Bolko II the Small (Polish: Bolko II Mały (Świdnicki), German: Bolko II (Schweidnitz); c. 1312 – 28 July 1368), was the last independent Duke of the Piast dynasty in Silesia. He was Duke of Świdnica from 1326, Duke of Jawor and Lwówek from 1346, Duke of Lusatia from 1364, Duke over half of Brzeg and Oława from 1358, Duke of Siewierz from 1359, and Duke over half of Głogów and Ścinawa from 1361.
He was the oldest son of Bernard, Duke of Świdnica, by his wife Kunigunde, daughter of Władysław I the Elbow-high, Duke of Kuyavia and since 1320 King of Poland. Like his grandfather, King Elbow-high, Bolko II was of small stature; his nickname, "the Small" (Mały), reflects this and was used in contemporary sources.
After the death of his father in 1326, Bolko II succeeded him in all his domains, but together with his younger brother Henry II as co-ruler. Because both princes were still in their teenage years, they were at first aided by their two paternal uncles, Dukes Bolko II of Ziębice and Henry I of Jawor, as well as their mother Kunigunde, who in 1328 remarried to Rudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg. Through this union, Bolko II gained a half-brother, Mieszko of Saxe-Wittenberg (b. ca. 1330 - d. 1350). Kunigunde died in 1331, when Bolko II was able to rule by himself.
One of the first problems that Bolko II had to face during the first years of his personal reign was the preservation of the independence of his small Duchy. It became a separate identity during the fragmentation of Poland, not under the control of the Polish Kingdom, nor by its other neighbors. In particular King John of Bohemia, hoped to gain control of the small Silesian duchies. The first serious attempt of King John to forced the Duke of Świdnica to accepted his overlordship was made already in 1329. He succeeded in gaining control of much of Silesia as almost all the Piast rulers paid him homage. However, two of the Silesian rulers strongly refused to became his vassals: Bolko II and his brother-in-law (husband of his sister Constance), Duke Przemko II of Głogów.
Bolko II needed more troops in order to preserve his position, so he decided to visit the court of the King Charles Robert of Hungary, where he strongly defended the independence of his sovereignty. Shortly after, he also established contacts with his grandfather, the Polish King Władysław I the Elbow-high, and in August 1329 he went to Italy to the camp of Louis IV of Bavaria, recently crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
Bolko II's efforts proved unsuccessful in deterring King John, who allied with the Teutonic Order (which was supposed to distract the Poles) and invaded Silesia in 1331. Details of Bolko II's actions during that time are unknown, but King John's progress through Silesia was not easy: the siege over Niemcza and the disputed Głogów took longer than he expected, and his forces were delayed in reaching Kalisz, where was made a peace meeting. In the end, all King John could incorporated to Bohemia was the Duchy of Głogów.
In 1336, Bolko II's obtain a political goal when his uncle Bolko II of Ziębice put himself under King John's rule. This submission was in return for a lifelong reign over the Kłodzko region, and was influenced by the declaration of the new Polish king, Casimir III the Great, who renounced some of his claims over Silesia.
Bolko II nonetheless continued his attempts of pursuing an alliance with Poland and Hungary against Bohemia. In order to enhance his international position, on 1 June 1338 Bolko II married with Agnes (b. 1322 - d. 2 February 1392), daughter of Leopold I, a member of the Habsburgs, who were among the chief rivals of the Luxembourgs and had recently won over Austria and Styria. He gained some significant results, among them a trade agreement allowing merchants from his lands access to the Halych region. Eventually, on 1 January 1345, his mediation resulted in the official alliance between the Wittelsbachs, Poland and Hungary.
Soon afterwards, King Casimir III the Great of Poland used this new alliance in his favor. The Polish King imprisoned King John's eldest son and heir Charles, Margrave of Moravia (future Holy Roman Emperor). King John in turn responded by invading Bolko II's lands, and the Polish and Hungarian Kings declared the war. This allowed Bolko II to repulse the now divided Bohemian forces during the siege of Świdnica. However, the Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV quickly signed a temporary truce with the Bohemian King. The war continue with varying fortunes, without any major successes of both parties. On the Świdnica side, Bolko II lost the fortress in Kamienna Góra in 1345, but recaptured it in 1348, using subterfuge and disguising his troops as merchants.[1] The war ended in a draw. King John didn't live to see the end of it; he died in 1346, in a different war, at the Battle of Crécy. The Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV died one year later. On 22 November 1348, the peace was signed in Namysłów, although Bolko II, for unknown reasons, didn't take part in those negotiations, and was represented by King Casimir III the Great. The final normalization of the relations between Bolko II and the new Holy Roman Emperor and German King Charles IV (also King of Bohemia after he succeeded his father) only occurred as a result of the mediation of Duke Albert II of Austria on 16 August 1350.
After the sign of the treaty of 1350, Bolko II began the process of approaching to the House of Luxembourg, but without sacrificing his good relations with the Kings Casimir III of Poland and Louis I of Hungary.
By 1346, after the death of his last surviving uncle, Duke Henry I of Jawor, Bolko II inherited his domains, the Duchies of Jawor and Lwówek. Soon before, Bolko II's younger brother and co-ruler Henry II died, leaving only one daughter, Anna. Bolko II, as the closest male relative, obtain Anna's legal guardianship and began to considered his niece as the heiress of all his lands.
In 13 December 1350 was performed the betrothal between the eleven-years-old Anna and the eleven-months-old Wenceslaus, eldest son and heir of Emperor Charles IV. Under the terms of the engagement contract, the couple would inherit Bolko II's lands in the (likely) case of his heirless death (however, was stipulated that they only could take formal possession of the Duchies after the death of Bolko II's wife Agnes of Austria, who, under her husband's will received his domains as her Oprawa wdowia). However, fifteen days later, on 28 December, the young Wenceslaus died and the settlement was broken. Nevertheless, the Emperor decided not to abandon his intentions to take control in a peaceful way over Bolko II's heritage. The death of his second wife Anna of Bavaria -mother of the late Wenceslaus- on 2 February 1353 gave him a new opportunity to obtain the Duchies; almost immediately, he asked to Bolko II the hand of his niece in marriage and the former agreement was renewed. The wedding took place in Buda, Hungary (were Anna live with her mother after the death of her father) on 27 May 1353. Besides Bolko II, the wedding was attended by: Duke Albert II of Austria, King Louis I of Hungary, Margrave Louis VI of Brandenburg, Duke Rudolf I of Saxe-Wittenberg (Bolko II's stepfather) and envoys of King Casimir III of Poland and the Republic of Venice.
On 28 July Anna was crowned Queen of Bohemia in Prague by Archbishop Ernst of Pardubitz. On 9 February 1354, in Aachen, she was crowned German Queen. As part of the coronation of Charles IV as Holy Roman Emperor on 5 April 1355, in the Roman Basilica of Saint Peter, Anne was crowned Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. She was thereby the first Queen of Bohemia to become Empress.
The politic of close cooperation with Charles IV of Luxemburg brought to the Duke of Świdnica a considerable benefits, especially in the expansion of his frontiers. Due to the prosperity of his domains, Bolko II could bought much land from less prosperous Dukes of Silesia. In 1358 he bought the gold mine in Złoty Stok, and half of Brzeg and Oława from Duke Wenceslaus I of Legnica; soon after, he also buy half to Ścinawa to Duke Jan. In 1359 the Emperor allowed him to buy territories near the Bohemian border, including Frydlant, and shortly after Bolko II also buy the town of Siewierz to the Dukes of Cieszyn by the amount of 2,300 fines. In 1360 Bolko II bought Kąty Wrocławskie and in the same year, his positive relations with the Emperor were demonstrated when, after almost thirty years, where finally accepted the rights of Przemko II's widow Constance over the half of Głogów who remained under Bohemian control (the other half was given to the Dukes of Żagań in 1349). One year later, in 1361, Constance (who was a nun since the death of her husband) renounced to her domains on behalf of his brother Bolko II. The Emperor, increasingly sure he would soon gain the property back, was now willing to pass it to his putative father-in-law.
Bolko II's biggest asset, however, proved to be the acquisition, together with the Emperor on 14 April 1364 for the enormous sum of 21,000 fine silver the large town and lands near Łużyce, which became one of the most important and prestigious of his possessions.
In 1364 he was one of the monarchs invited to the Congress of Cracow, where he took part in the famous Wierzynek Feast, where, along with the host, King Casimir III of Poland, also assisted the Kings Louis I of Hungary, Valdemar III of Denmark and Peter I of Cyprus; and the Dukes Otto of Bavaria, Władysław of Opole and Bogislaw V of Pomerania-Stolp (Słupsk).[2]
Bolko died on 28 July 1368 and was buried in the Grüssau Abbey. He was the last of the independent Silesian dukes from the Piast dynasty,[3] the line started by Władysław II the Exile. His lands were held by his wife until 1392; after her death they were incorporated into the lands of Bohemia by Wenceslaus, King of the Romans, only son of Emperor Charles IV and Anna of Świdnica.[4]
| Preceded by Bernard |
Duke of Świdnica with Henry II (until 1345) 1326–1368 |
Succeeded by Agnes |
| Preceded by Henry I |
Duke of Jawor 1346–1368 |
|
| Duke of Lwówek 1346–1368 |
||
| Preceded by Wenceslaus I |
Duke of Brzeg (1/2) 1358–1368 |
Succeeded by Louis I the Fair |
| Preceded by Przemysław I Noszak |
Duke of Siewierz 1359–1368 |
Succeeded by Przemysław I Noszak |
| Preceded by Constance |
Duke of Głogów (1/2) 1361–1368 |
Succeeded by Anexed to the Kingdom of Bohemia next holder Przemysław I Noszak |
| Preceded by Jan |
Duke of Ścinawa (1/2) 1365–1368 |