Wladyslaw's plan for the crusade against the…

Wladyslaw's plan for the crusade against the Ottomans continues despite the progressing treaty.

It is generally assumed that Wladyslaw knew the results of the negotiations in Edirne by the beginning of July.

Yet Wladyslaw, at the urging of Cardinal Cesarini, on July 2, 1444, reassures his allies of his intentions to lead the crusade by declaring he will head to Várad on July 15 to assemble an army.

The reassurance is necessary because the strength of Wladyslaw’s resolve does not match that of his public statements.

Though he is under significant pressure to carry out the expedition, he receives equal pressure to abandon it entirely.

A crusade will add legitimacy to Wladyslaw's claim to the throne, and a Polish faction especially wants verification of his right to rule over the infant Ladislaus.

He also faces Cesarini, who fervently believes in the crusade, and has incredible powers of persuasion.

By the time the King makes his declaration, word of the peace negotiations has spread, prompting added pressure by pro-crusaders, including Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos, to renounce the treaty.

Meanwhile, in Poland, there is civil strife, and a faction there demands he return to end it.

The losses during the war in the winter of 1443 have likely also disinclined Wladyslaw to start another war.

Above all, the continuing peace negotiations are in direct opposition to war.