GEORGE of Poděbrady, King of BOHEMIA. — Born 23 Apr. 1420 at Poděbrady; died 23 Mar. 1471 at Prague. With the aid of Rokycana, G. organized politically the Utraquists, the mitigated party of the Hussites reconciled with the Roman Church on the basis of the “Compactata” of Basel, and became their authoritative leader.
Having become regent in 1452, G. revealed himself a statesman, so that in 1458 he was elected King of Bohemia, successor to Ladislaus Posthumus. He was also recognized by the Emperor and by the Pope, to whom he secretly promised later to renounce the “Compactata.” When Pius II abolished them in 1462, G. did not feel strong enough to face the opposition of the Utraquists and refused publicly to renounce the “Compactata,” which had by then become fundamental laws of the Kingdom. For this reason, in 1466 Pope Paul II excommunicated him and proclaimed a crusade against him, at the head of which in 1468 was placed G.’s son-in-law, Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. G. lost Moravia and resistance in Bohemia, and just when his position was improving, G. died. G. consolidated the Kingdom of Bohemia, which had been politically, socially, and religiously disrupted by long wars, restored internal order and the prestige of royal power. G. also sought to reconcile his entire kingdom with Rome, and for this purpose, on his deathbed, he recommended—even to the detriment of his own sons—that Ladislaus Jagiellon be elected to succeed him.