Henry I the Bearded
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry I the Bearded (Polish: Henryk I Brodaty; German: Heinrich I der Bärtige,; 1163 - March 19, 1238), of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Lower Silesia from 1201. He was later also Duke of Lesser Poland and thus senior prince of all Poland from 1232 until his death.
[edit] Biography
Born in Głogów, Silesia, (now in southwestern Poland), he married Hedwig of Andechs (Polish: Jadwiga). His son and successor, Duke Henry II the Pious, would later be killed battling the Mongols at Liegnitz Legnica.
In 1201 Henry succeeded his father, Duke Bolesław I the Tall, who was subject of Frederick Barbarossa and had received the Silesian ducal position following an 1163 intervention, in a succession dispute, by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. In 1205 he agreed to exchange the territories of Lubusz with Władysław III Spindleshanks of Greater Poland, receiving Kalisz. when in 1210 Conrad of Lusatia conquered Lubusz, Henry intervened and reconquered the region. In 1230 he was to reunite the whole Silesia under his reign through the acquisition of the Duchy of Opole.
In 1217, through the mediation of the bishops of Poznań e Lubusz, he signed with Władysław Spindleshanks a treaty, which was approved by a Papal Bull on May 9, 1218. By it, Henry gave back Lubusz and renounced any claim over Calisia Kalisz and other Ladislas Odonic's lands. In exchange, Henry was named heir to the childless Duke of Greater Poland.
In 1222-1223 he took part in the Crusades against the Prussians. In 1225 he attempted to conquer Kraków, but had to raise the siege after a few days.
On November 23, 1227, during an assembly of Piast dukes at Gąsawa, he was seriously wounded in an ambush by Ladislas Odonic and Świętopełk II of Pomerania, while Leszek I the White was killed in the same. This act started a feud for the conquest of the Polish throne, in which Henry supported Władysław III, who ultimately gained it. When in the summer 1228 Conrad I of Masovia attacked Lesser Poland, he was pushed back by Henry's son, Henry II the Pious; Conrad was however more successful the following year, being able also to take Henry I as prisoner. He was released under the promise to renounce Kraków. Later the Pope freed him of this promise obtained under constriction.
Henry became Duke of Kraków in 1232, and assumed control over the Duchy of Sandomierz as the tutor of Bolesław V the Chaste.
In the Spring of 1231 Henry launched an offensive against Ladislas Odonic, who was claiming Greater Poland. The invasion was a failure. He was more successful three years later, when managed to conquer Greater Poland up to the Warta River. In 1234 his son Henry received the throne of Greater Poland.
He died in 1238. He was buried in the Cistercian church of Trebnitz Trzebnica.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by Bolesław the Tall |
Duke of Wroclaw 1232-1238 |
Succeeded by Henry II the Pious |
