Barbara of Oleśnica ( pl, Barbara oleśnicka, italic=no; 1465–1479) was a member of the

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...

and Duchess of

Oleśnica Oleśnica (pronounced ; german: Oels; szl, Ôleśnica) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, within the Wrocław metropolitan area. It is the administrative seat of Oleśnica County and also of the rural district of ...

during 1475–1478. She was the only child of

Konrad IX the Black Konrad IX the Black (Polish: Konrad IX Czarny) (c. 1415 – 14 August 1471) was a duke of Oleśnica, Koźle, half of Bytom and half of Ścinawa since 1450 (with his brothers as co-rulers), and since 1452 sole ruler over Oleśnica, Koźle and half o ...

, Duke of

by his wife Margareta, daughter of Duke Siemowit V of Rawa.

Life

After the death of her father (1471), she became in the potential heiress of Oleśnica and perhaps all the duchy; for this, she remained under the care of her mother and the formal guardianship of her childless uncle

Konrad X the White Konrad X the White (Polish: Konrad X Biały) (1420 – 21 September 1492) was a duke of Oleśnica, Koźle, and half of both Bytom and Ścinawa during 1450–1452 (with his brother as co-rulers), since 1452 sole ruler over half of Ścinawa, during ...

. In the summer of 1472 Konrad X engaged her with

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

, the eldest son of

Henry I the Elder Henry I (1070 – 1103), nicknamed the Old, a member of the House of Wettin, was Count of Eilenburg as well as Margrave of the Saxon Eastern March (March of Lusatia) from 1081 and Margrave of Meissen from 1089 until his death. Life Henry was the ...

, Duke 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 ...

. On this occasion, Konrad X sold to Henry I for 9,000

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...

s the towns of

Koźle Koźle (german: Cosel) is a district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle (since 1975), Poland and is at the junction of the Kłodnica and Oder rivers, km southeast of Opole. The district has a Roman Catholic church, a medieval chateau, remains of a 19th-centu ...

Toszek Toszek (german: Tost) is a small town in southern Poland. It is situated within Gliwice County in the Silesian Voivodeship (province), and its population was estimated at 3,600 inhabitants in 2019. History The beginning of the settlement and fo ...

and

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital ...

. However, soon the betrothal was broken; Albert eventually married with Salome, daughter of

Jan II the Mad Jan II the Mad also known as the Bad, the Wild or the Cruel (16 April 1435 – 22 September 1504), was a Duke of Żagań- Przewóz since 1439 (with his brothers as co-rulers until 1449), from 1449 Duke of Przewóz (as co-ruler of his younger br ...

, Duke of

Głogów Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–1998) ...

, in 1487. In 1475, Margareta of Rawa was deposed by Konrad X from the effective government over

and

Bierutów Bierutów (german: Bernstadt in Schlesien) is a town in Oleśnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Bierutów. The town lies approximately south-east o ...

(which were given to her as her

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

) and replaced by her own daughter Barbara, who remained as a sovereign duchess (but under the tutelage of her uncle), until 1478, when she was also deposed by Konrad X, who took the direct control over Oleśnica. The last mention of Barbara was by 30 November 1479. She probably died shortly afterwards.

References

* *''This article was translated from his original in Polish Wikipedia.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbara of Olesnica 1465 births 1479 deaths Piast dynasty