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Władysław II Jagiełło, founder of the Jagiellonian dynasty, was Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, and the longest-reigning of all Polish monarchs. He was born around 1362, the son of Olgierd and Princess Julianna of Tver, and the grandson of Gediminas. He assumed the grand ducal authority in Vilnius after his father’s death in 1377, initially relying on the support of his uncle Kęstutis, with whom he later fell into conflict and stripped of power.
On August 14, 1385, he concluded a union with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland in Kreva, committing himself to baptism, the Christianization of Lithuania, and marriage to Queen Jadwiga. He was baptized on February 15, 1386, taking the name Władysław, and a few days later he married Jadwiga and was crowned King of Poland. In 1387, he founded a bishopric in Vilnius and carried out the Christianization of the Lithuanian nobility. In 1401, he entrusted the direct rule of Lithuania to Vytautas, while retaining the title of Grand Duke of Lithuania.
In 1409, a major war broke out with the Teutonic Order. Jagiello commanded the Polish-Lithuanian forces at the Battle of Grunwald on July 15, 1410, in which the Teutonic forces were routed and Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen was killed. The war ended with the Peace of Toruń, under which Lithuania regained Samogitia, and the Dobrzyń region returned to the Crown. In 1413, Jagiełło concluded the Union of Horodło, strengthening Polish-Lithuanian cooperation. In 1400, he founded the restored university in Kraków, later known as Jagiellonian University.
The final years of his reign were dominated by efforts to secure the succession for his son Władysław, born in 1424 to his fourth wife, Zofia Holszańska. To this end, Jagiełło granted the nobility the Jedlne Privilege in 1430, guaranteeing personal inviolability. He died on June 1, 1434, in Gródek. He was buried at Wawel, while his heart was laid to rest in the Franciscan church in Gródek Jagielloński.
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