Bolko II of Opole ( pl, Bolesław II opolski; before 1300 – 21 June 1356) was a Duke of
Opole from 1313 (with his brother as co-ruler until 1323).
He was the second son of Duke
Bolko I of Opole
Bolko I of Opole ( pl, Bolko I opolski; before 21 October 1258 – 14 May 1313), was a Duke of Opole from 1282 (until 1284 with his brother as co-ruler), Niemodlin and Strzelce Opolskie until his death.
He was the third son of Władysław, Duke ...
by his wife Agnes, probably a daughter of Margrave
Otto III of Brandenburg.
Life
At the time of his father's death in 1313, Bolko II and his youngest brother
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 ...
inherited the Duchy of Opole as co-rulers; but because at that time both were probably minors, they were placed under the care of their older brother,
Bolesław the Elder. Bolko II assumed full government over his domains in 1323, and made the formal division of the Duchy with his brother Albert: he received
Strzelce Opolskie
Strzelce Opolskie (german: Groß Strehlitz, szl, Wielge Strzelce) is a town in southern Poland with 17,900 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce County.
Demographics
Strzelce Opolskie is one of the ...
and Bolko II retained the main city of Opole.
Thanks to his marriage to Elisabeth, daughter of Duke
Bernard of Świdnica, Bolko II had a temporary close connection with the Polish King
Władysław I the Elbow-high Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to:
Famous people Mononym
* ...
(paternal grandfather of his wife). However, this alliance was short-lived: on 5 April 1327 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 ...
, he paid homage to
King John of Bohemia; he was the last Silesian Duke who became a vassal of Bohemia.
During his rule in Opole, Bolko II focused on the economical development of his domains. He introduced German laws (see
Magdeburg Law
Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...
) in the villages; also, he supported
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
and took care of the state of roads, in order to maintain the safety of travelers.
The good economy of his Duchy was used by Bolko II to obtain more lands: in 1351 he bought the towns of
Byczyna
Byczyna (Latin: ''Bicina'', ''Bicinium''; german: Pitschen) is a town in Kluczbork County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,490 inhabitants as of December 2021.
History
The town of Byczyna was first mention in 1054 when it temporarily served as ...
and
Kluczbork
Kluczbork (german: Kreuzburg O.S., szl, Kluczborek) is a town in southern Poland with 23,554 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Kluczbork County and an important railroad junction. In Kluczbork the major ...
from Duke
Wenceslaus I of Legnica
Wenceslaus I, Duke of Legnica ( pl, Wacław I legnicki) (ca. 1318 – 2 June 1364) was a Duke of Namysłów from 1338 and of Legnica- Brieg from 1342 until his death, but with further divisions with his brother Louis I.
He was the eldest son o ...
and the district of
Sławięcice from Duke
Bolesław of Bytom
Bolesław of Bytom (1330 – ) was a duke of Koźle from 1347 and Duke of Bytom from 1352 to his death.
He was the second son of Duke Władysław of Bytom but the eldest by his second wife Ludgarda, daughter of Henry II the Lion, Prince of Meck ...
.
Bolko II was particularly attached to the
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 =
, ...
monastery of Opole. Inside the monastery, he built the Chapel of St. Anna, which became the Family vault of the Dukes of Opole. When Bolko II died on 21 June 1356, he was buried there.
Marriage and issue
By 6 May 1326, Bolko II married
Elisabeth (ca. 1315 – 8/9 February 1348), daughter of Duke
Bernard of Świdnica. They had seven children:
[According to old chronicles, Bolko II remarried after the death of his wife Elisabeth. The name of his second wife was possibly Margareta, and together they had a daughter, called Agnes, later wife of Margrave ]Jobst of Moravia
Jobst of Moravia ( cs, Jošt Moravský or ''Jošt Lucemburský''; german: Jo(b)st or ''Jodokus von Mähren''; c. 1354 – 18 January 1411), a member of the House of Luxembourg, was Margraviate of Moravia, Margrave of Moravia from 1375, List of mo ...
, later King of Germany
This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Emp ...
. However, modern historians have debated (and even denied in some cases) the existence of the alleged second wife and daughter of Bolko II. According to the latest researches, this Agnes could be the same as Elisabeth, daughter of Władysław Opolczyk and first (if the existence of Agnes is believed) wife of Jobst. The confusion was in the fact that Elisabeth probably also used the name Agnes (''Elisabeth-Agnes''), a custom which wasn't unusual at that time (for example, Viola of Cieszyn or Richenza of Poland, later Queens of Bohemia, changed their names to Elisabeth after their marriages; see their Wikipedia articles). Sources who supported the existence of one wife of Jobst: ; sources who supported the existence of two wives of Jobst
Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
.
*
Władysław (c. 1332 – 18 May 1401).
*
Bolko III (c. 1337 – 21 October 1382).
*
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
(before 18 August 1338 – before 23 October 1365).
* Kunigunde (1340 – after 4 July 1372), a nun at St. Klara in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
(Alt-Buda).
* Agnes (c. 1341? – after 1 June 1390), wife of
Jobst of Moravia
Jobst of Moravia ( cs, Jošt Moravský or ''Jošt Lucemburský''; german: Jo(b)st or ''Jodokus von Mähren''; c. 1354 – 18 January 1411), a member of the House of Luxembourg, was Margraviate of Moravia, Margrave of Moravia from 1375, List of mo ...
, and nun at
Stary Sącz.
* Elisabeth (c. 1342/47? – after 25 April 1382), a nun at
Trzebnica
Trzebnica (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Trebnitz, cs, Třebnice, szl, Trzebńica) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in west-central Poland. It is the seat of Trzebnica County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called G ...
.
* Anna (c. 1348? – after 12 March 1411), a nun at St. Klara at
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 ...
.
Bolko married a second time to a woman whose name is not recorded. The result of his union was a daughter:
* Agnes, who married
Jobst of Moravia
Jobst of Moravia ( cs, Jošt Moravský or ''Jošt Lucemburský''; german: Jo(b)st or ''Jodokus von Mähren''; c. 1354 – 18 January 1411), a member of the House of Luxembourg, was Margraviate of Moravia, Margrave of Moravia from 1375, List of mo ...
.
Footnotes
References
Genealogy of the House of Opole
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolko 02 of Opole
13th-century births
1356 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Piast dynasty
Dukes of Opole