The Greater Poland Civil War () refers to the conflict that took place during 1382–1385 in the

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...

province of the Kingdom of Poland during the

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

period following the transition of power between the

Piast dynasty 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 ...

, Angevin dynasty and the Jagiellon dynasty. Another name for the conflict is the Grzymała–Nałęcz War (), as a major part of the conflict involved the struggle between the Grzymała and Nałęcz families (clans) for the dominant position in the Greater Poland.

The civil war

The death of Casimir III the Great in 1370 marked the end of the

in Poland. He was succeeded by

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...

of the Angevin dynasty, who was Casimir's nephew. Louis' death in 1382, without a male heir, left a power vacuum (

). Although the Privilege of Koszyce stipulated that one of his daughters would succeed him on the Polish throne, Louis' selection of his daughter Mary proved controversial, as her husband,

Sigismund of Luxembourg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia (''jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1 ...

, was not popular in Poland. The different factions in Poland could not agree on the succession, and a conflict erupted. The faction gathered around the Grzymała clan supported Sigismund, while the Nałęcz clan instead favored the Duke of Masovia,

Siemowit IV Siemowit IV (Ziemowit IV), also known as Siemowit IV the Younger (pl: ''Siemowit IV Młodszy''; ca. 1353/1356 – 21 January 1426), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast from the Dukes of Masovia, Masovian branch, from 1373/74 Duke ...

. As the clans in Greater Poland warred, those in Lesser Poland succeeded in gathering support for a different solution. In 1384, Louis' 10-year-old daughter Jadwiga was crowned King of Poland, upon the condition that the Polish-Hungarian Union was dissolved. Her coronation marked the end of most civil war hostilities;

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a Welsh-Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor at ...

notes that "the disappointed candidates battled each other's candidacy into oblivion". As Jadwiga's fiance, William, Duke of Austria, was also unpopular in Poland, the Lesser Poland faction succeeded in arranging for her to marry Władysław Jagiełło (Jogaila), Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1386. Jagiełło had just emerged victorious from a civil war in Lithuania. Their marriage began the period of the Polish-Lithuanian Union and the ascension of the Jagiellon Dynasty to the thrones of Poland and Lithuania. The war is said to have been bloody; Davies writes of "much slaughter", and Sobczak notes that "entire clans perished in it".

The civil war

See also

Notes

References

Further reading