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Sigismund of Luxembourg

King of Hungary and Bohemia and subsequently emperor. His involvement in the Great Schism, the Hussite Wars and the Council of Constance made him a central figure in fifteenth-century Europe.

1368 – 1437EmperorLuxembourg · ES
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Portrait of Sigismund of Luxembourg
Historical portraitEmperor SigismundFormerly attributed to Pisanello · c. 1433Kunsthistorisches Museum, ViennaPublic domain · PD-Art / PDM 1.0 · Source
Biography

Life of Sigismund of Luxembourg

King of Hungary through marriage

The younger son of Emperor Charles IV, he was born in Nuremberg in 1368. Betrothed to Mary, daughter and heiress of Louis I of Hungary, he was crowned King of Hungary in 1387 after a succession crisis in which the queen was held prisoner. He governed a kingdom with a powerful nobility, which even imprisoned him in 1401.

References: Deutsche Biographie · Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facing the Ottomans

In 1396 he led the crusade destroyed by Bayezid I’s Ottomans at Nicopolis; Sigismund escaped along the Danube. He subsequently organised the defence of the southern frontier through fortresses and alliances, including one with the Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević, and in 1408 founded the Order of the Dragon with his wife Barbara of Cilli.

References: Deutsche Biographie · Encyclopaedia Britannica

Constance and the Hussite crisis

King of the Romans from 1410–1411, he promoted the Council of Constance (1414–1418), which ended the Western Schism by electing Martin V. The council condemned and burned Jan Hus despite the king’s safe conduct. When he inherited Bohemia (1419), the Hussite Wars broke out, and he was not accepted in Prague until 1436.

References: Deutsche Biographie · Encyclopaedia Britannica

The last Luxembourg

Crowned emperor in Rome in 1433, he died in Znojmo in 1437. With no sons, he left his inheritance to his daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Albert of Habsburg, who was elected King of Hungary, Bohemia and the Romans. Sigismund’s death ended the male Luxembourg line.

References: Deutsche Biographie · Encyclopaedia Britannica

This complete profile is available in English. Bibliographic titles retain their original language. Links marked ES open the Spanish edition.

Historical profile

Key details

Birth: 15 February 1368 Documented

Death: 9 December 1437 Documented

Role: Emperor

Dynasty: Luxembourg · ES

Territories: Germany (ES) · Hungary (ES) · Bohemia (ES) · Holy Roman Empire (ES) · Croatia (ES) · Moravia (ES) · Silesia (ES)

Recorded governments and reigns
King · Hungary · Reign Pending review1387–1437Co-rulerShared authority; not treated as an exclusive succession.
King of the Romans · Germany · Reign Pending review1410–1437Effective rule
King · Bohemia · Reign Pending review1419–1437Effective rule
Emperor · Holy Roman Empire · Empire Documented1433–1437Effective rule
King · Croatia · Reign Pending review1387–1437Co-rulerShared authority; not treated as an exclusive succession.
Margrave · Moravia · Margraviate Inferred1419–1422Effective ruleBrno and Olomouc are regional urban centres; they are not equated with the monarch’s exclusive ownership of Moravia and do not erase seigneurial or episcopal jurisdictions. Olomouc begins with the privilege of 1378 and is excluded during the documented Swedish and Prussian occupations.
Sovereign · Silesia · Government Inferred1420–1437Effective ruleThe enfeoffed princes and the bishop of Nysa retain their own governments. The area represents superior sovereignty; Schweidnitz-Jauer was incorporated in 1392. Greater Poland, Lusatia and Glatz are excluded. This does not derive from the imperial office.
Family network

Recorded relationships

Parents
Partners
Children
Crowns and unions

Their titles over time

Follow the changing territories and offices of Sigismund of Luxembourg. Each title retains its own status.

Governments in 1420

  • Crown of Saint Stephen2 titles and offices
    View titles and jurisdictions
    • Hungary · ESKing · Co-ruler1387–1437 · Shared authority; not treated as an exclusive succession.
    • Croatia · ESKing · Co-ruler1387–1437 · Shared authority; not treated as an exclusive succession.

    The kingdoms of the Hungarian crown and, before its eastern separation, the voivodeship of Transylvania. Each title retains its identity; an independent Transylvanian prince or an Ottoman tributary is not included merely because of a shared ruler or proximity. Source for this grouping

  • Holy Roman Empire (Germany)King of the Romans
    View titles and jurisdictions
  • Crown of Saint Wenceslaus3 titles and offices
    View titles and jurisdictions
    • Bohemia · ESKing · Effective rule1419–1437
    • Moravia · ESMargrave · Effective rule · Royal centres of Brno and Olomouc; regional authority over the margraviate, distinct from the full geography of the Bohemian title1419–1422 · Brno and Olomouc are regional urban centres; they are not equated with the monarch’s exclusive ownership of Moravia and do not erase seigneurial or episcopal jurisdictions. Olomouc begins with the privilege of 1378 and is excluded during the documented Swedish and Prussian occupations.
    • Silesia · ESSovereign · Effective rule · Overlordship of the Bohemian crown over the Silesian duchies; not direct ducal possession1420–1437 · The enfeoffed princes and the bishop of Nysa retain their own governments. The area represents superior sovereignty; Schweidnitz-Jauer was incorporated in 1392. Greater Poland, Lusatia and Glatz are excluded. This does not derive from the imperial office.

    The Lands of the Bohemian Crown (Corona regni Bohemiae), constituted by Charles IV in 1348 and placed under Saint Wenceslaus’s patronage: the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Margraviate of Moravia and the Silesian duchies effectively governed by this person. Provincial titles are retained; Prussian Silesia is not assigned to a Habsburg monarch. Source for this grouping

Annual dates: overlap within one year does not prove that two offices were held on the same day. Regencies and co-rulerships retain their labels.

Documentation

Sources for this profile

Biographical and contextual references in their original language. Sources and methodology.

Evidence for this profile

13 recorded claims · 4 without a claim-specific source. Context references do not by themselves verify every fact.

Dates (2/2 with a precise source)
Family and relationships (4/4 with a precise source)
Governments (3/7 with a precise source)
Biographical and contextual references (7)
Editorial history
  • 2026-10-12 · Claim registry added; existing historical data kept. Specific sourcing remains to be reviewed.
  • 2026-10-08 · Claim registry added; existing historical data kept. Specific sourcing remains to be reviewed.
  • 2026-10-04 · Claim registry added; existing historical data kept. Specific sourcing remains to be reviewed.
  • 2026-10-04 · Claim registry added; existing historical data kept. Specific sourcing remains to be reviewed.
  • 2026-10-03 · Claim registry added; existing historical data kept. Specific sourcing remains to be reviewed.
  • 2026-09-30 · The duchy is limited to Dijon and Autun; each other fief now enters the map only under its dated ruler. John III of Namur and the Nevers/Rethel branch were added. The previous shape combined later counties and unrelated lands as if all belonged to the duchy from 1363.
  • 2026-09-28 · Claim registry added; existing historical data kept. Specific sourcing remains to be reviewed.

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