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'''Władysław II the Exile''', ({{lang-pl|'''Władysław II Wygnaniec'''}}; [[Kraków]], [[Kingdom of Poland (1025-1385)|Kingdom of Poland]], 1105 – [[May 30]], [[1159]], [[Altenburg]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]) was [[High Duke of Poland]], 1138-1146. He was the son of [[Bolesław III Wrymouth]], Duke of Poland, and [[Zbyslava of Kiev|Zbyslava]], daughter of [[Sviatopolk II of Kiev]].
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===Governor of Silesia===
As the eldest son, Władysław's father decided to involved him actively in the government of the country. Some historians believed that Boleslaw III give Władysław the district of Silesia before his own death, in order to create an hereditary fief to his eldest descendants.
Around 1125 Władysław married with Agnes, daughter of [[Leopold III, Margrave of Austria]]; this union make him closely connected with the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and the [[Kingdom of Germany]]: Agnes was a grandaughter of [[Emperor Henry IV]] and half-sister of King [[Conrad III of Germany|Conrad III]]. Thanks to Władysław, Silesia was saved during the wars of Silesian of 1133-1135 with Bohemia: he could stop the destruction of the major areas of his district after the Bohemian forces crossed the [[Oder River]].
As Władysław attempted to take control of the country, he met with opposition of his younger half-brothers [[Bolesław IV the Curly]], [[Mieszko III the Old]] and [[Henry of Sandomierz]]. In order to prevail he seeked support from the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and in 1146 accepted the overlordship of [[Conrad III of Germany]] from whom he received entire Poland as a [[fiefdom]]. Hence he was banned by the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno|Bishop of Gniezno]] and after he had mutilated the [[voivode]], the Danish castellan [[Piotr Włostowic]] (Peter Wlast), Władysław and his wife and children were driven into exile by the younger brothers. He fled to Altenburg, then a [[Kaiserpfalz]] of King Conrad III. His brother Bolesław IV followed him as High Duke.▼
In 1137, during the meeting with the Bohemian rulers in Niemcza, in which was decided several disputed matters, Władysław stood as godfather in the baptism of the youngest son of Duke Sobeslaus I, the future [[Wenceslaus II, Duke of Bohemia|Wenceslaus II]].
===High Duke of Poland===
Boleslaw III died on [[28 October]] [[1138]]. In [[Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty|his will]], he divided his country between his sons. As the oldest son, the supreme authority in the country was assigned to Władysław with the title of High Duke (''[[Princeps]]''). In addition to [[Silesia]], he received the [[Seniorate Province]] (who included [[Lesser Poland]], eastern [[Greater Poland]] and western [[Kuyavia]]) and the authority over [[Pomerania]]. His half-brothers [[Boleslaw IV]] and [[Mieszko III]], received [[Masovian Province]] (composed of [[Masovia]] with eastern Kuyavia) and the [[Greater Poland Province]] (composed of western Greater Poland) respectively, as hereditary fiefs. In addition, Władysław also received [[Łęczyca]] (who was granted by Boleslaw III to his widow [[Salome of Berg]] in perpetuity as a widow land and reverted to the Seniorate upon her death) and in the future (when he reached the legal age) he was in the obligation to provide another of his half-brothers, [[Henry of Sandomierz|Henry]], the district of Sandomierz (but only for life), who was separate from the Seniorate. The youngest of his half-brothers, [[Casimir II the Just|Casimir]] wasn't assigned any province; it is speculated that he was born after Bolesław III's death.
At the time of the death of his father, Władysław was already an adult man, with many years of marriage and at least one surviving son (Boleslaw, born in 1127; the date of birth of the second son, Miesko, was still debatable and varies between 1130 and 1146). Follow the examples of [[Bolesław I the Brave]] in 992, [[Mieszko II Lambert]] in 1032, and his own father in 1106, the High Duke almost inmediately tried to restored the unity of the country. Given his life experience and military leadership, it is expected that in the end, he was successfully.
===The First Conflicts with the Junior Dukes===
The disputes of Władysław with his step-mother Salome and his half-brothers began oppenly in 1141, when the Dowager Duchess -without the knowledge and consent of the High Duke- convened to divide the Łęczyca province between her sons. Also, she tried to resolve the marriage of her youngest daughter Agnes and with this find a suitable ally for her sons. The most appropriate candidate for a son-in-law had to be one of the sons of the Grand Duke of [[Kiev]], [[Vsevolod II of Kiev|Vsevolod II Olgovich]]. After hear the news about the events in Łęczyca, Władysław decided to made quickly response, as a result of which the Grand Duke of Kiev, not only broke all his pacts with the Junior Dukes, but also one year later he gave his daughter Zvenislava to Władysław's eldest son Boleslaw.
His ties with the Kievan Rus benefit to him during 1142-1143, when Władysław decided to fight against the districts of his brothers. Władysław's victory was beyond dispute, and backed by alliances with Russia, [[Bohemia]] and the [[Holy Roman Empire]] could also became in his firm allies.
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After Conrad's successor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa]] had campaigned Poland in 1157, Bolesław IV promised to restitute Władysław's sons their Silesian heritage. It was however not until 1163 when he finally granted the province to them, while Władysław himself had died in 1159 at Altenburg without having returned to Poland.
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