Sigismund (1387-1437), Louis's son-in-law, had won a bitter struggle for the throne after Louis died in 1382.

Under Sigismund, Hungary's fortunes had begun to decline.

Many Hungarian nobles despise Sigismund for his cruelty during the succession struggle, his long absences, and his costly foreign wars.

In 1401 disgruntled nobles temporarily imprison the king.

In 1403 another group crowns an anti-king, who fails to solidify his power but succeeds in selling Dalmatia to Venice.

Sigismund fails to reclaim the territory.

Sigismund becomes the Holy Roman Emperor in 1410 and king of Bohemia in 1419, thus requiring him to spend long periods abroad and enabling Hungary's magnates to acquire unprecedented power.

In response, Sigismund creates the office of palatine to rule the country in his stead.

Like earlier Hungarian kings, Sigismund elevates his supporters to magnate status and sell off crown lands to meet burgeoning expenses.

Although Hungary's economy continues to flourish, Sigismund's expenses outstrip his income.

He bolsters royal revenues by increasing the serfs' taxes and requiring cash payment.

Social turmoil erupts late in Sigismund's reign as a result of the heavier taxes and renewed magnate pressure on the lesser nobles.

Hungary's first peasant revolt erupts when a Transylvanian bishop orders peasants to pay tithes in coin rather than in kind.

The revolt is quickly checked, but it prompts Transylvania's Szekel, Magyar, and German nobles to form the Union of Three Nations, which is an effort to defend their privileges against any power except that of the king.