Sigismund no doubt felt he had some rights to Poland through his bride, and in 1392 began talking to the Teutonic Knights about allying to partition Poland and incorporate part of it into Hungary. Hungary was being assailed on its southern border by Ottomans, however, which slowed the process of marching on Poland.
Sigismund did invade Moldavia (the purple region below the red of Poland in the illustration), and forced its ruler, Prince Stephen I, to swear allegiance to Hungary instead of Poland. Immediately after Sigismund's forces left Moldavia, however, Stephen went to Jogaila and Jadwiga, telling them he wanted to join them against Hungary and the Ottomans and the Teutonic Order.
Mary and Jadwiga's mother, Elizabeth, had been a sharp negotiator on behalf of her daughters. When Mary died on 17 May 1395, by agreement her heir was Jadwiga: Mary had no children (and neither did Jadwiga, for that matter, an issue that for years bothered her husband). A vassal of Hungary, Vlad I of Wallachia, acknowledged Jadwiga as the legitimate successor, for which he was driven out of Wallachia by a close supporter of Sigismund. Poland prepared to march on Hungary, but they were prevented by the archbishop of Hungary.
Konrad von Jungingen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, convinced the Holy Roman Empire that bringing Hungary as well as Poland and Lithuania under Jogaila's influence would be a bad idea for Christendom (Jogaila's recent conversion to Christianity obviously did not engender confidence in the Church of his future actions). Sigismund was away fighting the Ottomans, and his court would not agree to any major changes in government in his absence. Negotiations by them with Poland to create peace led to Jadwiga being named "heir to Hungary" but without any real claim.
In 1396, Jadwiga and Jogaila invited Konrad von Jungingen to Poland to talk. Konrad was still claiming his efforts were a Christian Crusade, so Poland made sure that many aldermen were replaced with Christians. Things were not going well, however, until a surprising twist when a former enemy turned up and offered to smooth things over with the Teutonic Knights. That story, and the next stage in Jadwiga and Jogaila's union—finally having children—will wrap up in tomorrow's post.
