1.
Marcello Bacciarelli
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Marcello Bacciarelli was a Polish-Italian painter of the late-baroque and Neoclassic periods. He was born in Rome, and studied there under Marco Benefial, in 1750 he was called to Dresden in Saxony, where he was employed by Elected King Augustus III of Poland, after whose death he went to Vienna, and thence to Warsaw. There he met and worked by the side of another Italian painter in Dresden, Vienna and Warsaw and he was the Director there of the newly set up Academy of Arts of Warsaw. He also made a portrait of Izabela Lubomirska in her wedding gown, Bacciarelli was also keen in painting culturally significant scenes from the history of Poland. Following the partitions of Poland and after Napoleons rise to power he moved to the Duchy of Warsaw, a number of his paintings were painted for King Stanisław II Augustus of Poland and are in the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Another notable pupil of Bacciarellis was Kazimierz Wojniakowski, works of Marcello Bacciarelli Bryan, Michael. Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical, york St. #4, Covent Garden, London, Original from Fogg Library, Digitized May 18,2007, George Bell and Sons
2.
Coronation
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The ceremony can also be conducted for the monarchs consort, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. A ceremony without the placement of a crown on the head is known as an enthronement. Coronations are still observed in the United Kingdom, Tonga, in addition to investing the monarch with symbols of state, Western-style coronations have often traditionally involve anointing with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called. Wherever a ruler is anointed in this way, as in Great Britain and Tonga, some other lands use bathing or cleansing rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant spiritual-religious paradigm of the country, in the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often inexorably linked. Rome promulgated the practice of worship, in Medieval Europe. Coronations were once a direct expression of these alleged connections. Thus, coronations have often been discarded altogether or altered to reflect the nature of the states in which they are held. However, some monarchies still choose to retain an overtly religious dimension to their accession rituals, others have adopted simpler enthronement or inauguration ceremonies, or even no ceremony at all. In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources, buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation rituals of Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan, while Hindu elements played a significant role in Nepalese rites. The ceremonies used in modern Egypt, Malaysia, Brunei and Iran were shaped by Islam, Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC, judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11,12 and II Chronicles 23,11. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, Roman and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one gradually evolved over the following century, the emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers, he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Later emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperors head. Historians debate when exactly this first took place, but the precedent was established by the reign of Leo II. This ritual included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the crown, after this event, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the ecclesiastical element in the coronation ceremonial rapidly develop. This was usually performed three times, following this, the king was given a spear, and a diadem wrought of silk or linen was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority
3.
Wawel Cathedral
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The Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus on the Wawel Hill, also known as the Wawel Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church located on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. More than 900 years old, it is the Polish national sanctuary, the construction of the current one began in the 14th century on the orders of bishop Nanker. The Cathedral comprises a nave with aisles, transepts with aisles, a choir with aisles. The main altar, located in the apse, was founded about 1650 by Bishop Piotr Gembicki, the altar painting of Crucified Christ by Marcin Blechowski is from the 17th century. Over the main altar stands a canopy of black marble supported by four pillars, designed by Giovanni Battista Trevano. Underneath the canopy is placed a silver coffin of national patron saint St. Stanislaus created between 1669-1671 after the one was stolen by the Swedes in 1655. The Wawel Cathedral has been the burial site for Polish monarchs since the 14th century. As such, it has significantly extended and altered over time as individual rulers have added multiple burial chapels. Financed by Sigismund I the Old, it was built between 1517 and 1533 by Bartolommeo Berrecci, a Florentine Renaissance architect, who spent most of his career in Poland. A square-based chapel with a dome, it houses the tombs of its founder. Notes Media related to Wawel Cathedral at Wikimedia Commons Wawel Cathedral official website
4.
Alexander Jagiellon
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Alexander I Jagiellon of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the son of Casimir IV Jagiellon. He was elected Grand Duke of Lithuania on the death of his father, Alexander was born as son of the King Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland and Elisabeth Habsburg of Hungary, daughter of the King Albert of Hungary. For want of funds, Alexander was unable to resist the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights or prevent Grand Duke of Muscovy Ivan III from ravaging Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the Tatars. In the terms of the truce, Lithuania had to surrender about a third of its territory to the nascent expansionist Russian state, during his reign, Poland suffered much humiliation at the hands of her subject principality, Moldavia. It is important to note that Alexander was the last known ruler of the Gediminids dynasty to have maintained the familys ancestral Lithuanian language, from his death, Polish became the sole language of the family, thus fully Polonising the Jagiello family. In 1931, during the refurbishment of Vilnius Cathedral, the sarcophagus of Alexander was discovered. History of Poland Sejm walny St. Annes Church, Vilnius This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Pages and Forums on the Lithuanian History Alexander Jagiellon at Find a Grave
5.
Sigismund II Augustus
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Sigismund II Augustus was the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. Married three times, the last of the Jagiellons remained childless, and through the Union of Lublin introduced an elective monarchy. Lord and heir From the outset of his reign, Sigismund came into collision with the countrys nobility, so violent was the agitation at Sigismunds first sejm that the deputies threatened to renounce their allegiance unless the King repudiated his wife Barbara. He refused and won the day, Sigismund soon lost all hope of children by his third bride, he was the last male Jagiellon in the direct line so the dynasty was threatened with extinction. He sought to remedy this by adultery with two of the most beautiful of his countrywomen, Barbara Giżanka and Anna Zajączkowska but was unable to either of them. The sejm was willing to legitimatize, and acknowledge as Sigismunds successor, any male heir who might be born to him, however, the Kings marriage was a matter of great political import to Protestants and Catholics alike. The Polish Protestants hoped that he would divorce and remarry and thus bring about a breach with Rome at the crisis of the religious struggle in Poland. He was not free to remarry until Queen Catherines death on 28 February 1572, Sigismunds reign was a period of internal turmoil and external expansion. A less imposing figure than his father, the elegant and refined Sigismund II Augustus was nevertheless an even more effective statesman than the stern and majestic Sigismund I the Old. Sigismund II possessed to a degree the tenacity and patience that seem to have characterized all the Jagiellons. No other Polish king seems to have so understood the nature of the Polish sejm. Both the Austrian ambassadors and the papal legates testify to the care with which he controlled his nation, everything went as he wished, they said, because he seemed to know everything in advance. Like his father, a pro-Austrian by conviction, he contrived even in respect to carry with him the nation. He avoided serious complications with the powerful Turks, Sigismund II mediated for twenty years between the Catholic Church and the Protestants. His most striking memorial may have been the Union of Lublin, also, German-speaking Royal Prussia and Prussian cities were included. This achievement might well have been impossible without Sigismund, Sigismund died at his beloved Knyszyn on 6 July 1572, aged 51. In 1573, Henry III of Valois was elected King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for a few months, shortly thereafter, Sigismunds sister Anna of Poland married Stefan Batory, and they ruled as King and Queen of Poland. In addition to his connections, Sigismund II was allied to the Imperial Habsburgs by his pledge as member of the Order of the Golden Fleece
6.
Bona Sforza
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Bona Sforza was a member of the powerful House of Sforza, which ruled the Duchy of Milan since 1447. In 1518, she became the wife of Sigismund I the Old. Their marriage lasted 30 years until Sigismunds death in 1548, ambitious and energetic, Bona became heavily involved in the political life of Poland–Lithuania. To increase state revenue, she implemented various economic and agricultural reforms and her reforms made her the richest landowner in the Grand Duchy. In foreign policy, she opposed the Habsburgs and sought to secure her eldest daughter Isabella Jagiellon in the Kingdom of Hungary, Bona was the third of the four children of Gian Galeazzo Sforza and his wife Isabella of Naples. Gian Galeazzo was the heir to the Duchy of Milan. The couple was sent to live at the Castello Visconteo in Pavia, rumors spread that he was poisoned by Ludovico. The family moved to the Sforza Castle in Milan, where they lived under the eye of Ludovico. He was afraid that Milan residents would rebel and install Francesco Sforza, to minimize the risk, Ludovico separated the boy from his family and granted Bari and Rossano to Isabella. The plans were interrupted by the Italian War of 1499–1504, King Louis XII of France deposed Ludovico and took Francesco with him to Paris. Isabella had nothing left in Milan and departed for her native Naples in February 1500, the war reached the Kingdom of Naples and Isabellas uncle Frederick of Naples was deposed. Together with other relatives, she hid at the Aragonese Castle on Ischia. In April 1502, Isabella and her surviving daughter Bona settled at the Castello Normanno-Svevo in Bari more permanently. There Bona started her extensive education and her teachers included Italian humanists Crisostomo Colonna and Antonio de Ferraris who taught her Latin, classical literature, mathematics, history, law, natural science, theology, even geography. Bona could also play musical instruments. When the House of Sforza was restored to the Duchy of Milan in 1512, Isabella hoped to wed Bona, the initial and most likely plan to marry Maximilian Sforza failed when he was deposed after the French victory in the Battle of Marignano in 1515. Pope Leo X proposed his nephew Lorenzo de Medici as he hoped, using Bonas inheritance claims to the Milan, however, the French hold on Milan was too strong and the plan failed. Polish King Sigismund I the Old was widowed in October 1515, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, did not want Sigismund to marry another Habsburg opponent like his late wife Barbara Zápolya
7.
Isabella Jagiellon
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Isabella Jagiellon was the oldest child of Polish King Sigismund I the Old and his Italian wife Bona Sforza. In 1539, she married John Zápolya, Voivode of Transylvania and King of Hungary, while Isabellas marriage lasted only a year and a half, it did produce a male heir – John Sigismund Zápolya born just two weeks before his fathers death in July 1540. She spent the rest of her life embroiled in disputes on behalf of her son. Her husbands death sparked renewed hostilities but Sultan Suleiman established her as a regent of Transylvania on behalf of her infant son, the region developed as a semi-independent buffer state noted for its freedom of religion. Ferdinand, however, never renounced his claims and conspired with Bishop George Martinuzzi who forced Isabella to abdicate in 1551 and she returned to her native Poland to live with her family. Sultan Suleiman retaliated and threatened to invade Hungary in 1555–56 forcing nobles to invite Isabella back to Transylvania and she returned in October 1556 and ruled as her sons regent until her death in September 1559. Born in Kraków, Isabella was the oldest child of King Sigismund I the Old and she spent most of her childhood at Wawel Castle in Kraków and hunting castle in Niepołomice. She also lived in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1527–29, during the latter visit her three younger sisters were left in Kraków. This episode foreshadowed future family relationships, Bona Sforza favored her oldest daughter, arranging her marriage early, Isabella received a good education, including from humanist Johannes Honter, and she could speak and write four languages, Polish, Latin, German, and Italian. Sigismund supported Charles V, but Bona continued to pursue a French marriage for Isabella and she hoped that King of France would install his son and Isabella in the Duchy of Milan which Bona claimed as her inheritance. In 1524, Hieronymus Łaski negotiated an alliance with the French, among the provisions was marriage of Isabella and Henry. But this alliance failed after Francis was taken prisoner in the Battle of Pavia, Bona then pursued an Italian marriage. Isabella of Naples, Isabellas grandmother, sent envoys to Poland to propose marriage to Francesco II Sforza, however, Sigismund refused as the duchy was contested and Francescos hold was tenuous. Bona then proposed Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, in 1530, he proposed Maximilian, eldest son of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, but they refused as Isabella was eight years older than the groom. When Habsburgs wanted to stop the marriage between Isabella and John Zápolya, they proposed Ludovico, eldest son of Charles III, Duke of Savoy. Around 1531, a plan emerged to wed Isabella to John Zápolya, Voivode of Transylvania, when Louis II of Hungary was killed in the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Hungary was divided between pro-Habsburg Royal Hungary and pro-Zápolya Eastern Hungarian Kingdom. The parties were engaged in the Little War in Hungary, Zápolya had sustained his claim only by gaining support from and becoming vassal of the Ottoman Empire. Bona Sforza, ardent opponent of the Habsburgs, supported Zápolya and tried to convince her husband Sigismund to provide military support, Sigismund, whose first wife was Zápolyas sister Barbara, refused not wanting to upset the Habsburgs and doubting Zápolyas ability to hold onto his throne
8.
Anna Jagiellon
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Anna Jagiellon was Queen of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in her own right from 1575 to 1586. She was a daughter of Polish King Sigismund I the Old, despite multiple proposals, she remained unmarried until the age of 52. She was elected, along with her then-fiancé Stephen Báthory, as co-ruler in the 1576 royal election of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and their marriage was a formal arrangement and distant. Báthory was preoccupied with the Livonian War, while Anna spent her time in Warsaw on local administrative matters, after Báthorys death in December 1586, she had an opportunity to claim the throne for herself, but did not even attempt it. Instead, she promoted her nephew Sigismund III Vasa, establishing House of Vasa on the Polish–Lithuanian throne for the eighty years. Anna Jagiellon was born on 18 October 1523 to the Polish king and queen, Sigismund I the Old and she spent most of her childhood in Kraków. Twice, from June 1533 to November 1536 and from April 1540 to June 1542, Anna and that meant that the three sisters grew closer, but grew more distant from their elder brother Sigismund II Augustus. Her early life was rather mundane and she embroidered and sewed, played chess and dice, was involved in works of charity and fulfilled her obligations as a princess. She also received an education – she was fluent in Italian and knew Latin –, the issue of marriage of the three Jagiellon sisters was neglected by both their father and their mother. Sigismund II Augustus did not attend to the issue of his sisters marriages, in 1550, Bona attempted to negotiate marriage with Charles Victor or Philip, sons of Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, or Ernest of Bavaria. Finally in January 1556, Queen Bona managed to arrange a marriage for Sophia Jagiellon, a month later, Bona Sforza departed to her native Italy leaving her two unmarried daughters alone in Warsaw. After about a year, Sigismund II Augustus brought his sisters to Vilnius where they became close to his third wife Catherine of Austria, even though Anna was already in her mid-thirties, Sigismund investigated marriage proposals. John agreed, but asked for Annas younger sister Catherine and it was against custom for a younger sister to marry first, therefore their wedding was postponed. However, at the last minute, only John arrived to the wedding in Vilnius, the court demanded that John married Anna, but John insisted on Catherine. Sigismund II Augustus, who needed Swedish troops and money in the Livonian War, though it must have been humiliating for Anna, she agreed and Catherine married John on 4 October 1562. Anna moved to the Royal Castle in Warsaw as Vilnius was not safe due to the Livonian War, there she lived alone with a court of about 70 people, she spent her time praying, embroidering or sewing, and corresponding with her sisters. Her brother visited her annually when he attended sessions of the sejm in Warsaw. Even though Anna was already in her forties, marriage continued to come in
9.
Catherine Jagiellon
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Catherine Jagiellon was a Polish princess and the wife of John III of Sweden. As such, she was Duchess of Finland, Queen of Sweden, Catherine had significant influence over state affairs during the reign of her spouse, and negotiated with the pope to introduce a counter reformation in Sweden. Catherine Jagiellon was born in Kraków as the youngest daughter of King Sigismund I the Old of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Catherine became the spouse of King John III of Sweden and mother of the future Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland. After the death of her father in 1548, she and her sister Anna moved to Masovia with their mother, after their mothers departure to Italy in 1558, they lived there alone. The sisters were not close to their brother Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, Catherine could reportedly speak Italian and Latin, and was described as more attractive than Anna, and most marriage suggestions were directed toward her. Duke Albert of Prussia, Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria and Tsar Ivan IV of Russia were among her suitors, in 1560, John resumed the negotiations on his own initiative and without the consent of Eric XIV. On 4 October 1562, Catherine was married in the Lower Castle of Vilnius, Lithuania, to Duke John of Finland, John had not received his brothers permission for the marriage and there were already tensions between them, since John pursued an independent foreign policy. The marriage was conducted in a Catholic ceremony, Catherine brought a large entourage and luxurious possessions, but actually her dowry and inheritance after her mother was never given. The couple set up house in Turku Castle in Turku, Finland, Duke Johns dealings in Livonia caused King Eric XIV to declare war on his brother. Eric sent 10,000 men to besiege the castle, on 12 August 1563 the castle capitulated, Catherine and John were taken to Sweden and imprisoned in Gripsholm Castle. Catherine was offered by Eric to return to Poland, but chose to accompany John in prison. She asked for the part of her entourage to be sent home, only keeping some Polish ladies-in-waiting and her Court dwarf Dorothea Ostrelska. During her incarceration, Catherine gave birth first to her eldest daughter Isabella of Finland in 1564, Catherine was used as a valuable hostage by Eric, but because of her, the imprisonment was lenient. In October 1567, John reconciled with Eric, and the couple was released, Catherine and John apparently developed a close relationship during the years of imprisonment. Catherines unsuccessful suitor Tsar Ivan was in negotiations with Eric in hopes of separating her from John and this caused alarm with Catherine and her relations. In popular opinion, this discussion was one of the reasons for the Swedish peoples growing dissatisfaction with the increasingly insane Eric, King Eric agreed to hand over Catherine to Ivan, but the Swedish king was deposed before Catherine could be sent away. As his brother John succeeded him, the problem disappeared, Catherine was at Vadstena during the rebellion. According to a witness, she answered, Pontus, I have heard your advise and the reasons you present well and good, and they are all very correct and just, but hard to realise
10.
Jagiellonian dynasty
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The dynasty reigned in several Central European countries between the 14th and 16th centuries. Members of the dynasty were Kings of Poland, Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Kings of Hungary, one Jagiellonian briefly ruled both Poland and Hungary, and two others ruled both Bohemia and Hungary and then continued in the distaff line as a branch of the House of Habsburg. The cultural flowering had its base in the prosperity of the elites. The name comes from Jogaila, the first Grand Duke of Lithuania to become King of Poland, the rule of Piasts, the earlier Polish ruling house had ended with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Gediminids, the predecessors of the first Jagiellonian, were rulers of medieval Lithuania with the title of Grand Duke. Their realm, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was inhabited by Lithuanians and Ruthenians. Jogaila, the eponymous first ruler of the Jagiellonin dynasty, started as the Grand Duke of Lithuania, as a result of the Union of Krewo he then converted to Christianity and married the 11-year-old Hedwig of Poland. Thereby he became King of Poland and founded the dynasty, angevin rulers were the second and Jagiellonian third dynasty of Polish Kings. In 1385 the Union of Krewo was signed between Queen Jadwiga of Poland and Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the last pagan state in Europe, the act arranged for Jogailas baptism and for the couples marriage and constituted the beginning of the Polish–Lithuanian union. The Union strengthened both nations in their opposition to the Teutonic Knights and the growing threat of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Uniquely in Europe, the union connected two states located on the opposite sides of the great civilizational divide between the Western or Latin, and the Eastern or Byzantine worlds. The intention of the Union was to create a state under Władysław II Jagiełło. Geographic consequences of the union and the preferences of the Jagiellonian kings accelerated the process of reorientation of Polish territorial priorities to the east. The political influence of the Jagiellonian kings was diminishing during this period, the royal dynasty, however, had a stabilizing effect on Polands politics. The Jagiellonian Era is often regarded as a period of political power, great prosperity, and in its later stage. The offensive that followed lost its impact with the siege of Malbork. The failure to take the fortress and eliminate the Teutonic state had for Poland dire historic consequences in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, the Peace of Thorn had given Poland and Lithuania rather modest territorial adjustments, including Samogitia. Afterwards there were negotiations and peace deals that didnt hold, more military campaigns and arbitrations, one attempted, unresolved arbitration took place at the Council of Constance
11.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
12.
Duke of Silesia
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The Duke of Silesia was the sons and descendants of the Polish Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. This was known as the fragmentation of Poland, subsequent developments lead to further splintering of the duchies. Between 1327 and 1329 most dukes accepted the overlordship of Bohemian king John of Bohemia, in the coming centuries all branches of the Silesian Piasts died out, and with the death of George William, Duke of Liegnitz the dynasty ceased to exist. After Konrads death Głogów was again united with the Duchy of Wrocław/Lower Silesia, in 1173 Bolesław returned and he agreed to let Mieszko and Bolesław rule in their own Duchies, separated from the Duchy of Silesia. This led to the creation of the Duchy of Racibórz for Mieszko I, the territories controlled by Mieszko I and Jarosław roughly corresponded to what is known as Upper Silesia, while the territories remaining with Bolesław I roughly corresponded to Lower Silesia. Some sources refer to it as the Duchy of Silesia, some as Duchy of Lower Silesia, others yet as the Duchy of Wrocław. Wrocław was the capital of the Duchy of Silesia, yet this early Duchy of Silesia should not be confused with the smaller Duchy of Wrocław that was created with further fragmentation in 1248. The Duchy went through various changes in the coming years, sometimes losing. In 1248 Lower Silesia was divided when Bolesław II had to cede the Duchy of Wrocław to his younger brother Henry III, Duchy of Lower Silesia In 1248, the Duchy of Lower Silesia was partitioned in the duchies of Wrocław and Legnica. Duchy of Wrocław Duchy of Legnica In 1251, in Lower Silesia, Duchy of Głogów In 1274, the Duchy of Świdnica-Jawor emerged from Legnica. In the same year, the Duchy of Zágán emerged from Glogów, Duchy of Świdnica-Jawor Duchy of Żagań In 1311, the Duchy of Brzeg emerged from Legnica. Duchy of Brzeg In 1313, the Duchy of Oleśnica emerged from Glógow, Duchy of Oleśnica In 1322, the Duchy of Ziebice emerged from Swidnica-Jawor. Duchy of Ziębice Upper Silesia was divided into the Duchies of Cieszyn, in 1340 the Duchy of Racibórz was united with Opava, a Bohemian fief. Duchy of Opole-Racibórz In 1281, the Duchy of Cieszyn is created, Duchy of Cieszyn In 1282, the Duchies of Opole and Racibórz were created from the partition of the Duchy of Opole-Racibórz. With this partition, it was created also the Duchy of Bytom, Duchy of Opole Duchy of Racibórz Duchy of Bytom In 1315, the Duchy of Oświęcim emerged from the Duchy of Cieszyn. Duchy of Oświęcim In 1445, the Duchy of Zator emerged from the Duchy of Oświęcim, 1747–1795 Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch 1795–1817 Joseph Christian Franz zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein Prussian part secularised in 1810. 1823–1832 Emanuel von Schimonsky 1835–1840 Leopold von Sedlnitzky 1843–1844 Joseph Knauer 1845–1850 Melchior von Diepenbrock Theocracy abolished in 1850, list of Polish rulers Piast dynasty Dukes of Masovia Dukes of Greater Poland Dukes of Little Poland Dukes of Cuiavia Dukes of Sieradz-Łęczyca Neue deutsche Biographie, Berlin 2001, Bd. 20, p. 403-407 Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, Leipzig 1905–1909, Bd
