Sigismund of Luxembourg
Sigismund of Luxembourg was one of the most significant Holy Roman Emperors of the late medieval period. As King of Hungary from 1387, King of Germany from 1411, and eventually Holy Roman Emperor from 1433, Sigismund accumulated an extraordinary collection of crowns. Sigismund's greatest achievement was his role in organizing and presiding over the Council of Constance (1414-1418), which ended the three-way schism that had divided the Western Church for nearly four decades and elected a new undisputed pope, Martin V. However, the Council is also remembered for its burning of the Czech theologian Jan Hus in 1415, despite a safe-conduct that Sigismund had personally guaranteed. The burning of Hus ignited the Hussite Wars in Bohemia. Sigismund suffered humiliating military defeats against the Hussite armies and was repeatedly unable to claim his Bohemian inheritance. He was finally crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome in 1433 and secured Bohemia shortly before his death in 1437, the last Luxembourg emperor.
- Lived: 1368 CE – 1437 CE
- Nationality: german
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state, military_leader
