| Casimir II the Just | |
|---|---|
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| High Duke of Poland | |
| Tenure | 1177–1191 1191–1194 |
| Predecessor | Mieszko III |
| Successor | Leszek the White |
| Duke of Masovia | |
| Tenure | 1186–1194 |
| Predecessor | Leszek |
| Successor | Leszek I the White |
| Born | 28 October 1138 |
| Died | 5 May 1194 (aged 55) Kraków |
| Burial | Wawel Cathedral, Kraków |
| Spouse | Helena of Znojmo |
| Issue more... | Adelaide Leszek I the White Konrad I of Masovia |
| House | Piast dynasty |
| Father | Bolesław III Wrymouth |
| Mother | Salomea of Berg |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Casimir II the Just (Polish:Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy; 28 October 1138 – 5 May 1194) was aLesser PolishDuke of Wiślica from 1166 to 1173, and ofSandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the PolishSeniorate Province atKraków and therebyHigh Duke of Poland in 1177; a position he held until his death, though interrupted once by his elder brother and predecessorMieszko III. In 1186 Casimir also inherited theDuchy of Masovia from his nephewLeszek, becoming the progenitor of the Masovian branch of the royalPiast dynasty, and great-grandfather of the later Polish kingWładysław I the Elbow-high. The honorific title "the Just" was not contemporary and first appeared in the 16th century.
Casimir, the sixth but fourth surviving son ofBolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, by his second wifeSalomea, daughter of Count Henry of Berg, was born in 1138,after his father's death but on the same day.[1] Consequently, he was not mentioned inhis father's will, and thus left without any land.
During his first years, Casimir and his sisterAgnes (born in 1137) lived with their mother Salomea in her widow land ofŁęczyca. There, the young prince remained far away from the struggles of his brothersBolesław IV the Curly andMieszko III with their older half-brother High DukeWładysław II, who tried to reunite all of Poland under his rule (contrary to his late father's testament) and was finally expelled in 1146.
Salomea of Berg had died in 1144. Casimir and Agnes were cared for by their elder brother Bolesław IV, who assumed the high ducal title two years later. Although under his tutelage the young prince could feel safe, he had no guarantee to receive part of the paternal inheritance in the future. When in 1151 he reached the proper age (age 13 at that time) to assume control over some of the lands of the family, he remained with nothing. Three years later (1157), his situation worsened as a result of the successful Polish campaign of EmperorFrederick Barbarossa, who came to the aid of Władysław II and his sons. As a part of the treaty Bolesław IV had to conclude with Barbarossa, Casimir was sent toGermany as a hostage in order to secure the loyalty of his brother to the Emperor. The fate of Casimir at the Imperial Court is unknown. He returned to Poland certainly before 21 May 1161, because on that day he is mentioned in a document along with two of his brothers, Bolesław IV andHenry of Sandomierz.
In 1166, Casimir's brother Henry was killed in battle during aPrussian Crusade. He died without issue, and in his will he named Casimir the only heir of his Lesser Polish Duchy ofSandomierz. However, High Duke Bolesław IV decided to divide the duchy into three parts: the largest (which included the capital, Sandomierz) he gave to himself; a second unnamed portion he granted to Mieszko III, and only the third part, the small district ofDuke of Wiślica, was given to Casimir.
Angry and disappointed with the decision of the High Duke, Casimir rebelled against him, with the support of his brother Mieszko, the magnateJaksa of Miechów, Sviatoslav son ofPiotr Włostowic, Archbishop Jan ofGniezno, and Bishop Gedko ofKraków. Casimir also had the support of almost all ofLesser Poland. Quick actions by Bolesław IV stopped the rebellion, and in the end, Casimir was only able to retain Wiślica. In 1172, Mieszko III again rebelled against the High Duke, and tried to persuade his younger brother to join him. For unknown reasons, Casimir refused to participate this time.
Bolesław IV died in 1173 and according to the principle ofagnatic seniority he was succeeded as High Duke by Mieszko III, the oldest surviving brother. Mieszko decided to give the entire Sandomierz duchy to Casimir, and so Casimir finally assumed the ducal title that his late brother had usurped.
The strong and dictatorial rule of the new High Duke caused a deep disaffection among the Lesser Polish nobility. This time a new revolt instigated in 1177 had a real chance of victory. The rebellion, apart from themagnates, counted upon the support of Gedko, Bishop of Kraków; Mieszko's eldest sonOdon; DukeBolesław I the Tall ofSilesia, the son of former High Duke Władysław II; and Casimir. The reasons for his inclusion in this revolt, after being reconciled with Mieszko, are unknown.
The battle for new leadership took quite strange course: Mieszko III, completely surprised by the rebels in hisDuchy of Greater Poland, withdrew toPoznań, where he stayed for almost two years enduring heavy fighting with his son Odon. Finally, he was defeated and was forced to escape. Duke Bolesław the Tall failed to conquer Kraków and the Seniorate Province, as he himself was stuck in an inner-Silesian conflict with his brotherMieszko I Tanglefoot and his own sonJarosław; soon defeated, he asked Casimir for help. After a successfully action in Silesia, Casimir marched toKraków, which was quickly mastered. Casimir, now Duke of Kraków, decided to conclude a treaty under which Bolesław the Tall obtained full authority over Lower Silesia atWrocław, and in return Casimir granted the Lesser Polish districts ofBytom,Oświęcim andPszczyna to the then deposed Mieszko I Tanglefoot as a gift for Casimir's godson and namesakeCasimir I of Opole, the only son of Mieszko I Tanglefoot.
The 1177 rebellion against High Duke Mieszko III was a complete success for Casimir, who not only conquered Kraków (including the districts ofSieradz and Łęczyca) obtaining the high ducal title, but also managed to extend his sovereignty as Polish monarch over Silesia (then divided between the three sons of Władysław II: Bolesław the Tall, Mieszko I Tanglefoot, andKonrad Spindleshanks, as well as Bolesław's son Jarosław of Opole),Greater Poland (ruled by Odon), andMasovia andKuyavia (ruled by DukeLeszek, then a minor and under the tutelage of his mother and the voivode Żyrona, one of Casimir's followers). On theBaltic coast,Pomerelia (Gdańsk Pomerania) was ruled by DukeSambor I as a Polish vassal.
Mieszko III worked intensively for his return, however; at first inBohemia and later in Germany and in theDuchy of Pomerania. In order to achieve his ambitions and give the hereditary right to the throne at Kraków (and with this the Seniorate Province) to his descendants, Casimir called an assembly of Polish nobles at Łęczyca in 1180. He granted privileges to both the nobility and the Church, lifting a tax on the profits of the clergy and relinquishing his rights over the lands of deceased bishops. By these acts, he won the acceptance of the principle of hereditary succession to Kraków, though it still would take more than a century to restore the Polish kingship.
However, in the first half of 1181 (and less than a year after the Łęczyca assembly), Mieszko III, with the assistance of Duke Sambor's brotherMestwin I of Pomerelia, conquered the eastern Greater Polish lands ofGniezno andKalisz and managed to persuade his son Odon to submit (according to some historians, Odon then received from his father the Greater Polish lands south of theObra River). At the same time, Duke Leszek of Masovia decided to leave the influence of Casimir. He named Mieszko III's sonMieszko the Younger as governor of Masovia and Kuyavia, and with this, made a tacit promise regarding the succession of these lands.
For unknown reasons, Casimir chose not to react to these events and decided only to secure his authority over Lesser Poland. A diplomatic meeting occurred in 1184 at the court of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa where Casimir, in order to block the actions of Mieszko III and retain power as High Duke of Poland, swore allegiance to Barbarossa and paid him a large tribute.
The most important issues during the reign of Casimir, beside the conflicts with his brother Mieszko, were the diplomatic policies towards the neighbouringRussian principalities in the east. The first task before him as High Duke was to create bonds with theRurik Grand Princes atKiev, who were strongly associated with the previous High Dukes through their marriages to Kievan princesses (Bolesław IV the Curly withViacheslava of Novgorod and Mieszko III withEudoxia of Kiev). For this purpose, in November 1178 Casimir arranged the marriage of his daughter with PrinceVsevolod IV of Kiev.[a]
His first major intervention inKievan Rus' affairs occurred in 1180, when the High Duke supportedVasylko, Prince ofShumsk andDrohiczyn (and son-in-law of the late Bolesław IV the Curly), and his nephew Leszek of Masovia in a dispute withVladimir of Minsk for the region ofVolhynia atVolodymyr. The war ended with the success of Vladimir, who conquered Volodymyr andBrest, while Vasylko held his ground at Drohiczyn.
However, this war did not definitively settle the matter of the rule at Brest, which had been granted as a fief to PrinceSviatoslav, Vasylko's cousin and Casimir's nephew (stepson of his sisterAgnes). In 1182 a revolt broke out against Sviatoslav's rule, but thanks to Casimir's intervention, he was restored on the throne. Nevertheless, shortly afterwards Casimir saw that the situation was unstable, and so he finally decided to give the power to Sviatoslav's half-brother,Roman.
In 1187, PrinceYaroslav Osmomysl ofHalych died, whereafter a long struggle for his succession began. Initially, the authority over the principality was taken by his younger illegitimate son, Oleg, but he was soon murdered by theboyars. Halych was then taken by Yaroslav's eldest son,Vladimirko. Vladimirko's reign was also far from stable, a situation used by Prince Roman of Brest, who, with the help of his uncle Casimir, deposed him and took full control over Halych.
The defeated Vladimirko fled to theKingdom of Hungary under the protection of KingBéla III (his relative; Vladimirko's paternal grandmother was a Hungarian princess), who decided to send his army to Halych. Roman escaped to Kraków and Vladimirko, as an act of revenge, invaded Lesser Poland. However, King Béla III soon decided to attach Halych to Hungary, and again deposed Vladimirko, replacing him as Prince of Halych with his own son,Andrew. The war continued for another two years, until Casimir restored Vladimirko's authority over Halych following instructions from Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who had decided to help Vladimirko after he had declared himself to be his subject.
In 1186 Duke Leszek of Masovia died. Before his death the sickly duke decided to give all his lands to High Duke Casimir. Though Leszek had previously promised the inheritance to his elder uncle Mieszko III, his dictatorial proceedings caused Leszek to change his mind and decide in Casimir's favor. Shortly after Leszek's death however, Mieszko III occupied the lands of Kuyavia up to theVistula River, and Casimir could only take possession over Masovia proper. Nevertheless, thanks to the Masovian inheritance, Casimir directly ruled over the major part of Poland.
The involvement of Casimir in the Russian affairs was used in 1191 by Mieszko III, who managed to take control overWawel Castle at Kraków, seizing the high ducal title and the control over the Seniorate Province. Immediately, he declared Kraków an hereditary fief to his own descendants, implementing his sonMieszko the Younger as a governor. The conflict ended peacefully, as Casimir – upon his return from Russia – regained the capital without a fight, and Mieszko the Younger escaped to the side of his father.
The last goal of Casimir's reign was at the beginning of 1194, when he organized an expedition against the BalticYotvingians. The expedition ended with a full success, and Casimir had a triumphant return to Kraków. After a banquet was held to celebrate his return, Casimir died unexpectedly, on 5 May 1194. Some historians believed that he was poisoned. He was succeeded as High Duke by his eldest surviving sonLeszek I the White, who like his father had to face the strong opposition from Mieszko III. Casimir was probably buried atWawel Cathedral.[1]
Casimir had planned to found a university in Kraków and already started to construct the building, but his sudden death balked his plans. The present-dayJagiellonian University was not established until 1364 by KingCasimir III the Great as the second oldest in Central and Eastern Europe (after theCharles University in Prague).
During his reign, Casimir was very generous to the Church, especially with the Cistercians monasteries ofWąchock,Jędrzejów,Koprzywnica andSulejów; with theCanons of the Holy Sepulchre ofMiechów, Regular Canonry ofCzerwińsk nad Wisłą andTrzemeszno and the Order of theKnights Hospitaller inZagość. He also tried to expand the cult ofSaint Florian, whose remains were brought to Kraków by Bishop Gedko.
Between 1160 and 1165 (but no later than 1166[2]), Casimir marriedHelena (ca. 1140/42 – ca. 1202/06), daughter of DukeConrad II ofZnojmo, scion of aMoravian cadet branch of thePřemyslid dynasty. They had:
Casimir II the Just Born: 1138 Died: 5 May 1194 | ||
| Preceded by | Duke of Sandomierz 1173–1194 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | High Duke of Poland 1177–1191 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | High Duke of Poland 1191–1194 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by new creation | Duke of Kalisz 1177–1182 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by new creation | Duke of Gniezno 1177–1182 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Duke of Masovia 1186–1194 | Succeeded by |
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