Jan of Cieszyn ( pl, Jan cieszyński; 1339/40 – after 18 May 1359), was a Polish prince, member of 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 ...

in the Cieszyn branch. He was the fourth son of

Casimir I, Duke of Cieszyn Casimir I of Cieszyn ( pl, Kazimierz I cieszyński, cs, Kazimír I. Těšínský, german: Kasimir I. von Teschen; 1280/90 – ), was Duke of Cieszyn from 1315, Duke of Siewierz from 1337 and Duke of Bytom from 1357. He was the second son of Mies ...

, by his wife Euphemia, daughter of Duke Trojden I of

Czersk Czersk (; ; formerly german: Czersk, (1942-5): ) is a town in northern Poland in Chojnice County, Pomeranian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 9,844. Today the center of the city of Czersk in is the Village Square. ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Life

Like most of Casimir I's children, Jan was destined to the cleric since his early years, together with two of his sisters (Jolanta Helena and Elisabeth), and two of his brothers ( Bolesław and

Siemowit Siemowit (Polish pronunciation: �ɛˈmɔvit also Ziemowit �ɛˈmɔvit was, according to the chronicles of Gallus Anonymus, the son of Piast the Wheelwright and Rzepicha. He is considered to be the first ruler of the Piast dynasty.K. Jasiński, Ro ...

). The main reason for why Casimir I put three of his five sons to follow a church career was to prevent further division of the already small Duchy of Cieszyn between them after his death. In addition, the Duke of Cieszyn, as a loyal vassal of the Bohemian Kings, hoped to obtain the help of them in obtaining high ecclesiastical dignities for his sons. Jan is mentioned in a Papal document of 18 May 1359 issued in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

. There is appointed as reverend of twenty Wrocław dioceses. Sources are silent about him after this, so is supposed that soon after he died prematurely. Some historians exposed the possibility that Jan had died before the issue of the Papal decree and the notice of his death not yet reached to Avignon. Jan's place of burial is unknown.

Ancestry

References

*''This article was translated from his original in Polish Wikipedia.''
Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
*{{Better source, date=August 2012

14th-century births 1359 deaths Piast dynasty