade against the Hussites of Bohemia. When Pius died in 1464, Pope Paul II also declined. With no support coming from the Papacy, the Catholic party in Bohemia began to waver. Some made an alliance with the pope leading to the pope's excommunication of King George in 1466. The Holy Roman Empire and the King of Hungary joined with the pope against Bohemia. In 1468, Matthias of Hungary took over most of Moravia and was crowned king of Hungary in 1469. In 1470, King George and King Matthias came to terms despite recent successes against Hungary by Bohemia. George died the following year and the Hussites chose Vladislaus II, the son of the king of Poland, as the new leader of the Hussites despite George leaving multiple sons behind who could have inherited the throne.

Date of Death: 22 March 1471

Successor: Vladislaus II

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Constantine I, emperor of Rome (337)
• George, king of Bohemia (1471)