Prominent Poles
Wladyslaw I Lokietek, (Ladislaus I the Short or Elbow-high) Duke of Leczyca (Lancicia) and Kujawy (Cuiavia)1267-1275, Duke of Sieradz (Siradia) 1288-1300, Duke of Pomorze (Pomerania) from 1296, Duke of Sandomierz 1289-1292, 1305, Duke of Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) 1314, Prince of Cracow from 1306, King of Poland 1320-1333.
Born: 1260 or 1261
Died: March 2, 1333, Cracow, Poland
Introduction. The 12th and 13th centuries were times of adversity for Poland. In 1138 the kingdom, which had been growing in strength under the rule of the Piast dynasty, encountered an obstacle which impeded its development for nearly two hundred years. In the 1138 will of Bolesław Krzywousty (Boleslaus III the Wrymouth), Duke of Poland 1107-1138, Poland was divided into five provinces - Silesia, Mazovia with Cuiavia, Greater Poland, the part of Pomerania around the City of Gdańsk, the Sandomierz Region, and Lesser Poland, the 'senior palatinate', comprising the areas around Krakow, Łęczyca, and Sieradz. To prevent his four sons from quarrelling, Boleslaw granted one province to each of them, and the fifth one, the senior palatinate, was to be given to the eldest brother on the grounds of primogeniture. The reason for such a decision was not only to forestall dynastic feuds, but also to prevent the disintegration of the kingdom. However, it proved an inadequate solution, and started nearly two centuries of what it had sought to counteract - constant fighting and disorder. It came to an end thanks to Władysław Łokietek, the monarch who has come down in history as the restorer of a united Kingdom of Poland.
Early days. Wladyslaw Lokietek was born as the third son of Kazimierz I, Duke of Łęczyca, Sieradz and Cuiavia and of his wife Duchess Eufrozyna of Opole. Lokietek’s grandfather was Konrad Mazowiecki (Duke of Mazovia). His father died when Lokietek was seven years old. As a child, after the death of his father, he visited often the Cracovian court under the rule of his cousin Boleslaw V Wstydliwy (Boleslaus the Chaste or the Shy) Prince of Cracow. After his father, he inherited Cuiavia, while the remaining two duchies went to his brothers, Leszek Czarny (the Black) and Kazimierz II of Łęczyca. However, following the deaths of both brothers, the entire inheritance passed to Wladyslaw, who began the task of re-uniting the Kingdom of Poland.
First successes. When Leszek Czarny ,Prince of Cracow 1279-1288 died in 1288 Lokietek inherited Brzesc and Sieradz. In 1289 Lokietek defeated in the battle of Siewierz the army of Henryk IV Probus, Prince of Cracow 1288-1290 and Duke of Wroclaw 1270-1290. Lokietek was not able to keep Cracow for long. Because of the animosity of Cracow’s citizenry he had to escape with the help of the Franciscan Brothers.
Marriage, children. Sometimes between 1279 and 1293 Lokietek married Jadwiga, the daughter of Boleslaw the Pious, Duke of Wielkopolska (Greater Poland). They had six children: Wladyslaw, Stefan and Jadwiga died in childhood; Kazimierz (later Casimir III the Great, King of Poland), Kunegunda ( married to Rudolf von Sachsen) and Elzbieta (married to Karol Robert, King of Hungary, mother of Ludwik Wegierski, King of Poland, father of Jadwiga I Queen of Poland).
Years 1290-1299; fight against Waclaw II. On June 23, 1290 died Henryk IV Probus leaving the Cracovian throne to Przemysl II Wielkopolski, Duke of Wielkopolska (Greater Poland), King of Poland 1295-1296.
Following Przemyslaw's II death in 1290, Wladyslaw proclaimed himself his successor and established himself in Lesser Poland, as well as in Pomerania. Unfortunately, he had to defer to Waclaw II of Bohemia (King of Poland 1300-1305), who had the support of the local lords. However, Wladyslaw enjoyed the support of the Lesser Polish peasants, knights and part of the clergy who preferred a prince from the domestic Piast dynasty. In 1292 the Czechs drove out Lokietek from Sandomierz and, after the siege of Sieradz, took him to captivity. He was freed as the result of an agreement signed on October 9, 1292, according to which Lokietek resigned from his pretenses to Lesser Poland and had to pay homage to the Czech monarch. In 1300 Waclaw II organized an armed expedition against Lokietek who did not live up to the treaty of Kleck (1299). Lokietek was forced to flee the country. It is not certain where he was during the period 1300-1304, but possibly in Rome and in Hungary. During this time his wife and children stayed in Radziejow (Cuiavia).
Years 1304-1310; increasing his possessions.. In 1304 Wladyslaw entered and occupied Lesser Poland with an army of his supporters, which, according to the 15th-century historian Jan Długosz, consisted of more peasants than knights. When Waclaw II died suddenly in 1305 while his son Waclaw III was murdered in 1306, Lokietek exploited this and conquered the duchies of Sandomierz, Sieradz-Leczyca and Brzesc-Cuiavia. On September 1, 1306 entered Cracow and became the Prince of Cracow. He also conquered Pomerania around Gdańsk, but since he did not win the favor of the local lords and settlers from Brandenburg who had migrated to that area, he was forced to give up the idea of complete control of the Baltic coast. In 1309 the Teutonic Knights controlled northern Pomerania. In the meantime the Cracow’s bishop Jan Muskata started rebel against Lokietek, but Jakub Swinka, the archbishop of Gniezno, sentenced Muskata in 1308 for malversations and took away his bishopric. Lokietek imprisoned the bishop for half a year and subsequently forced him to leave Poland. Muskata returned to Cracow in 1317.
Years 1311-1317; rebellion in Cracow. By 1311 Wladyslaw was already in power in Lesser Poland and his Cuiavian patrimony. Despite a rebellion by the German patricians of Cracow headed by Cracow’s mayor, Albert, and by rebellion in Sandomierz, he was able to hold these cities thanks to the support of the nobility, gentry and townsfolk. In 1314, Greater Poland also came under his rule. In 1315 Poland entered into an alliance with Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Mecklenburg and Pomerania. However this did not mean the end of his problems, as John of Luxemburg, King of Bohemia, also claimed the succession to the Polish crown. In alliance with the Teutonic Order, he attacked Poland from the north and west, while the Brandenburgians attempted to capture Greater Poland. Nonetheless, Wladyslaw managed to maintain his dominions.
Years 1318-1321; Coronation. In 1318 he embarked on a coronation campaign. The pope, John XXII, though initially unwilling, finally granted his approval under the condition that Poland will pay Peter’s pence and will fight against heretics (burn them at the stake). Wladyslaw was crowned King of Poland on 30 January 1320 in Krakow. The coronation was a sign that he had cleared Poland's internal fragmentation and re-united and re-instated the country as an independent kingdom. Lokietek endeavored to establish a uniform legal code throughout the land. With the general laws he assured the Jews safety and freedom and placed them on equality with the Christians. The process against the Teutonic Order before the papal court ended in 1321 ordering the Order to return the pillaged lands and to pay a reparation of 30,000 grzywny (a monetary unit). The Order never subordinated to this sentence.
Years 1322-1329; war against Brandenburg; loss of the land of Dobrzyn. In 1326 erupted another war against Brandenburg . In the result Lokietek regained Miedzyrzec. In 1327 Lokietek persuaded his nephews, Boleslaw and Wladyslaw of Dobrzyn and Przemysl of Inowroclaw to exchange their duchies for Leczyca and Sieradz. In 1329 Jan of Luxemburg occupied the land of Dobrzyn. Following this Waclaw of Plock paid hommage to Jan of Luxemburg. The Teutonic Knights crossed the Vistula river and burned and ravaged Wloclawek, Raciaz and Przedecz.
Years 1330-1332; battle at Plowce; loss of Cuiavia; Lokietek’s death. In 1330 the Teutonic Knights plundered Radziejow, Bydgoszcz and Naklo. After a short armistice they, under the command of Dietrich von Alteburg, attacked again in 1331 and captured Gniezno. On September 26 a battle at Plowce took place. Although the battle did not result in a definitive destruction of the Order’s power but it did have an important psychological value: it showed that the Knights of the Teutonic Order are not invincible. However in 1332 the Knights organized again a major campaign under the command of Otto von Luterberg and captured Cuiavia. Wladyslaw Lokietek died on 2 March 1333 in Cracow and was buried in Wawel Cathedral. Although his son, Kazimierz III Wielki, inherited only Lesser Poland, the Duchy of Sandomierz, Greater Poland, and the Duchies of Leczyca and Sieradz; while Silesia and the Land of Lubusz to the west, along with Gdanskian Pomerania, Western Pomerania, and Mazovia to the north remained beyond the Kingdom's borders, Wladyslaw's reign was a major step on the road to restoration of the Kingdom of Poland.
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