Vladislav Legnitsky

Representative of the Silesian line of the Polish Piast Dynasty . The third (youngest) son of the Prince of Wroclaw, Henry V Brukhaty (1245/1250 - 1296) and Elizabeth (1261/1263 - 1304), the daughter of Prince of Great Poland Boleslav II the Pious . Vladislav was born more than three months after the death of his father. Initially, Vladislav, along with his older brothers Boleslav and Henry, was under the tutelage of their uncle, the Prince of Yavorsky, Bolko Surovy , then the King of the Czech Republic and Poland, Vaclav II .

Boleslav III The Wanderer , the eldest of the brothers, not wanting to split up his fatherly principality, prepared his younger brother Vladislav for a spiritual career and achieved his ordination to the rank of subdeacon . In 1311, the younger brothers Vladislav and Henry the Good obtained from Boleslav the Wastener the allocation of separate destinies for them. The Principality of Wroclaw-Legnica was divided into three parts: Wroclaw , Legnica and Brzeg . The poorest of them was the Princedom of Brzeg , so the ruler of Brzeg had to receive 32,000 hryvnias of silver from the other brothers. Boleslav III the Wasterer , as the eldest of three brothers, had the right to first choice and unexpectedly chose a poorer Brzeg for himself, hoping to ensure Brzheg financial stabilization thanks to the amount received. Vladislav became Prince Legnitsky.

The reign of Vladislav lasted only one year, because in 1312 he was deprived of power because of the inability to pay the financial obligations imposed on him. But officially the pretext for removal from power was Vladislav's mental illness. In 1314, Vladislav left his father's possessions for an amount that he himself had once been unable to pay to his older brother Boleslav III the Waste - 32,000 hryvnias. From that moment, Vladislav, with the support of his brothers, took up a spiritual career.

Another important turning point in the life of Vladislav was the year 1325 , when he left for Mazovia , where, breaking church vows, he married the daughter of Prince Boleslav II of Mazovia . However, after three years ( 1328 ), when he unsuccessfully fought to get a dowry for his wife, Vladislav abandoned his wife and returned to Silesia. The official divorce occurred one year later, around January 13, 1329 .

In 1329, Vladislav Legnitsky sold his rights to the principality to the Czech king Johann of Luxembourg . This fact brought about the very uncomfortable position of his older brother Boleslav III the Wasterer , who began to feel pressure from the Czech king. On May 9, 1329, Boleslav the Wanderer was forced to take the oath of allegiance to the Czech king Johannes of Luxembourg . The witness of this act was probably also Vladislav, who, along with Johann of Luxembourg, participated in the crusade against Lithuania and was included in the Teutonic Order.

The money received by Vladislav from King Johann of Luxembourg quickly ended. After his return from Prussia to Silesia, Vladislav suddenly captured the castle of Rogovets , from where, at the head of an armed detachment, he began to carry out predatory raids on the possessions of his older brother. In the end, he was captured and spent more than six months in the dungeons of Legnica Castle , from where he was released only through the mediation of another brother, Prince of Wroclaw Henry VI. After his release, Vladislav, despite the promised high pension from his brothers, tried to return to his former life. He was captured a second time and spent more than a year in prison.

After his release from prison, Vladislav became a miserable likeness of a man. During the detention, his mental illness worsened. Boleslav the Wanderer decided to take his younger brother under his care. Vladislav spent the last years of his life in Silesia under close supervision. The exact date of his death is unknown, it is only known that he survived both of his brothers, and the day of his death - January 11 .

• Historische Kommission für Schlesien (Hrsg.): Geschichte Schlesiens. Band 1: Ludwig Petry, Josef Joachim Menzel, Winfried Irgang (Hrsg.): Von der Urzeit bis zum Jahre 1526. 5., durchgesehene Auflage. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1988, ISBN 3-7995-6341-5 , S. 146, 155, 158 and 162.
• Hugo Weczerka (Hrsg.): Handbuch der historischen Stätten. Schlesien (= Kröners Taschenausgabe. Bd. 316). Kröner, Stuttgart 1977, ISBN 3-520-31601-3 , Stammtafeln auf S. 590/591.
• Rudolf Žáček: Dějiny Slezska v datech. Nakladatelství Libri, Praha 2004, ISBN 80-7277-172-8 , S. 61, 412, 426 and 454.

• Genealogy of the Silesian Piasts