George William of Legnica (German: Georg Wilhelm von Liegnitz; Polish: Jerzy Wilhelm Legnicki; Oława, 29 September 1660 – Brzeg, 21 November 1675) was the last Duke of Legnica and Brieg (Brzeg) since 1672 until his death.
He was the eldest but only surviving son of Christian, Duke of Legnica-Brzeg-Wołów-Oława by his wife Louise, daughter of John Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau.
Duke Christian, who spent many years in exile during the Thirty Years War, and after the abdication of John Casimir from the Polish throne, put his own candidacy for the throne of Poland; in order to win the affection and support of the old nobility, he initially wanted to give his newborn son an old Piast name (like Mieszko or Bolesław); however, the Calvinist clergy of his Duchy opposite to this, maintaining that this idea could bring the return to paganism over Poland. The Duke, however, care that his son spoke and wore Polish clothes.
The deaths in 1663 and 1664 of his paternal uncles George III of Brieg and Louis IV of Legnica without surviving issue left him as the only heir of his father in the still vast Duchy of Legnica-Brzeg. As a result, since his early years, George William received a careful education. During his upbringing, he put in the hands of the Count-Marshal Frederick von Bohmen, and the doctor Henry Martini. Was in this first period of his education that he acquired an excellent knowledge of German, French and Latin, but he was able only to speak in Italian, Spanish and Polish; also, he was educated in theology, philosophy and rhetoric.
After the death of his father in 1672, the twelve-years-old George William succeeded him as Duke of Legnica-Brzeg; during his minority, the regency was held by his mother, the Dowager Duchess Louise (who was the regnant Duchess of Wołów-Oława as her Oprawa wdowia). Shortly after, Louise send her son to study in Frankfurt. The regency of the Dowager Duchess faced the opposition of the Protestant states of Legnica-Brzeg, thanks to her more and more openly support to the Catholic faith; the major scandal occurred when the young Duke's older sister Karolina, married Frederick, member of the aristocrat Catholic family of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg.
On 14 March 1675 George William took formal possession of the government of his lands. One month before, the young Duke went to the Imperial court in Vienna, where he made his solemn homage to the Emperor Leopold I. Immediately after the beginning of George William's personal rule, Duchess Louise was forced to give up her land of Wołów as part of her Oprawa wdowia. The announcing of a good and prosper government of George William were stopped with the sudden death of the Duke on 21 November 1675. The reason for his death was a strong fever developed shortly after return of a hunt, the first sign of smallpox. The Duke was buried in the church of St. John in Legnica alongside his father.
The independent Masovian Piasts died out in 1526, while the Duchy of Teschen (Cieszyn) line died out in 1653. George William was therefore the last ruling member of all the Piast dynasty. Upon his death, the Duchy of Legnica-Brzeg reverted back to the Holy Roman Empire, which for centuries was ruled by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, who took up the government, despite the claims of George William's morganatic uncle, Count August of Legnica. Duchess Louise retain her lands of Wołów and Oława until her death in 1680, when they were also merged by the Holy Roman Empire. George William's only surviving sibling, Caroline, died in 1707.
As a member of the branch of the Dukes of Silesia, who are since the 17th century [1] [2] referred to as Silesian Piasts, a branch of the Piast dynasty. When the 15 year old Georg Wilhelm died, his mother had a masoleum built for him at Liegnitz. On its foundation stone a text was carved referring to him as Silesian Piast. The term Piast dynasty was first used in a history book by Polish historian Adam Naruszewicz in his books History of Poland, which he started in 1779.
| Patrilineal descent |
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Patrilineal descent, descent from father to son, is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations ). George William, Duke of Liegnitz was the last legitimate male of the Piast dynasty. Descent before Mieszko I is partly fictional. This is the descent of the primary male heir.
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| Preceded by Christian |
Duke of Legnica 1672–1675 |
Succeeded by States anexed to the Holy Roman Empire |
| Duke of Brzeg 1672–1675 |