Leszek of Racibórz ( 1292 – 1336) was a Duke of

Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) 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 the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...

since 1306 and Duke of Koźle from 1334 until his death. He was the eldest child and only son of Duke

Przemysław of Racibórz Przemysław of Racibórz () (between 21 October 1258 and 12 June 1268 – 7 May 1306) was a Duke of Racibórz since 1282 until his death (until 1290 with his brother as co-ruler). He was the fourth son of Władysław, Duke of Opole- Racibórz, ...

by his wife

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

, daughter of Duke

Konrad II of Masovia Konrad II of Czersk (pl: ''Konrad II czerski''; c. 1250 – 24 June/21 October 1294 assumed that both dates are equally likely), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast, Duke of Masovia during 1264-1275 jointly with his brother, after 127 ...

Life

After his father's death in 1306, Leszek succeeded him in the Duchy of

; but, because he was underage at that, he was placed under the regency of his uncle

Mieszko I, Duke of Cieszyn Mieszko I of Cieszyn (, , ; also known as Mieszko I of Opole; 1252/56 – by 27 June 1315), was a Duke of Racibórz during 1282–1290 (with his brother as co-ruler) and the first Duke of Cieszyn since 1290 until his death. He was the oldest son ...

until 1308. During this time the Dominican Order was confirmed with the authorization to complete the construction of a monastery in Wodzisław, an event who was celebrate by the Chapter with prayers on behalf of the Duke of Racibórz for all the facilities that he give to the Dominicans. On 19 February 1327, together with other Silesian rulers, Leszek paid homage to King

John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...

Opava Opava (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Opava (river), Opava River. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Sile ...

. In 1332, Leszek married with Agnes (ca. 1321 – 7 July 1362), daughter of Duke Henry IV of Głogów-Żagań. The union proved to be childless. On 21 February 1334 Leszek increased his domains with the acquisition of the Duchy of Koźle by the amount of 4,000 pieces of silver from his cousin Duke

Władysław of Bytom Władysław of Bytom (1277/83 – around 8 September 1352), was a Duke of Koźle during 1303-1334, Duke of Bytom from 1316, Duke of Toszek from 1329 and Duke of Siewierz during 1328–1337. He was the second son of Duke Casimir of Bytom by his w ...

, with the compromise that, in the event of his death without issue, Koźle return to the Duchy of Bytom. Leszek died in 1336 and was buried in the Dominican monastery of Racibórz. After his death, as a result of the arbitrary decision of King John of Bohemia (and despite the strong resistance of the other Piast rulers in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

who were their closest male relatives), the Duchy of Racibórz was given to Duke

Nicholas II, Duke of Opava Nicholas II of Opava (also: ''Nicholas II of Troppau'', ''Nicholas II of Ratibór''; ; 1288 – 8 December 1365) was Duke of Opava () from 1318 to 1365 and Duke of Ratibór from 1337 to 1365 and Burgrave of Kladsko () from 1350 to 1365 and als ...

, who claimed the rights of his wife

, Leszek's oldest sister. Koźle returned to Duke Władysław of Bytom after the payment of a monetary compensation to

Euphemia Euphemia (; 'well-spoken f), known as Euphemia the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a virgin martyr, who died for her faith at Chalcedon in 303 AD. According to tradition, Euphemia was martyred for refusing to offer sacrifices t ...

, Leszek's youngest sister.

References

*
Chronological Dates in Stoyan
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Leszek of Raciborz 1290s births 1336 deaths Piast dynasty