the kingdom and crown of Poland. The Polish and Lithuanian nobles agreed not to elect a new King of Poland without consulting each other. At the time neither Władysław II Jagiełło nor Vytautas had heirs, but each hoped to sire legitimate sons that would inherit both the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy (eventually it would be Jogaila who would succeed in this). Vytautas also renewed his vows to Jagiełło, to the crown, kingdom, and inhabitants of Poland and promised to aid them when necessary. Aftermath and evaluations The renewed alliance stabilized the situation, allowing Vytautas to launch an offensive against the Teutonic Knights and to initiate the first Samogitian uprising. Eventually, the joint Polish–Lithuanian forces achieved a decisive victory against the Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The treaty has been variously interpreted by Lithuanian and Polish historians. Some argued that it was a diplomatic failure on Vytautas' part, as the union blocked the path to his possible coronation as King of Lithuania. Others saw it as a concession by the Poles when their plan to fully incorporate the Grand Duchy into the Kingdom of Poland failed. A third school of thought considered the union to be a mutual compromise: Lithuania abandoned plans for full independence, while Poland abandoned plans for full incorporation of Lithuania into a unitary state. Some more recent academic works tend not to overestimate the union's importance and see it as mere codification of the actual Polish–Lithuanian relations that had existed since 1392. Other researchers emphasize the fact that Lithuanians were included into election of new Polish monarch. With the death of Jadwiga Poland lost last ruler with a hereditary right to rule, Polish nobles reserved for themselves right to elect new king upon his death, even the rights of his possible son with newly married Anne of Cejle, granddaughter of Kazimierz III, were not guaranteed. Inclusion of Lithuanian nobles into future election can be seen as inclusion of them into "community of the realm" (communitas regni) embodied in Poland by the notion of "the crown of the kingdom of Poland" (corona regni Poloniae). References Bibliography 1400s in law Vilnius and Radom 15th century in Poland 1401 in Europe 15th century in Lithuania 1400s treaties Personal unions