Nicholas II (Opole)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nicholas II of Opole (Polish Mikołaj II opolski ; Czech Mikuláš II. Opolský ; † June 27, 1497 in Neisse ) was 1476-1497 Duke of Opole . He came from the Opole branch of the Silesian Piasts , which went out in 1532 with the death of his brother Johann II .

Origin and family

His parents were Nicholas I of Opole (1420–1476) and Magdalena († 1497), daughter of Duke Ludwig II of Brieg from his second marriage to Elizabeth of Brandenburg . The eldest brother Ludwig (around 1450–1475 / 76) died shortly before his father, the younger brothers Boleslaw and Bernhard died around 1477 in childhood. Nikolaus also had four sisters:

  • Machna († 1468/72), married since 1462 to Duke Przemislaus von Tost († 1484)
  • Elisabeth († 1507), clarissess in Breslau
  • Magdalena († 1501), married to Duke Johann III since around 1478. (Troppau-Ratibor) | Johann III. von Troppau († 1493)
  • Katharina († 1507), nun in Breslau

Life

After the death of his father in 1476, Nicholas and his older brother Johann II took over the reign of the Duchy of Opole. As early as 1477, the brothers acquired the area around Neustadt , which had belonged to Konrad von Oels until then . Like their father, Nikolaus and Johann initially sided with the allies of King Matthias Corvinus , whom they paid homage to in 1479. In the 1480s they turned away from him because they were dissatisfied with his tax policy and the anti-class centralization measures. At the Nuremberg Reichstag in April 1487, Nikolaus and his brother asked the Emperor Friedrich III. for support against Matthias Corvinus. After their return, they were taken prisoner by Johann Bjelik von Kornitz , who was appointed governor of the Upper Silesian duchies by King Matthias, during a prince's day in Cosel . They were only released after paying homage to the king and paying 30,000 guilders. Nonetheless, Nikolaus and Johann later joined a Lower Silesian alliance directed against King Matthias, including the dukes Johann II of Sagan and Heinrich the Elder. Ä. von Münsterberg belonged. After the Lower Silesian princes had lost the battle for Glogau against King Matthias Corvinus , Nicholas and his brother gave up the hostile position against Corvinus in 1489 and accepted his demand for a payment of 15,000 guilders and the pledging of three castles. After Corvin's death, they increased their sphere of influence by acquiring the rule of Gleiwitz in 1492 from Wilhelm II of Pernstein and in 1497 with the purchase of the castle and town of Tost .

Probably in an irresponsible state in 1497 committed Nicholas in Neisse , where the Silesian princes held a meeting, a stop on the Cieszyn Duke Casimir II. , Of the Office of the Higher Regional captain exercised. After the unsuccessful attack, he is said to have tried to injure Wroclaw Bishop Johannes Roth . Immediately afterwards he was sentenced to immediate death by the city court in Neisse and beheaded. In his last hours he was assisted by his court chaplain, the Breslau auxiliary bishop Heinrich von Füllstein , who wrote his will based on the information provided by the convicted person. His body was buried in the family crypt in the Opole Franciscan monastery. Nicholas was never married and left no descendants.

Although Duke Johann initially intended to avenge the tragic death of his brother, he decided not to do so after he found no support for this plan from King Vladislav II .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Probably Konrad X. (Oels)
personal data
SURNAME Nicholas II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nicholas II of Opole (full name); Mikołaj II opolski (Polish); Mikuláš II. Opolský (Czech)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Opole (1476–1497)
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century
DATE OF DEATH June 27, 1497
Place of death Neisse