Among the realms of late medieval Europe, various forms of royal election were compatible with dynastic continuity: the default position was for sons to succeed their fathers. The sixteenth century saw a trend either towards the formalization of hereditary succession, or towards more elaborate forms of electing rulers. The latter path was followed by the Principality of Transylvania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The former was transformed after the three-way division of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary after 1541 (the remainder being contested between the Ottoman Empire and the House of Austria). The latter was formed by the Union of Lublin of 1569, a closer incarnation of the Polish-Lithuanian union initiated in 1385. Such comparisons as have been made between these neighbors have usually focused on their different ways of accommodating confessional pluralism. Felicia Roşu's endeavor at a comparative analysis of their key constitutional feature—elective monarchy—is most welcome. She is concerned both with explaining the practical functioning of institutions and legally defined procedures, and with illuminating the underlying political values. This challenge demands both a sensitivity to the longue durée of political ideas and a detailed knowledge of what happened “on the ground.” Few scholars would have the linguistic range to pull off such a feat, but Roşu cites an impressive range of sources and literature in Latin, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Italian, French, and English. She writes in mature and lucid English prose.

A substantial, chronologically-ordered first chapter provides readers with what they most need to know about the two polities. It then covers the Transylvanian election of 1571, which saw Stephen Báthory (Báthory István) chosen as voivode or prince; the Polish-Lithuanian interregnum following the death in 1572 of the last Jagiellon king and grand duke, Sigismund Augustus; the consequent election of 1573, whose victor was Henri Valois, brother to the king of France; the interregnum following his departure to take possession of the French throne and his refusal to return; and the election, coronation and marriage of Anna Jagiellonka and Báthory (known to Poles as Stefan Batory) in 1575–76. Regrettably missing, however, are accounts of the elections that followed Báthory's death in 1586. The next three chapters fluently analyze the campaigning, voting, and making of the contract between the newly-elected monarch and his citizen-subjects from a variety of perspectives. This approach involves some repetition, but its advantage is an in-depth understanding of the process of making a monarch and the various factors that contributed to the outcomes. Roşu is aware of the discrepancies in size, status, and sovereignty between the Commonwealth and Transylvania. One effect of the Transylvanians’ vulnerable position between Istanbul and Vienna was that there was no question of their electing a foreign voivode. In contrast, the Poles and Lithuanians were—at least to start with—more inclined towards non-native candidates. This was despite their clearly articulated appreciation of the advantages of a monarch who had been brought up to love and understand the Commonwealth, compared to a foreigner with his own agenda. Roşu also shows that fear of foreign powers, especially the Ottoman Empire, was an important factor among Polish as well as Transylvanian electors. This is part of a wider argument that a pragmatic approach to external security as well as a principled love of liberty contributed to collective decision-making. This contradicts assumptions of a binary division between republican and post-Hobbesian values.

The final chapter examines how Báthory faced down challenges to his authority in both his realms following his two elections, and how he managed Transylvania as an absentee ruler. In the conclusion, the author argues that elective monarchy did not entail a weak monarchy; rather, it safeguarded the place of the ruler in the constitutional balance. The striking portrait of Báthory in his Polish coronation robes that adorns the dust jacket of this well produced book gives a strong clue to its priorities. More attention is devoted to Poland-Lithuania than to Transylvania, and the royal election of 1575–76 is examined more closely than those of 1573 and 1587. The stern and soldierly Báthory is the undisputed hero. Roşu is to be congratulated, not least for having deepened our understanding of this formidable ruler and the conditions in which he operated.