Konrad II the Hunchback ( pl, Konrad II Garbaty) (1252/65 – 11 October 1304) was Duke of
Ścinawa
Ścinawa (german: Steinau an der Oder, links=no) is a town and municipality on the Oder river in the Lower Silesian region of Poland. The Ścinawa train station is a key gateway for travel throughout the region, connecting major destinations su ...
from 1278 to 1284,
patriarch of Aquileia
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...
in 1299, and Duke of
Żagań
Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielon ...
from 1284 until his death.
Biography
He was the second son of
Konrad I, Duke of
Głogów
Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–1998) ...
by his first wife
Salome
Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...
, daughter of Duke
Władysław of
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 ...
. His nickname "Hunchback" (''Garbaty'') appears in contemporary chronicles probably due to his religious career.
Konrad II first appeared on the chronicles at the ceremony of the canonization of his paternal great-grandmother
Hedwig of Andechs
Hedwig of Silesia ( pl, Święta Jadwiga Śląska), also Hedwig of Andechs (german: Heilige Hedwig von Andechs, la, Hedvigis; 1174 – 15 October 1243), a member of the Bavarian comital House of Andechs, was Duchess of Silesia from 1201 and ...
in 1267. Ten years later he joined his elder brother
Henry III in the Battle of Stolec (24 April 1277) which culminated in a disastrous defeat.
Shortly after these events, Konrad was sent to
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
to study in order to take important ecclesiastical posts in the future. During his absence, Henry IV Probus ruled Ścinawa on his behalf. When Konrad II returned to his Duchy in 1280, the Duke of Wrocław refused to return control. It was not until years later when thanks to pressure from Bishop
Thomas II Zaremba
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
of Wrocław Henry IV finally recognized the sovereignty of Konrad II over Ścinawa.
Four years after Konrad I's death in 1278, the Duchy was divided between Konrad II and his brothers., with the former obtaining
Ścinawa
Ścinawa (german: Steinau an der Oder, links=no) is a town and municipality on the Oder river in the Lower Silesian region of Poland. The Ścinawa train station is a key gateway for travel throughout the region, connecting major destinations su ...
. However, in 1284, Konrad II assumed the rule over Żagań, while his younger brother
Przemko, then Duke of
Żagań
Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielon ...
, received Ścinawa. One possible reason for this switch was pressure from Duke
Henry IV Probus
Henryk IV Probus (Latin for ''the Righteous'') ( pl, Henryk IV Probus or ''Prawy''; german: Heinrich IV. der Gerechte) ( – 23 June 1290) was a member of the Silesian branch of the royal Polish Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wro ...
of
Wroclaw, who preferred to have the more trustful Przemko in the neighboring realm.
After returning to Silesia, Konrad II obtained his first church position. In 1281 he was appointed
Provost of
Lubusz
Lebus ( pl, Lubusz) is a historic town in the Märkisch-Oderland District of Brandenburg, Germany. It is the administrative seat of ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") Lebus. The town, located on the west bank of the Oder river at the border with ...
, and in 1287, with the help of Bishop Thomas II, he became in Provost of Wroclaw. In 1292 he was one of the candidates for the Bishopric of Wroclaw, but because of resistance from the Chapter, the choice fell on
Jan Romka
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Numbe ...
.
The relations of Konrad II with his brother Henry III were ambiguous. Initially, there were no frictions. Konrad II supported his brother in his aim to recover Ścinawa after the death of Przemko in the Battle of Siewierz (1289), but ultimately the land was annexed by Henry IV Probus; also, he supported Henry III in his talks with
Przemysł II
Przemysł II ( also given in English and Latin as ''Premyslas'' or ''Premislaus'' or in Polish as '; 14 October 1257 – 8 February 1296) was the Duke of Poznań from 1257–1279, of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, of Kraków from 1290 to 1291 ...
of Greater Poland and in his subsequent wars against
Henry V the Fat
Henry V the Fat (german: Heinrich V der Dicke, pl, Henryk V Brzuchaty) ( – 22 February 1296) was a Duke of Jawor (Jauer) from 1273, of Legnica (Liegnitz) from 1278, and Duke of Wrocław ( Breslau) from 1290.
He was the eldest son of Bo ...
. Their good relations were broken in 1296, when Konrad II, after knowing of the involvement of Henry III in Great Poland affairs, joined the military expedition against him led by
Bolko I the Strict
Bolko (Bolesław) I the Strict also known as the Raw or of Jawor ( pl, Bolko I Surowy or ''Srogi'' or ''Jaworski''; german: Bolko I. von Schweidnitz; 1252/56 – 9 November 1301), was a Duke of Lwówek (Löwenberg) 1278–81 (with his brother as co ...
; however, Bolko I made an agreement with Henry III in
Zwanowicach, by which was compelled to give up the towns of
Lubina
Lubina ( hu, Lobonya) is a village and municipality in Nové Mesto nad Váhom District in the Trenčín Region of western Slovakia.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1392.
Geography
The municipality lies at an al ...
and
Wińsko
Wińsko (german: Winzig) is a village (former town) in Wołów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Wińsko.
It lies approximately north of Wołów, and ...
to Konrad II.
On 5 March 1299, Konrad II received a great opportunity to be raised in his church career. Thanks to the intercession of his brother-in-law, Count
Albert I of Gorizia
Albert I ( – 1 April 1304), a member of the House of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner'' dynasty), ruled the counties of Gorizia (''Görz'') and Tyrol from 1258, jointly with his elder brother Meinhard IV. In 1271, the brothers divided their heritage ...
, he was chosen as the new
patriarch/lord of Aquileia. However, the Duke of Żagań never reached his new lands in
Friuli
Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia ...
; after having been stopped in the middle of the road in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
due to the lack of approval from
pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...
, he returned to his country.
Back to Żagań, Konrad II claimed the effective government of his lands, which had been taken by Henry III during his absence. The Duke of Głogów refused to give up the rule and decided to jail his brother. However, the knighthood of Żagań, Bolko I the Strict, and Bishop of Wrocław - who even declared the
excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
of Henry III and the
interdict
In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...
over Głogów - intervened in his favour. Finally, Konrad II regained his freedom and the government of his Duchy, but the relationship between the brothers remained very strained until Konrad II's death.
Konrad II died on 11 October 1304 and was buried in the Cistercian monastery in
Lubiąż
Lubiąż (; german: Leubus) is a village (former city) on the east bank of the Odra (Oder) River, in the administrative district of Gmina Wołów, within Wołów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately s ...
. Żagań was thenceforth acquired by Henry III.
Sources
*
*
External links
Konrad II Garbaty
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konrad 02 The Hunchback
13th-century births
1304 deaths
Dukes of Żagań