GIORGIO of Poděbrady, king of BOHEMIA. — Born on 23 April 1420 at Poděbrady, died on 23 March 1471 at Prague. With the help of Rokycana, G. politically organized the Utraquists, the moderate faction of the Hussites, who had been reconciled with the Roman Church on the basis of the « compactata » of Basel, and he became their authoritative leader.
Having become regent in 1452, G. proved to be an able statesman, so that in 1458 he was elected king of Bohemia, successor to Ladislaus the Posthumous. He was also recognized by the emperor and by the Pope, to whom he secretly promised that he would later renounce the « compactata ». When Pius II abolished them in 1462, G. did not feel strong enough to confront the opposition of the Utraquists and refused publicly to renounce the « compactata », which by then belonged to the fundamental laws of the Kingdom. Consequently, in 1466 Pope Paul II excommunicated him and proclaimed a crusade against him, at the head of which, in 1468, stood G.’s son-in-law, Mattias Corvinus, king of Hungary. G. lost Moravia but resisted in Bohemia, and just when his position was taking a more favorable turn, G. died. G. consolidated the Kingdom of Bohemia, politically, socially, and religiously shaken by the long Hussite wars; he restored internal order and the prestige of royal power. G. also sought to reconcile his kingdom completely with Rome, and for this purpose, on his deathbed, he recommended—at the expense of his sons—that Ladislaus Jagellon be elected as his successor.