A Road Never taken or the Madonna of Silesia

A Road Never taken or the Madonna of Silesia

madonna_zps0175e164.jpg

Wielun and Opole, a match made in heaven
During his time as Count palatine, Wladyslaw Opolczyk didn't stop to participated in the foreign politics; the example of this was, among others things, his trip to Bulgaria in 1368. In 1370, after the death of Casimir III the Great, the Duke of Opole actively participated in preparing the succession of King Louis I of Hungary in the Polish throne. As a reward, King Louis give him the towns of Wieluń and Częstochowa.
By that time, Wladyslaw's brother Bolko III inherited Strzelce Opolskie from their uncle Albert and with this, the Duke of Opole could maintain the sole government over his domains (the youngest brother, Henry, died in 1365 without issue).
In 1371 Wladyslaw led an armed expedition against Duke John of Moravia(who caused a terrible devastation of Moravia); however, this didn't prevent the fact, that, years later later, the Duke of Opole was the head of a mission of mediation to resolve the dispute between the Emperor Charles IV and King Louis I, at this time.
On June 4, 1371, Euphemia of Mazovia, his wife gave birth to a son named Kazimier, a son that he waited for so long to be born, Louis I of Hungary and Poland helped him in gaining prestige in Silesia, on 1372, Charles IV of the Holy Roman Empire died.
In 1378 the departure of Queen Elisabeth from Poland to Hungary, forced King Louis to release Wladislaw from his post of Governor and appointed him with the empty position of Polish Count palatine. But almost immediately Wladislaw had to faced the strong resistance of the Polish nobility, dissatisfied with the decision of King Louis to named heirs to his daughters, and soon was forced to resign.
As compensation for his resignation, the Duke of Opole received from the Hungarian ruler the towns of Dobrzyń, part of Kujawy, Bydgoszcz, Inowrocław and Gniewkowo. These territories were on the border of the Teutonic Order lands, which soon shortly Wladyslaw established close contacts, who included allowed the prosecution of criminals by Teutonic knights in his domains.
In Kujawy, Wladyslaw entered in a dispute over finances with the Bishop of Płock, Dobiesław Sówka, resulting in the excommunication of the Duke, who was repealed a year later by the Archbishop of Gniezno. As a gesture of reconciliation with the Church, Wladyslaw founded the Pauline monastery of Our Lady at Jasna Góra in Częstochowa; also, the Duke brought the famous Black Madonna of Częstochowa, who according to oldest documents, travelled from Jerusalem, via Constantinople and Bełz, to finally reach Częstochowa in August 1382, he gave Dobrzyń, part of Kujawy, Bydgoszcz, Inowrocław and Gniewkowo to his brothers in exchange of their lands in Silesia.
on 1382, supported by Louis I of Hungary, Wladyslaw annexed the Duchy of Wroclaw from the Kingdom of Bohemia and assumed the title Duke of Silesia and became the Duke of Silesia and the liege of other Silesian duchies as Wladyslaw I.
In 1383 Siemowit IV conquered Cuyavia, but was soon expelled by the joint forces of szlachta from Lesser Poland and armies of Hungary.
On 1385, on the the death of Louis I of Hungary, Kazimierz of Silesia, the son of Wladyslaw II of Opole marries Jadwiga Andagawenska, while her older sister, Maria Andagawenska declares her sponsalia to Sigismund of Luxembourg invalid and marries Jogaila of Lithuania and becomes the King of Poland, Hungary, and her consort was renamed as Wladyslaw Jagiello on their marriage after Wladyslaw Jagiello converted to catholicism.
In 1386 Siemowit IV accepted the rule of King of Poland Maria of Poland and her king consort Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław II Jagiełło and became a hereditary vassal of Poland. The following year he married the sister of the Polish king-consort, Aleksandra, and received the land of Bełz.
On 1390 with the assistance of Wladyslaw II Jagiello, Holy Roman Emperor Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia formally renounces his claims to the Duchy of Silesia in favor of Wladyslaw I of Silesia, who assumed the title Duke of Silesia earlier with the exception of Swidnica and Jawor, however, if Wenceslaus IV dies without heirs Swidnica and Jawor, would revert to Wladyslaw I of Silesia both Wladyslaw I of Silesia and Siemowit IV of Mazovia, focused on the sovereignity of their duchies, on 1392, the Duchy of Swidnica and Jawor were integrated to the Kingdom of Bohemia due to the death of Agnes of Habsburg, meanwhile, on June 4, 1393 Jadwiga Andagawena gives birth to a son named Wladyslaw.


 
Last edited:
breg_zpse38335dd.jpg

A Peace Treaty

It is only with the Peasants' Revolt that Richard starts to emerge clearly in the annals. One of his first significant acts after the rebellion was to marry Anne of Bohemia, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor (King of Bohemia Charles IV) and his wife Elisabeth of Pomerania, on 20 January 1382. The marriage had diplomatic significance; in the division of Europe caused by the Great Schism, Bohemia and the Empire were seen as potential allies against France in the ongoing Hundred Years' War. Nonetheless, the marriage was not popular in England. Despite great sums of money awarded to the Empire, the political alliance never resulted in any military victories. Furthermore, the marriage was childless. Anne died from plague in 1394, greatly mourned by her husband, Anne of Bohemia was the grand daughter of Kazimierz III of Poland, Wladyslaw Jagiello, King of Poland and Sigismund of Luxembourg both sent their own condolences at her death, Wladyslaw Jagiello decided to send over a bride for Richard II and sent the young Alexandra of Trubecki or Alexandra Trubecka, the bride was very young and very youthful.
Michael de la Pole had been instrumental in the marriage negotiations; he had the king's confidence and gradually became more involved at court and in government as Richard came of age. De la Pole came from an upstart merchant family. When Richard made him chancellor in 1383, and created him Earl of Suffolk two years later, this antagonised the more established nobility. Another member of the close circle around the king was Robert DeVere, Earl of Oxford (Aubrey DeVere's nephew), who in this period emerged as the king's favourite. DeVere's lineage, while an ancient one, was relatively modest in the peerage of England. Richard's close friendship to DeVere was also disagreeable to the political establishment. This displeasure was exacerbated by the earl's elevation to the new title of Duke of Ireland in 1386. The chronicler Thomas Walsingham suggested the relationship between the king and DeVere was of a homosexual nature, due to a resentment Walsingham had toward the king.
Tensions came to a head over the approach to the war in France. While the court party preferred negotiations, Gaunt and Buckingham urged a large-scale campaign to protect English possessions.Instead, a so-called crusade led by Henry le Despenser, Bishop of Norwich, was dispatched, which failed miserably. Faced with this setback on the continent, Richard turned his attention instead towards France's ally, Scotland. In 1385, the king himself led a punitive expedition to the north, but the effort came to nothing, and the army had to return without ever engaging the Scots in battle. Meanwhile, only an uprising in Ghent prevented a French invasion of southern England. The relationship between Richard and his uncle John of Gaunt deteriorated further with military failure, and John of Gaunt left England to pursue his claim to the throne of Castile in 1386 amid rumours of a plot against his person. With Gaunt gone, the unofficial leadership of the growing dissent against the king and his courtiers passed to Buckingham – who had by now been created duke of Gloucester – and Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel.
Richard gradually re-established royal authority in the months after the deliberations of the Merciless Parliament. The Lords Appellant's aggressive foreign policy failed when their efforts to build a wide, anti-French coalition came to nothing, and the north of England fell victim to a Scottish incursion. Furthermore, Richard was now over twenty-one years old and could with confidence claim the right to govern in his own name. Also, John of Gaunt returned to England in 1389. Once the differences with the king had been settled, the old statesman acted as a moderating influence on English politics. Richard assumed full control of government on 3 May 1389, claiming that the difficulties of the past years were due solely to bad councillors. He outlined a foreign policy that reversed the actions of the appellants by seeking peace and reconciliation with France together with a promise to lessen the burden of taxation on the people significantly. Richard ruled peacefully for the next eight years, having reconciled with his former adversaries. Still, later events would show that he did not put the indignities suffered during the preceding years behind him entirely. In particular, the execution of his former teacher Sir Simon de Burley was an insult not easily forgotten.
With national stability secured, Richard began negotiating a permanent peace with France. A proposal put forward in 1393 would have greatly expanded the territory of Aquitaine possessed by the English crown. However, the plan failed on the condition that the English king had to perform homage to the King of France – an unacceptable condition to the English public. Instead, a treaty with Charles VI was made on 1396. As part of the treaty , the grandson of John of Gaunt, Henry was to marry Isabella, daughter of Charles VI of France and Aquitaine would be restored to Bretigny borders but would be given to John of Gaunt and his descendants as a French fief and also the English claim to the French throne would be given up although Calais and the Channel Islands would remain English, due to the crusades of Henry Bolingbroke in Prussia, Henry Bolingbroke did not like Alexandra, the new wife of Richard II and called her a Heathen Maiden, the marriage between Henry of Bordeaux, the grandson of John of Gaunt and Isabella did happen later on 1397.
While seeking peace with France, Richard took a different approach to the situation in Ireland. The English lordships in Ireland were in danger of being overrun and so the Anglo-Irish lords pleaded for the king to intervene. In the autumn of 1394, Richard left for Ireland, where he remained until May 1395. His army, consisting of over 8,000 men, was the largest force brought to the island in the later Middle Ages. The expedition was a success, resulting in the submission of a number of Irish chieftains to English overlordship. The venture was one of the greater achievements of Richard's reign, and it strengthened the king's support at home, but the consolidation of the English position in Ireland nevertheless proved short-lived.
Alexandra Trubecka gave birth to the desired heir to Richard II, named Edward on June 4, 1397.

 
Last edited:
220px-Unia_w_Krewie_zps69b52452.jpg

A Glorious union and the Hussites part I

Maria Andegawina, Queen Regnant of Poland has finally gave birth to a son on June 3, 1395, named Ludwik, named after her father, Wladyslaw Jagiello.
Further frictions with the King of Poland took place in November 1395, when Siemowit of Plock pledged as the vassal of the Teutonic Order. Aware of the danger that the Teutonic Order to close to his bordes, Wladyslaw Jagiello tried to sieze Plock which resulted in the Mazovian Piasts allying with the Teutonic Order
However, the attitude of Siemowit IV of Plock wasn't changed and in 1396 he continued the alliance with Teutonic Order, he still desired to get the Polish throne despite of him pledging fealty with Jogaila and Maria as his liege. Has also tried to encourage the Great master of the Teutonic Order, Konrad von Wallenrode, to attack the Kingdom with the combination of the troops of Teutonic knights in Poland, Hungary and Bohemia, but the conflict ended unexpectedly. The war, which began successfully, finally ended in 1400, when the royal army decided to attack the Mazovian lands of Siemowit. After the Polish troops took control over Plock, on 6 August of that year, the Dukes in Mazovia decided to continue the war with the King of Poland, a peace treaty was made between Poland, Mazovia and the Teutonic Order and that is for the Wladyslaw Jagiello, the King of Poland to renounce his claims to the Duchy of Mazovia.
Disappointed because of his ambitions failed disastrously, Siemowit died on July 4, 1402 in Plock, and was buried in the local Agustinian monastery, the Duchy of Plock was ruled under the regency of Alexandra of Lithuania, the sister of Wladyslaw Jagiello King of Poland.

 
HISS_zps22a8f4fd.png

A Glorious union and the Hussites part II
In Silesia Jadwiga and Wladyslaw are happy in Silesia with their own heir and she has given birth to other children who are made as castellans instead of making them dukes themelves, instead of partitioning the land between sons and the other sons have been conditioned to accept this, on the meantime, Siemowit V, the son of Siemowit IV was interested in the affairs of the Holy Roman Empire now as a child, he grew up being interested in Jan Hus and his writings later on when he had the chance to see them.
On 5 June 1415, Jan Hus was tried for the first time, and for that purpose was transferred to a Franciscan monastery, where he spent the last weeks of his life. Extracts from his works were read, and witnesses were heard. He refused all formulae of submission, but declared himself willing to recant if his errors should be proven to him from the Bible. Hus conceded his veneration of Wycliffe, and said that he could only wish his soul might some time attain unto that place where Wycliffe's was. On the other hand, he denied having defended Wycliffe's doctrine of The Lord's Supper or the forty-five articles; he had only opposed their summary condemnation. King Wenceslaus admonished him to deliver himself up to the mercy of the Council, as he did not desire to protect a heretic.
At the last trial, on 8 June 1415, thirty-nine sentences were read to him, twenty-six of which had been excerpted from his book on the Church, seven from his treatise against Páleč, and six from that against Stanislav ze Znojma. The danger of some of these doctrines to worldly power was explained to the emperor to incite him against Hus. Hus again declared himself willing to submit if he could be convinced of errors. This declaration was considered an unconditional surrender, and he was asked to confess:
that he had erred in the theses which he had hitherto maintained;
that he renounced them for the future;
that he recanted them; and
that he declared the opposite of these sentences.

He asked to be exempted from recanting doctrines which he had never taught; others, which the assembly considered erroneous, he was not willing to revoke; to act differently would be against his conscience. These words found no favourable reception. After the trial on 8 June, several other attempts were purportedly made to induce him to recant, which he resisted.
The condemnation took place on 6 July 1415, in the presence of the assembly of the Council in the Cathedral. After the High Mass and Liturgy, Hus was led into the church. The Bishop of Lodi delivered an oration on the duty of eradicating heresy; then some theses of Hus and Wycliffe and a report of his trial were read.
An Italian prelate pronounced the sentence of condemnation upon Hus and his writings. Hus protested, saying that even at this hour he did not wish anything, but to be convinced from Holy Scripture. He fell upon his knees and asked God with a low voice to forgive all his enemies. Then followed his degradation — he was enrobed in priestly vestments and again asked to recant; again he refused. With curses his ornaments were taken from him, his priestly tonsure was destroyed, and the sentence was pronounced that the Church had deprived him of all rights and delivered him to the secular powers. Then a high paper hat was put upon his head, with the inscription "Haeresiarcha" (meaning the leader of a heretical movement). Hus was led away to the stake under a strong guard of armed men. At the place of execution he knelt down, spread out his hands, and prayed aloud. It is said that when he was about to expire, he cried out, "Christ, son of the Living God, have mercy on us!"
On 1415, Siemowit V visited Jan Hus and helped him escape from his prison and sheltered him in Mazovia, which Wladyslaw Jagiello was not aware of what happened to Jan Hus and what happened to him.
 
I can't comment about the historical accuracy, I'm not good with history.

But, writing is very good (though some spacing wouldn't hurt).

And of course, Silesia Forever! :)
 
I can't comment about the historical accuracy, I'm not good with history.

But, writing is very good (though some spacing wouldn't hurt).

And of course, Silesia Forever! :)
I felt that your region is used as a pawn by Jagellonians to the Habsburgs and put your region in a limbo and years of genocide due to the Counter Reformation so I kinda sympathize with your people , I think both Silesia and Mazovia deserve to be independent, at least in a timeline.
 
Top