Louis of Hungary (1326-1386), king of Hungary, called in his own
country Lajos the Great. He was the son of Elizabeth,
Casimir the Great's
sister, and became king of Poland under the treaty concluded at Visegrad
in 1339 by Casimir the Great and his father, Charles Robert, the founder
of the Hungarian Angevin dynasty. After his coronation in Poland in 1370,
he ruled in Cracow through the intermediary of his mother. He wanted
the Polish throne for one of his daughters and therefore tried to win over
the gentry by giving them extensive privileges, called the Kosice pact,
which became the foundation of the freedom and political power of the
gentry in Poland. In exchange, the gentry agreed to one of Louis'
daughters ascending the throne. He left Poland united, its borders almost
the same as after the death of Casimir the Great.
[art]