THE POLANIAN DYNASTY 83
There was no question of a general crusade. Pierre de Lusignan returned to
Venice and to Cyprus, to the unexpected capture of Alexandria, which was
resented no less by the Christian world than by the Turks, and to his death. For
the rest of Europe, the Congress of Cracow was an obscure, forgotten episode.
For Poland, it was the country's modest debut on to the scene of international
diplomacy.
At the end of his life Casimir had failed in only one respect. As king and ruler,
he had been eminently successful; as 'father of his people' he was widely loved,
but as dynast he had no acceptable heir. This was surprising, for he had known
three legal wives, one bigamous consort, and at least two serious mistresses, he
had several daughters and three sons. His first wife, Aldona, a Lithuanian, had
died young in 1339. His second wife, Adelaide of Hesse, was only taken after
two broken engagements, and soon cast aside for Krystyna RokiCana, a Czech
girl from Prague, whom he married against all the rules, in a secret wedding at
the Abbey of Tyniec in 1357. His third wife, Jadwiga of Zagan, was taken in
1365 on the strength of a forged papal dispensation. His will mentioned children
by a certain Cudna, and there were persistent romantic rumours concerning a
Jewess called Esther. The snag about his sons was that he had sired them with a
married woman, and could not therefore claim legal paternity. Hence the two
immediate candidates for the succession were Louis of Hungary, Casimir's
nephew, and Kazko of Slupsk, his grandson. From the technical point of view,
their claims in the female succession were inferior to those either of Wladyslaw
Bialy of Gniewkow, who was a monk in Dijon in Burgundy, or of Ziemowit III,
Prince of Mazovia. Casimir had feared a disputed succession all his life. Already
at Vyshegrad at the age of 29, he had made provision to be succeeded by Louis
of Hungary, or by Louis's brother Jan, in the event of his death without male
heir. This arrangement was consolidated by a further, more detailed Treaty
signed at Buda in 1355. But later he had second thoughts. In both his wills, he
invested Kazko with the duchies of Sieradz, Leczyca, Kujawy, and Dobrzyn
with the obvious purpose of strengthening Kazko's position in the event of a dis-
pute with Louis. When he died, on 5 November 1370 early in the morning
around sunrise, the matter was still not settled.
Casimir's funeral was on a scale commensurate with his achievement. Within
days of the death, Louis of Anjou had arrived from Hungary to prepare his own
coronation, and to attend the obsequies:
At the head of the procession, four carriages were pulled by four fine horses. The car-
riages, the drivers, and the horses were all dressed and covered in black. Forty knights in
full armour rode past on chargers decked out with scarlet horsecloths. Twelve of them
carried the banners and heraldic shields of the duchies and of the Kingdom. Behind them
came a knight, riding in effigy of the late king, dressed in his golden royal robes and
mounted on a high-stepping pacer caparisoned in purple. Six pairs of candle-bearers
walked in procession with lighted tapers... Then came the entire clergy of the city and
environs, both secular and religious, singing a dirge and leading a line of biers loaded
with gifts of samite and other rich materials to be divided among the churches and