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Jan I Olbracht was the king of Poland for nine years. He did not go down in history as a strong and brave monarch, but more as a debauchee. He is even referred to as the most promiscuous king of our country. What did he deserve such a reputation for?
- Jan I Olbracht sat on the throne of Poland for nine years. It’s too short to judge what kind of king he was, say historians
- For his contemporaries, however, he was primarily a drunkard and erotomaniac, as well as an inept ruler, incapable of waging wars
- Historians estimate that his riotous lifestyle led him to an alcoholism, over which he completely lost control
- The king most likely died of syphilis, entering Europe at that time, which quickly became a plague at the royal court
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Jan Olbracht was one of the sons of Kazimierz Jagiellończyk and Elżbieta Rakuszanka née Habsburg. From an early age, his parents prepared him to take the throne and raised him with a hard hand. His father was to say: “There is no more pleasant music for me than the crying of my children under the staff of the teacher.”
From polite boy to fan of orgy
The canon of Kraków, Jan Długosz, helped in bringing up children to the royal couple, who did not shy away from imposing corporal punishment. Thus, attempts were made to instill in the children of Jagiellonian the values potentially important for the future king: religiosity, mercy, and morality. Jan Olbracht learned Latin and German. He also loved music and painting, admired defensive architecture.
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Later he met Philippa Buonaccorsi, known as Kallimach. This made the teachings of the parents and the canon forgotten. Buonaccorsi believed that life was to be full of joys, and that whims were there to make amends.
Olbracht took these lessons to heart and began to draw from life to the full. He ate dishes from all over the world. The table was dominated by game and poultry, fish, almonds and honey. There was also a lot of alcohol, including wine and beer. There was always a wreath of women at grand receptions. Noble-born, maids, women of easy morals – Olbracht was not supposed to let go of any of them.
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Because of him “all the nobility perished”, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol
He was crowned king on September 30, 1492 in the then capital of Poland – Krakow. He was 33 at the time, he did not look for a wife, and taking the throne did not make him change his lifestyle. On the contrary. The orgy frequency increased, and he drank more and more alcohol.
The ruler was badly depressed by the failure of the expedition to Moldavia in 1497, the aim of which was to save the Polish fiefs from the Turks, and to conquer the Black Sea coast. The expedition turned out to be a failure, and the battle of Koźmin was remembered as the one during which “all the nobility died”. These actions also led to the aggravation of the conflict with the Turks and the Turkish invasion in 1498. After this defeat, Olbracht lost all hope of fame, and drowned his sorrows in high-percentage alcoholic beverages. Historians believe that he may have fallen into an alcoholism disorder and lost control of it.
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Toward the end
Soon Jan Olbracht felt the effects of his debauched lifestyle. He was in such poor health that the doctors followed him every step of the way. The strange behavior of the ruler was caused not only by childhood traumas or failure during the war. Everything indicates that he suffered from syphilis, which at that time entered Europe. It was allegedly infected by the burgher Wąsówna in 1497.
Indeed, the king may have suffered from syphilis because there were numerous skin lesions on his face. In the case of syphilis, ulcers appear on the skin of the patient, from which the discharge seeps. Evidence that the king suffered from syphilis are also descriptions of his treatment – hot baths and rubbing with various drugs. Probably due to syphilis, Olbracht died in 1501, leaving no descendants behind.
Although he was mainly remembered as a lecher, he was as well-liked and popular as his father. He gave the nobility new rights, which was assessed as bribery, and took care of the development of cities and trade. During his reign, the first session of the Polish bicameral parliament – the General Sejm – took place in Piotrków. According to historians, he did not rule long enough to firmly end his powers as a ruler.