Władysław II the Exile

This article refers to the 12th century Polish monarch. For the 14th century founder of the Jagiellon dynasty, see Jogaila, and for other monarchs with similar names, see Ladislaus II (disambiguation).

Władysław II the Exile
High Duke of Poland
Portrait by Jan Matejko.
Reign	1138–1146
Born	1105
Birthplace	Kraków, Kingdom of Poland
Died	30 May 1159 [aged 54]
Place of death	Altenburg, Holy Roman Empire
Predecessor	Bolesław III Wrymouth
Successor	Bolesław IV the Curly
Wife	Agnes of Babenberg
Offspring	With Agnes: Bolesław I the Tall Mieszko I Tanglefoot Richeza, Queen of Castile and León, Countess of Provence and Everstein Konrad Spindleshanks Albert
Royal House	Piast
Father	Bolesław III Wrymouth
Mother	Zbyslava of Kiev

Władysław II the Exile (Polish: Władysław II Wygnaniec) (1105 – 30 May 1159) was a High Duke of Poland and Duke of Silesia from 1138 until 1146.

He was the eldest son of Bolesław III Wrymouth by his first wife Zbyslava, daughter of Sviatopolk II of Kiev.

Life

Governor of Silesia

As the eldest son, Władysław's father decided to involve him actively in the government of the country. Some historians believe that Boleslaw III gave Władysław the district of Silesia before his own death, in order to create an hereditary fief for his eldest descendants.

Around 1125 Władysław married Agnes of Babenberg, daughter of Margrave Leopold III of Austria; this union gave him a close connection with the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Germany: Agnes was a granddaughter of Emperor Henry IV and a half-sister of King Conrad III of Hohenstaufen. Thanks to Władysław, Silesia was saved during the wars of 1133-1135 with Bohemia: he stopped the destruction of the major areas of his district after the Bohemian forces crossed the Oder River.

In 1137, during the meeting with the Bohemian rulers in Niemcza, in which several disputed matters were decided, Władysław stood as godfather in the baptism of the youngest son of Duke Sobeslaus I, the future Wenceslaus II.

High Duke of Poland

Boleslaw III died on 28 October 1138. In his will, he divided his country between his sons. As the oldest son, the supreme authority in the country was assigned to Władysław with the title of High Duke (Princeps). In addition to Silesia, he received the Seniorate Province (which included Lesser Poland, eastern Greater Poland and western Kuyavia) and the authority over Pomerania. His half-brothers Boleslaw IV and Mieszko III, received the Masovian Province (composed of Masovia with eastern Kuyavia) and the Greater Poland Province (composed of western Greater Poland) respectively, as hereditary fiefs. In addition, Władysław also received Łęczyca (which was granted by Boleslaw III to his widow Salome of Berg in perpetuity as a widow's pension and reverted to the Seniorate upon her death) and in the future (when he came of age) he was obliged to provide another of his half-brothers, Henry, with the district of Sandomierz (but only for life), which was separate from the Seniorate. The youngest of his half-brothers, Casimir wasn't assigned any province; it is speculated that he was born after Bolesław III's death.

At the time of the death of his father, Władysław was already an adult, with many years of marriage and at least one surviving son (Boleslaw, born in 1127; the date of birth of the second son, Miesko, is still debatable and varies between 1130 and 1146). Following the examples of Bolesław I the Brave in 992, Mieszko II Lambert in 1032, and his own father in 1106, the High Duke almost immediately tried to restore the unity of the country. Given his life experience and military leadership, it is expected that in the end, he was successful.

The First Conflicts with the Junior Dukes

The disputes of Władysław with his stepmother Salome and his half-brothers began openly in 1141, when the Dowager Duchess, without the knowledge and consent of the High Duke, commenced to divide Łęczyca province between her sons. Also, she tried to resolve the marriage of her youngest daughter Agnes and thus to find a suitable ally for her sons. The most appropriate candidate for a son-in-law had to be one of the sons of the Grand Prince of Kiev, Vsevolod II Olgovich. After hearing the news about the events in Łęczyca, Władysław decided to make a quick response, as a result of which the Grand Duke of Kiev not only broke all his pacts with the Junior Dukes, but also arranged the betrothal of his daughter Zvenislava to Władysław's eldest son Boleslaw. The wedding took place one year later, in 1142.

His ties with the Kievan Rus benefited him during 1142-1143, when Władysław decided to fight against the districts of his brothers. Władysław's victory was beyond dispute, being backed by his alliances with Russia, Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire.

The Włostowic Affair and the Second part of the Fight with his brothers

During Wladyslaw's reign, the voivode Piotr Włostowic had the greatest and most decisive impact. A firm follower of Boleslaw III, he soon acquired enormous political significance in the country, covering the most important court offices. In his prerogative as Voivode he had the right to appoint officials in local authorities across Poland, including in the areas of the Junior Dukes, which made him the person from whose decisions was determined the fate of the state. The increased power of Włostowic fostered deep negative relations with Władysław, and especially with his wife Agnes, who considered Włostowic a traitor.

On 27 July 1144 Salome of Berg, Boleslaw III's widow and Włostowic's bitter enemy, died. In accordance with the will of Boleslaw III, her province of Łęczyca reverted to the Senoriate, so, in agreement with the Junior Dukes, Włostowic planned a coup d'état in order to take the contested district, perhaps as emolument for the younger Henry. Also in this case, Władysław appealed for aid to his Kievan allies. Without waiting the arrival of food he sent his troops against the forces of Boleslaw IV and Miesko III; unexpectedly, Władysław suffered a defeat. It wasn't until the arrival of the Kievans that the fate of the battle and the war turned to Władysław's side. Immediately, a favorable treaty of peace was made, which permitted Władysław to take full control over Łęczyca; however, he had to give to the Kievan cohorts, in exchange for their aid, the Polish castle in Wiźnie.

In the meanwhile, more and more worse conflicts between Władysław and Piotr Włostowic continued. The position of the Palatine in the civil war was clearly against the High Duke. This attitude didn't correspond with Wladyslaw's concept of autocracy, and after this episode he thought more and more about the total removal of his brothers from their lands.

By 1145 it seemed that a reconciliation between the High Duke and Włostowic was possible, as evidenced by the invitation to Włostowic's son wedding, made to Władysław by the voivode. At the beginning of the following year the High Duke, however, decided to bet everything on one gamble: eliminate Włostowic from his life for good. He ordered one of his knights, Dobek, to capture him. Dobek arrived at Włostowic's court in Ołbino, and during the night captured the voivode with his men. High Duchess Agnes demanded Włostowic's death, but Władysław decided instead to make an example out of him: he was blinded, muted and sentenced to exile.

Włostowic was respected and had many friends, and his fate caused many people to switch their allegiance to the Junior Dukes. Further, the blinded Włostowic went to Russia, which had so far supported Władysław, and convinced them to break their alliance.

Deposition and Escape to Bohemia

At the beginning of 1146 Władysław finally decided to made the final attack on his half-brothers. Initially, it seemed that victory of the High Duke was only a matter of time, since he managed to take Masovia without obstacles and forced Boleslaw IV to withdraw to the defense of Poznan. There, unexpectedly, began Władysław's disaster. The reason for this, it must be seen, was the insecurity of other districts, where mighty rebellions erupted against Władysław's dictatorial politics. The rebels quickly grew in power thanks to the support of the Archbishop of Gniezno, Jakub I ze Żnina, who excommunicated the High Duke -as a punishment for the fate of the voivode Włostowic- which resulted in an additional series of rebellions. The defeat at the end was thanks not only to the combined forces of Boleslaw IV in Poznan with the troops of the other Junior Dukes, but also by Władysław's own subjects, which was a total surprise to him. The High Duke was forced to flee abroad; shortly afterwards his wife Agnes and children joined him, after their unsuccessful attempts to defend Kraków. The Junior Dukes had a complete success, and Władysław was now under the mercy of his neighbors. Initially, the High Duke and his family stayed in the court of his namesake and ally Vladislaus II in Prague. Władysław never returned to Poland.

Exile in Germany. Unsuccessful expedition of King Conrad III

Soon after his arrival in Bohemia, his brother-in-law King Conrad III of Germany offered him his hospitality. Władysław shortly after moved to Germany and paid tribute to King Conrad and asked for assistance in regaining the throne.^[1] Initially it appeared that Władysław would regain power over Poland very soon. The expedition against the Junior Dukes was launched in 1146, but due to flooding of the Oder River and the pressures on the German king by Albert the Bear and Conrad of Meissen the campaign finally failed.

Władysław of course did not lose hope of changing his fate, but for now he had to accept the postponement of his return, particularly when Conrad III made an expedition to the Holy Land. During this time, the former High Duke ruled the town of Altenburg and its dependencies in the Imperial Pleissnerland.

Without waiting for German aid, Władysław and his wife Agnes went to Rome and asked to the Pope for help, but this attempt was also unsuccessful.

Death and Legacy

In 1152 King Conrad III died and was succeeded by his nephew Frederick Barbarossa. With this, the hopes of Władysław of returning to Poland were reborn. Following the inducements of Władysław and his aunt Agnes, the new Emperor launched a new expedition against Poland in 1157. The campaign was a success but unexpectedly Barbarossa did not restore Władysław to the Polish throne. Bolesław IV was declared a vassal to Frederick Barbarossa and was compelled to pay tribute to him. In compensation, the Emperor forced Bolesław IV to promise the restitution of Silesia to Władysław's sons.^[2]

At this time, it appears, Władysław knew that his battle for supremacy in Poland was finally lost. He remained in exile at Altenburg, in the Holy Roman Empire, where he died two years later.

It was not until 1163 that Bolesław IV finally granted the province to Władysław's sons. Subsequently Silesia was divided into as many as 17 separate duchies among his descendants and successors, until the Silesian Piasts died out with George IV William of Legnica in 1675.

Marriage and children

In 1125 Władysław married Agnes (b. ca. 1108/1113 - d. Altenburg, 24 January 1160/63), daughter of Margrave Leopold III of Austria and Agnes of Germany, who in turn was a daughter of Emperor Henry IV. She was also the half-sister of King Conrad III of Germany.They had five children:^[3]

1. Bolesław I the Tall (b. 1127 - d. 8 December 1201).
2. Mieszko I Tanglefoot (b. ca. 1130 - 16 May 1211).
3. Richeza (b. 1140 - d. 16 June 1185), married firstly in 1152 to Alfonso VII, King of Galicia, Castile and León, secondly in 1162 to Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Provence and thirdly by 1167 to Count Albert III of Everstein.
4. Konrad Spindleshanks (b. 1146/57 - d. 17 January 1190).
5. Albert (d. young, ca. 1168).

See also

• Silesian Piasts
• Carmen Mauri
• History of Poland (966-1385)
• Dukes of Silesia

References