#krzysztof świłpa

[pol-ski]

Polish actor Krzysztof Świłpa as Władysław III of Poland (31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444), also known as Władysław (Ladislaus) III Jagiellon/Władysław of Varna – King of Poland, Hungary and Croatia as well as Supreme Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

"[...] it was from his reign that the thinking of Poland as the “bulwark of Christianity” started to develop, so popular later in the 16th and 17th century. In the 15th century, during the reign of Władysław III, the term “bulwark” referred rather to Hungary, threatened by the progressing Turkish expansion, but it was precisely for this purpose that the young king of Poland accepted the Hungarian crown – in order to fight for defending the Kingdom of Hungary. Military successes during the so-called “long campaign” (1443/1444) resulted in the fact that he individually became to be referred to as a “bulwark of the entire Christian Commonwealth” – and not by somebody else but by Francesco Filelfo, one of the greatest snobs, but also the most outstanding erudite humanist of the Italian Renaissance, who was sought after by the most outstanding people of the time, including monarchs and even the pope. Prof. Janusz Tazbir correctly notices that it was at that time that the term antemurale Christianitatis – already widespread in Europe – was for the first time used towards the Polish ruler (!) and not the Kingdom of Poland. For the achieved victories, Władysław III as the first Polish ruler received from the Pope a blessed sword – a special distinction for rulers who distinguished themselves in fighting for the defence of Christian faith". (© Ewa Srebro, Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin)

1) Władysław III depicted in a 15th-century prayerbook, 2) Władysław III by Izydor Jabłoński