Władysław II (Poland)

Władysław the expellee (also: Wladislaw II of Silesia , Władysław II of Poland , Władysław II the Exile , Polish Władysław II Wygnaniec ; * 1105 - 30 May 1159 ) was 1138–1146 Duke of Silesia and, as Władysław II . , Senior Duke of Poland . He was the founder of the Silesian Piast line .

family

Władysław came from the Polish Piast dynasty . His parents were Bolesław III. Crooked mouth and the Ruthenian princess Sbysława Swjatopolkowna , daughter of Grand Duke Svyatopolk of Kiev .

Around 1126 Władysław married Agnes von Babenberg (~ 1110–1157). She was a daughter of Margrave Leopold of Austria and granddaughter of Emperor Heinrich IV. The daughter was born out of the marriage

• Richeza , first married to King Alfonso of Spain from 1152 ,

as well as the sons:

• Bolesław I of Silesia "the Tall One", from 1163 Duke of Silesia
• Mieszko I. von Opole "Kreuzbein", from 1163 Duke of Silesia, from 1173 Duke of Ratibor - Teschen , from 1202 Duke of Opole , 1210–1211 Senior Duke of Poland
• Konrad , from 1178 Duke of Silesia in Glogau

Life

After the death of Władysław's father Bolesław in 1138, Poland was distributed to his four sons. In order to preserve unity, Bolesław also determined in the will that the Krakow area with the seniorate should go to the eldest of his descendants. Władysław received Silesia and, since he was the eldest, also the Krakow seniorate, with it the supremacy over the rest of Poland as well as the supremacy over the other dukes, his younger brothers. Although Władysław tried to preserve the unity of Poland, the other dukes and parts of the nobility soon fought against him. At the court day at Kaina in Saxony , Władysław accepted all of Poland from the empire as a fief in April 1146. Thereupon he was excommunicated by the Archbishop of Gniezno and soon afterwards, along with his family, expelled by his half-brothers. Władysław was accepted by the Roman-German King Konrad III. , a half-brother of Władysław's wife. This assigned him the Altenburg Castle as his residence. His successor as Duke of Silesia and in the Krakow seniorate was his next elder brother, Bolesław IV. Kraushaar .

After the Roman Curia had campaigned unsuccessfully for Władysław, through the mediation of the Margrave of Nordmark, Albrecht "the Bear", later Margrave of Brandenburg, and Konrad von Wettin , the fighting succeeded. Bolesław undertook to appear at the Merseburger Hoftag 1152 and to recognize the feudal relationship, but did not keep the promise. After he was not ready to participate in the upcoming campaign of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa , he undertook a campaign against Poland in 1157. It penetrated as far as Posen , near which Bolesław was staying in the Krzyszkowo camp. There he pledged to the emperor to participate in the Italian campaign and took the feudal oath. At the same time he promised to come to the next court day and to hold his brother Casimir hostage.

After Władysław died in exile in Altenburg in 1159, Bolesław did not keep the promise made. After another request to appear on court day, he gave back the land of Władysław's sons in 1163 so that they could return to Silesia.

literature

• Historical Commission for Silesia (Ed.): History of Silesia. Vol. 1, Sigmaringen 1988, ISBN 3-7995-6341-5 , pp. 83-86.

predecessor	Office	successor
Bolesław III. Crooked mouth	Duke of Poland 1138–1146	Bolesław IV. The frizzy