Jarosław of Opole ( pl, Jarosław opolski ; aft. 1143 – 22 March 1201) was a Duke of

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

from 1173 and Bishop of Wrocław from 1198 until his death. He was the oldest son of Bolesław I the Tall, by his first wife Zvenislava, daughter of

Vsevolod II Olgovich Vsevolod II Olgovich (Cyrillic: Всеволод II Ольгович) (died August 1, 1146) was the Prince (Knyaz) of Chernigov (1127–1139) and Grand Prince of Kiev (Velikiy Knyaz), 1139–1146), son of Oleg Svyatoslavich, Prince of Chernigov. ...

, Grand Prince of

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

. His Russian name was given by his mother.

Life

It is unknown whether he was born already in Silesia or in exile, but he was brought up in Altenburg in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

and spent his childhood in the court of Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

. After the recovery of Silesia by his father and uncle

Mieszko I Tanglefoot Mieszko IV Tanglefoot ( pl, Mieszko IV Plątonogi) (c. 1130 – 16 May 1211) was Duke of Kraków and High Duke of Poland from 9 June 1210 until his death one year later. He was also Duke of Silesia from 1163 to 1173 (with his brother as co-ruler) ...

in 1163, he moved there with the rest of his family and was there when probably began his activity in politics. However, the second marriage of his father with the German lady Christina changed diametrally his situation. Jarosław's stepmother began to intrigue, and Bolesław the Tall increasingly began to favored his younger sons. Jarosław was forced into a religious career (in the 1160s or the 1170s) and his father decided to leave his inheritance to his sons from his second marriage. However, Jarosław wasn't content with being removed from power (because, as the firstborn son he should have inherited Bolesław the Tall's part of the

Duchy of Silesia The Duchy of Silesia ( pl, Księstwo śląskie, german: Herzogtum Schlesien, cs, Slezské knížectví) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval duchy located in the historic Silesian region of Poland. Soon after it was formed under the Pia ...

) and began to intrigue with his uncle Mieszko Tanglefoot. His opportunity to reassume his rights come over soon. As a result of civil war during 1172–1173 Bolesław the Tall was exiled in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

. Fortunately for him, Frederick Barbarossa decided to intervene, and through his mediation Bolesław could regain the power in Lower Silesia, but was forced to create the Duchies of

Racibórz Racibórz (german: Ratibor, cz, Ratiboř, szl, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being t ...

(to Mieszko) and

(to Jarosław). The next information founded to Jarosław was in the 1190s. In 1195 Jarosław supported his uncle

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 Bolesła ...

in the

Battle of Mozgawą Mieszko IV Tanglefoot ( pl, Mieszko IV Plątonogi) (c. 1130 – 16 May 1211) was Duke of Kraków and High Duke of Poland from 9 June 1210 until his death one year later. He was also Duke of Silesia from 1163 to 1173 (with his brother as co-ruler) ...

, there the Silesian troops (then unnecessary because Mieszko III fled the battle before they arrived) were defeated by the Sandomierz

Komes Komes (abbreviated K. before a surname), also żupan in Polish, a title developed from the Latin ''comes'' in medieval Poland and was used for dignitary in the period of the Holy Roman Empire for administrative and military district commanders. The ...

Goworek of Rawa. Three years later (1198) Jarosław accepted entirely with his religious condition and has been elected Bishop of

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 ...

. Since them, the Duke-Bishop reconciled with his father. A further sign of the reconciliation between father and son was that in that period the Silesian coins showed their names together. Jarosław died on 22 March 1201, few months before his father, who took the control over the Duchy of Opole. Ultimately, however, Opole was taken by Mieszko Tanglefoot at the beginning of the next year (1202), after a surprise attack to

Henry I the Bearded Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all Pol ...

, Bolesław the Tall's youngest son and successor. Jarosław was probably buried in Wroclaw.

References

*Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny, Cracow 1999, *
Chronological Dates in Stoyan
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaroslaw, Duke of Opole 12th-century births 1201 deaths 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland Dukes of Opole Bishops of Wrocław Polish expatriates in Germany People of Byzantine descent 13th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland