Henry I of Sandomierz ( pl, Henryk) (1131 – 18 October 1166) was the duke of

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Pr ...

from 1138 until his death. He took part in the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Cru ...

. Upon his return from the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

, Henry organized a battle against the Prussians and died in battle.

Rulership

He was the fifth but third surviving son of Boleslaus III of Poland by his second wife Salomea, daughter of Henry, Count of Berg, from whom he received his name. According to his father's will, Henry inherited the Duchy of

. Boleslaus also appointed Henry's half-brother Ladislaus as regent for Henry, as Henry was only 7 years old when his father died. As ruler of Sandomierz, Henry appears only on the occasion of the Act of Foundation of a Church in his land. His ducal title was rarely mentioned by the chronicles, who called him ''a son of Boleslaus III Wrymouth'' or ''brother of Boleslaus IV the Curly''. He was the “King of the Poles” mentioned by the Greek chronicler

John Kinnamos Joannes Kinnamos, or John Cinnamus ( el, or Κίναμος; born shortly after 1143, died after 1185), was a Byzantine historian. He was imperial secretary (Greek "grammatikos", most likely a post connected with the military administration) to Em ...

. Henry was the commander of the Polish contingent in the

in 1147. This incursion in the Crusades was short because in 1149, together with his older brother Boleslaus IV, he took part in a military expedition in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

to support the Grand Prince Iziaslav II.

Crusades

The first and maybe the most famous of all Sandomierz's dukes, Henry certainly ventured to the

in 1153-1154 (a number of Polish annals reported it under the year 1154 as did

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histor ...

in his Annals) and took part in the

under the command of King

Baldwin III of Jerusalem Baldwin III (1130 – 10 February 1163) was King of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem. He became king while still a child, and was at first overshadowed by his mother Melisende, whom he eventu ...

. Henry close affiliation to crusading resulted in the establishment of a commandery of the

Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

(between 1154 and 1166) in Zagość. After returning to Poland with an air of holiness, Henry, together with his brothers, organized a battle against the pagan Prussians. The military expedition, under the command of Bolesław IV and Henry, launched in the second half of 1166. According to the chronicles, Henry was killed in battle against the Prussians. The date of his death, 18 October 1166, was known through indirect sources. However, there is a legend, where Henry apparently was killed in the current

Wąbrzeźno County __NOTOC__ Wąbrzeźno County ( pl, powiat wąbrzeski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish l ...

, probably in the vicinity of Nielub or Orłowo, close to the Wieczno Lake.

Succession

Henry never married and hence left no legitimate offspring. In his will, he left his duchy to his posthumous brother,

Casimir II the Just Casimir II the Just ( pl, Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy; 28 October 1138 – 5 May 1194) was a Lesser Polish Duke of Wiślica from 1166–1173, and of Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby ...

, who until that time, he remained without lands. These last will was done only partially. The destiny of the Duchy of Sandomierz could be shown in a document dated 31 December 1167: :''In the year 1166 in Poland during the reign of Princes Boleslaus, Mieszko and Casimir, their fourth brother, Prince Henry died without offspring. His district has been divided into three parts; the seat of his sovereignty, Sandomierz, was granted to Boleslaus, the older brother. The same day and year, Mateusz,

Bishop of Kraków A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, also died.'' The other two parts were taken by the other surviving brothers:

Wiślica Wiślica is a town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Wiślica. It lies on the Nida River, approximately south of Busko-Zdrój and ...

, was given to Kazimiez II, and the rest to

Mieszko III the Old Mieszko III the Old (c. 1126/27 – 13 March 1202), of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death. He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesł ...

. His remains were probably buried in a crypt of a church in

, where his grave is marked by an ornamental tombstone donated by his younger brother Kazimierz II. Only in 1173, after the death of Bolesław, Kazimierz finally could take the title of Duke of Sandomierz.

References

*Balzer, O. Genealogia Piastów, Kraków, 1895. *Gładysz, M. Zapomniani krzyżowcy, Warszawa, 2006. *Guttner, D. "Henryk of Sandomierz." n:The Crusades: An Encyclopedia, Santa Barbara, 2006. *Jasiński, K. Rodowód pierwszych Piastów, Warszawa, 1992. *Mitkowski, J. "Henryk książę sandomierski." n:Polski Słownik Biograficzny, vol. 9, Wrocław, 1960-1961. * D. von Güttner-Sporzyński, ''Poland, Holy War, and the Piast Monarchy, 1100-1230'', Brepols, Turnhout, 2014.

External links

Receint Issues in Polish Historiography of the Crusades

The archetypal crusader: Henry of Sandomierz, the second youngest son of Bolesław III of Poland
{{Authority control 12th-century births 1166 deaths Dukes of Sandomierz Polish Roman Catholics 12th-century Roman Catholics Polish military personnel killed in action Christians of the Prussian Crusade 12th-century Polish people Monarchs killed in action