Adam Wenceslaus of Cieszyn ( pl, Adam Wacław cieszyński, cs, Adam Václav Těšínský, german: Adam Wenzel von Teschen; 12 December 1574 – 13 July 1617), was a Duke of
Cieszyn
Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...
from 1579 until his death.
He was the second but only surviving son of
Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn
Wenceslaus III Adam of Cieszyn ( cs, Václav III. Adam, german: Wenzel III. Adam, pl, Wacław III Adam; December 1524 – 4 November 1579) was a Duke of Cieszyn from 1528 until his death.
He was the second but only surviving son of Wenceslaus I ...
, by his second wife Sidonia Katharina, daughter of
Francis I,
Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg
The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme sou ...
. His older half-brother,
Frederick Casimir, only son of Wenceslaus III Adam's first marriage, died a few years before he was born, in 1571.
Life
After his father's death in 1579, Adam Wenceslaus inherited the Duchy of
Cieszyn
Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...
; but because he was a minor at that time, the regency was held by his mother and the Dukes
George II of Brzeg and
Karl II of
Ziębice
Ziębice (german: Münsterberg) is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland.
The town lies on the Oława River, approximately east of Ząbkowice Śląskie and south of the regional capital Wro ...
. This triple regency continued until 1586, when the Dowager Duchess Sidonia Katharina remarried with the
Hungarian nobleman Imre III Forgach, ''Obergespan''
ountof
Trenčín
Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest muni ...
(17 February) and the eldest regent, Duke George II of Brzeg, died (7 May). Despite her new marriage, Sidonia Katharina retained her influence in Cieszyn. Duke Karl II of Ziębice ruled since them as sole regent.
In 1586
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Cieszyński ; cs, Těšínské Slezsko or ; german: Teschener Schlesien or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český T ...
suffered a very serious epidemic of
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
who caused the death of several residents of the Duchy. One year later, in 1587, Cieszyn became in the center of the fight between Piastów other scourge for example, in 1587 the area became a duchy terrain fighting between the Archduke
Maximilian III of Austria and
Jan Zamoyski
Jan Sariusz Zamoyski ( la, Ioannes Zamoyski de Zamoscie; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, and the 1st '' ordynat'' of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Cha ...
during the
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of thei ...
.
In view of the continuing threats, in 1587 Adam Wenceslaus was sent in 1587 to the Electoral court in
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
. There, the young Duke received a careful education, particularly in the military affairs. It was only in 1595 when he returned to
Cieszyn
Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...
, and, because, he was legally an adult, he began his independent government.
Since the beginning of his personal rule, Adam Wenceslaus took part in the wars with
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
and also declared political sympathies towards to the Emperor
Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...
; this resulted in the need to build, in the southern part of the Duchy, some defensive fortifications. This case has special significance during the emergence of
Bocskai during 1604–1606, when the Hungarian anti-Habsburg army almost defeated the Cieszyn troops.
In 1609 Adam Wenceslaus was in the middle of the conflict between Emperor Rudolf II and his brother
Archduke Matthias. The Duke of Cieszyn stood at the side of the former. Finally, Rudolf II gave his brother the Bohemian crown, which placed to Adam Wenceslaus in a particularly awkward situation, who had submitted in 1611 when he had to paid homage to the new King in
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
.
For other reasons, the year of 1611 had a significant importance in Adam Wenceslaus's life. His time in Saxony made him a determined
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
and in several times he issued decrees aimed at promotion of
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
in Cieszyn (for example, in 1598 the Duke decreed a privilege, under which his successors were obligated to stimulate the Lutheran faith among his subjects and built churches with this purpose). However, some of his relatives, who like him where educated in the Electoral court, opted for converted to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. Adam Wenceslaus had a total variation in his Protestant politics—in accordance with the principle of "''
cuius regio, eius religio
() is a Latin phrase which literally means "whose realm, their religion" – meaning that the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled. This legal principle marked a major development in the collective (if not individua ...
''"—and started the fight with the Church, followed the evangelical spirit of the
Counter-Reformation (one of the first decisions of Adam Wenceslaus after his conversion to the Catholic faith was the cancellation of the Privilege of 1598). This caused hard resistance between the nobility and burghers; however, a large part of the population also shifted to Roman Catholicism. Soon after, the Duke restored to the expelled
Catholic religious order
In the Catholic Church, a religious order is a community of consecrated life
Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more ex ...
s (like the
Dominicans and
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
s) their former monasteries. The exact reasons for the Duke of Cieszyn's conversion are unknown, but this was probably in order to amended his relations with his sovereign, King Matthias of Bohemia, since 1612 also
Holy Roman Emperor. However, Adam Wenceslaus wasn't a fervent Catholic and didn't force the part of the Cieszyn population who remained Protestant to shift to the Catholic faith.
This radical step in fact improved the Duke's relations with Emperor Matthias, who on 6 February 1617 appointed Adam Wenceslaus as
Landeshauptmann General of Silesia.
The rule of Adam Wenceslaus over Cieszyn proved to be less favorable. The constant trips, expensive military expeditions, and finally the change of faith, led the Duchy in the imminent bankruptcy. Two examples of his expensive lifestyle were the trip to Wrocław to paid homage to the King Matthias—his suite, composed by 285 people, were richly furnished by him—and in 1614, after a vote for his miraculous conversion, Adam Wenceslaus went on a pilgrimage to
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska () is a town in southern Poland with 4,429 inhabitants (2007 estimate). As of 1999, it is situated in Lesser Poland or Małopolska (in Polish). Previously, the town was administered within the Voivodeship of Bielsko-Biała ( ...
. This trip, according to contemporary sources, was not religious: the Duke's only desire was to show his wealth. At the end, his debts were often paid by the towns and
chivalry.
Adam Wenceslaus died on 13 July 1617 in Brandys, a Cieszyn suburb, and was buried in the Dominican church of Cieszyn. In 1617 Adam Bysiński from Bysina, heir of
Iłownica, accused three Cieszyn noblemen to poisoned Adam Wenceslaus: Erazm Rudzki, speaker of the Chancellor, Waclaw Pelhrzim from Trzenkowice (von
Pelchrzim), a Judge court, and Piotr Gurecki from Kornice on
Jaworzu. On 21 December 1622 both parties concluded an agreement, and the allegations of Bysiński were dismissed.
Marriage and issue
On 17 September 1595 Adam Wenceslaus married with Elisabeth (d. 19 November 1601), daughter of
Gotthard Kettler
Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler'', german: Gotthard Kettler, Herzog von Kurland; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia.
Biography
...
,
Duke of Courland
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...
. They had five children:
#Adam Gotthard (27 July 1596 – 25 May 1597).
#Anna Sidonia (2 March 1598 – 13 March 1619), married on 1 November 1616 to Count Jakob Hannibal II of
Hohenems
Hohenems (High Alemannic: ''Ems'') is a town in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg in the Dornbirn district. It lies in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With a population of 15,200, it is the fifth largest municipality in Vorarlb ...
.
#
Elizabeth Lucretia (1 June 1599 – 19 May 1653).
#Christian Adam (1600 – 12 March 1602).
#
Frederick William (b9 November 1601 – Köln, 19 August 1625).
In addition to his legitimate offspring, he had an illegitimate son, born from his relationship with
Małgorzata Kostlachówna[In older publication mistakenly known as Margareta Koschlinger/Małgorzata Koschlinger.] (ca. 1584 – Cieszyn, 3 January 1617):
* ''
Baron Wenceslaus Gottfried of Hohenstein'' (1608/12 – aft. 1672).
Ancestry
Footnotes
References
*
Genealogy of the Dukes of CieszynGenealogical database by Herbert Stoyan* Rudolf Žáček: ''Dějiny Slezska v datech''. Prague 2004, , S. 150f. und 451.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adam Wenceslaus
1574 births
1617 deaths
Dukes of Teschen
Piast dynasty
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism
Polish Roman Catholics