Henry Probus

Henry IV of Wrocław, Codex Manesse, about 1300

Henry IV Probus (Latin for the Righteous), (Polish: Henryk IV Probus; German: Heinrich IV der Gerechte; b. c. 1258 – d. 23 June 1290), was a Duke of the Silesian territory of Wrocław (Lower Silesia) since 1266, and from 1288 High Duke of the Seniorate Province of Kraków until his death in 1290.

He was the only surviving son of Henry III the White, Duke of Wrocław, by his first wife Judith, daughter of Duke Konrad I of Masovia.

Life

Under the tutelage of Władysław of Salzburg and King Ottokar II of Bohemia

A minor upon the early death of his father in 1266, Henry IV was placed under he guardianship of his paternal uncle, the Archbishop Władysław of Salzburg. After the Archibishop seems that the constant travels between Wroclaw and Salzburg were inappropiated for a child, he decided to send Henry IV in 1267 to Prague, in order to be raised at the court of King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who after Władysław's death in 1270 also took the government of the Duchy of Wroclaw.

Shortly after the death of his uncle (who left him as his universal heir), Henry IV returned to Wroclaw, where he found himself under the direct care of one of the closest advisers of his late father, Simon Gallicusa, also a faithful subject of Bohemia. Henry IV received a careful education, which may provide in his subsequent interest in the culture and poetry Knights (even there are reasonable suspicions that the Duke wrote some poems in old Polish).

The cooperation between Henry IV and King Ottokar II was exemplary. In 1271 Henry IV participated in an armed expedition against Hungary, which brought the attack of Wroclaw from the Arpad princes and their allies, the Dukes of Greater and Lesser Poland.

In 1273 Henry IV was formally proclamed an adult and asumed the government of his Duchy by himself. Since them, he began to lead a more independent policy from Bohemia, including friendly relations with Dukes Władysław of Opole and Przemysł II of Poznan.

Kidnapping of Henry IV by Bolesław II the Bald

Henry supported King Ottokar II in his conflict with Rudolph of Habsburg during 1276, giving food and refuge to the Bohemian troops. When Ottokar II was placed under the imperial ban, Duke Bolesław II the Bald of Legnica had his nephew Henry seized at Jelcz and imprisoned him in 1277.

Fortunately for Henry IV, the reaction when was knew his imprisonment was from indignation. Ottokar's allies, Henry III of Głogów and Przemysł II of Greater Poland, attempted to enforce Henry IV's liberation. The Bohemian King only send febrile appeals and request for release.

The Henry IV's allies were defeated by Bolesław II 's son Henry V the Fat in the bloody Battle of Stolec (24 April 1277), were both Dukes Przemysł II and Henry III were captured.

Henry IV could obtain his freedom only at the end of the year, when he finally decided to accept after hearing the defeat of his main ally King Ottokar II. Henry IV was forced to give Bolesław II 1/3 of the Duchy of Wroclaw including the towns of Środa Śląska and Strzegom and forced to pledge Krosno Odrzańskie (obtained from the Dukes of Głogow during 1273-1274) in order to obtain the money for his ransom.

Ottokar II's death. Attempts to obtain the Regency of Bohemia

While Henry himself did not take part in Battle on the Marchfeld in 1278, he send reinforcements to King Ottokar II, whose death was a serious stroke for the Duke of Wrocław.

After hearing the news of the King's death, Henry IV went to Prague and attempted to gain the guardianship of Ottokar II's son Wenceslaus II, as one of his closest relatives (Henry IV's paternal grandmother was Princess Anna, daughter of King Ottokar I) and ally, but he was not successful due to actions of Rudolph I of Habsburg, who given the regency to Otto V of Brandenburg. As a compensation, the German King give Henry IV the County of Glatz as a fief.

The Homage to King Rudolph I in 1280

After the death of his ally King Ottokar II, Henry IV reconciled with Rudolph I of Habsburg and in 1280 he went to Vienna and tried to obtain for himself the Polish Royal Crown. Some historians believed that the Duke of Wroclaw take the opportunity from his homage to King Rudolph I to exposed him the possibility of became King of Poland; at that time, he also made an alliance with Duke Władysław of Opole, where the he promised help Henry IV with the condition that Władysław's daughter Constance, who recently married with Henry IV, was crowned with him as Queen if he obtain the Royal investidure.

Attempts to obtain the supreme authority over Silesia and all Poland

The relation of Henry IV with his Silesian relatives wasn't good. In 1280 he suffered the invasion of the Duke of Legnica and the Margrave of Brandenburg, who could resist with unusual difficulty.

In order to normalize the situation in February of the next year Henry IV organized a meeting in Sądowel, a village located in the Duchy of Wroclaw, in the purprose to find ways of mutual cooperation between the Silesian Dukes. Henry IV, however, had other plans: inmediately he captured his long-time enemy, Duke Henry V of Legnica, and his own allies, Dukes Henry III of Głogów and Przemysł II of Greater Poland, in order to obtaibn political concessions from them.

Przemysł II was forced to give the strategic Lesser Poland land of Wieluń (also known as Ruda) and to acknowledge Henry IV's overlordship, paying homage to him. In subsequent years, the good politics of Henry IV were reflected in the voluntarily submit of Dukes Przemko of Ścinawa and Bolko I of Opole.

However, not all the Silesian Dukes accepted his authority: Dukes Bolko I the Strict, Konrad II the Hunchback and three of the four sons of Władysław of Opole: Casimir of Bytom, Mieszko I of Cieszyn and Przemysław of Racibórz were complete against his politics. With the Opole Dukes the situation was more delicated: by 1286 or 1287, Henry IV obtain the annulment of his marriage with their sister Constance, who was sent back to her homeland. The fourth of Władysław's sons, Bolko I, remained faithful to Henry IV's politics.

The first attempt of Henry IV to took Krakow was during 1280-1281, as response to the invasion who Leszek II the Black made against Wrocław before. However, this trip ended unsuccessful.

Conflict with Bishop Thomas II of Wroclaw

In the years 1282-1287 Henry IV in a long-lasting dispute with the Bishop of Wroclaw Tomas II Zaremba. The first phase of the conflict was already noted in the years 1274-1276, concluded with an arbitration which wasn't satisfied any of the parts. The disputes erupted again in 1282; this time, the conflict was for the lands and properties seized by the church in a difficult period followed after the Battle of Legnica, and for the violation of the immunity of the Church hierarchy in trials.

At the beginning of 1282 the Bishop sent their complaint to the Papal Legate Philip of Ferno, which was to address the settlement of the dispute. His ruling was favorable to the Church hierarchy, and Henry IV appealed. In 1283 Henry IV organized a big Episcopal convention in Nysa, whose main attraction was a knight's tournament. However, the tensions continued and Thomas II, using the support of the Papal Legate, and wanting to break the rebellioness of Henry IV he excommunicated him and the whole Duchy in March 1284. However, the Duke of Wrocław refused to subject to the Bishop's will of the bishop and in the same year appealed to Pope Martin IV. It soon became clear, of course, that he couldn't expect a positive message from Rome. Despite Thomas II's efforts to subordinated the local clergy under his rule, several religious Orders remained faifthful to Henry IV, among others, the Franciscans. The conflict continued, even after the unsuccesfully attemps to mediation by the Archbishop of Gniezno, Jakub Świnka.

In 1285 Henry IV take advantage from his power over the clergy and confiscated some lands who to the bishopric Duchy of Nysa-Otmuchów. The humiliated Bishop Thomas II was forced to emigrate to the Duchy of Racibórz. The last act of the dispute took place in 1287 when Henry IV entered to Racibórz. Thomas II has no longer able to escape and finally decided to subordinating to the Duke of Wroclaw. But Henry IV was generous in his triumph: he restored the richly lands obtain early from the Bishopric and also founded a Kolegiata consagrated to the Holy Cross.

Meanwhile, in the foreign politics Henry IV continued to trying to obtain the subordination of the other Silesian Dukes, which indirectly could bring him the Royal Crown. In 1284 he use the betrayal of the Greater Poland noble family of Zaremba (Thomas II's family) as a pretext to capture the town of Kalisz. It soon became clear that the Dukes of Greater Poland never accepted this loss, so after some discussions, Kalisz was exchanged with the town of Ołobok by Duke Przemysł II.

Henry IV, High Duke of Poland

On 30 September 1288, Leszek II the Black, Duke of Krakow-Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland, died without issue. This event open an Henry IV's opportunity to realize his ambitious plans to gain Krakow and the Royal crown. With this purpose, he began to find suitable allies since 1287, when he reconciled with Przemysł II, returning him Wieluń. According to the Professor and Historian Oswald Balzer, shortly before began the preparations to the First Coalition of Piast Dukes formed by Leszek II the Black, Henry IV, Przemysł II and Henry III of Głogow, which had the intention to made the unification of Poland. Notwithstanding the veracity of this theory, after hearing the news of Leszek II's death, Henry IV was ready for action.

The major Henry IV's contenders to the Krakow throne were Leszek II's half-brother Władysław I the Elbow-high and Duke Bolesław II of Płock, who counted with the support of the Lesser Poland nobility. However, the Duke of Płock failed to obtain the decisive support of the Castellan Sulk the Bear (Sułk z Niedźwiedzia), who was the Governor of the city. On 26 February 1289 the bloody Battle of Siewierz took place between the troops of the Dukes of Płock and Kuyavia, and Henry IV troops, supported by King Rudolph I and the Dukes of Opole, Głogów and Ścinawa (Steinau). The battle ended with a victory for the coalition Masovia-Kuyavia coalition; from two of Henry IV's allies, Duke Przemko of Ścinawa was killed in the battle, and Duke Bolko I of Opole was seriously injured and captured by Władysław I the Elbow-high.

Despite this success, Duke Bolesław II of Płock unexpectedly resigned to his pretensions, leaving all the Krakow inheritance to Wladyslaw I the Elbow-high. As the war turned favorable to him, Wladyslaw I, with the assistance of the Bishop of Krakow, Paul of Półkozic (who was later imprisoned after rebelled against him), managed to sieged and caputred the Wawel castle and forced the silesian troops to retreat to Skała.

However, Henry IV reagruped his forced and marched against Krakow in person at the head of his army (August 1289). Thanks to the betrayal of the Krakow townspeople and the help of the Franciscans (who even hid him in his monastery), Henry IV could take the city and was recognized as High Duke. Despite his victory, Henry IV decided to remained in Sandomierz.

Internal Politics

During his reign, Henry succeed in strengthening central power across his duchy, as well as improving its economy. He supported progress of mining and cities, many of which received German city law and various privileges. He was also an educated man, fluently speaking several languages and actively supporting Western court culture and chivalric ethos. Henry himself was a talented poet; two of his poems were recorded in Codex Manesse.

Death

According to the chronicle of Ottokar of Styria, Henry IV aspired to the title of King of Poland, asking Pope for permission for a coronation. However, he died before receiving any answer in April 1290, supposedly poisoned. The details of his death, given by Ottokar of Styria, were seemed by some historians as very reliables and by others are considered as doubtful.

The year of his death is widely accepted, and confirmation for this can be found in numerous sources. However, the exact day was variously given by the sources.

One, and the most supported by far of the largest number of sources, was given by the Church of St. John the Baptist, was 23 June. There are, however, other proposals: 24 June, 22 July, and even in April.

Marriages and Succession

The black eagle of the Silesian Piasts

He married secondly Matylda, daughter of Margrave Otto V of Brandenburg.

Though Henry Probus had bequeathed the Duchy of Wrocław to Duke Henry III of Głogów, the son of Bolesław II the Bald, Henry V the Corpulent in 1290 inherited the territory with support of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia. Wenceslaus himself gained the Seniorate Province, though Duke Przemysł II of Greater Poland held the title of a High Duke.

References

"Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny" Cracow 1999

See also

• History of Poland (966-1385)
• History of Silesia
• Piast dynasty
• Dukes of Silesia

External links

• Herzog Heinrich von Breslau in the Codex Manesse (1304/40).