BOOK REVIEW: Thomas W. Gromelski on Felicia Rosu, Elective Monarchy in Transylvania and Poland-Lithuania, 1569-1587 (Oxford: OUP, 2017) (English Historical Review CXXXV (2020), nr. 572 (Feb), 198-200)

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First paragraph of Tomasz W. Gromelski's review:

This is an interesting and well written study of the princely election in Transylvania in 1571 and the royal elections in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1573, 1575 and 1587. The author, Felicia Roşu, offers an in-depth comparative analysis of the elections, the constitutional changes they brought about and the political developments that led to the emergence of this new method of appointing rulers. Perhaps the greatest beneficiary of the new system was a Hungarian nobleman, Stephen Báthory, who succeeded John Sigismund Zápolya to the throne of Transylvania and then became king of Poland following Henry Valois’ decision to forfeit his title. However, the book’s chief focus is not Báthory’s efforts to secure the two crowns but how the leaders of the...

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