The Treaty of Namslau or Namysłów, also known as the Peace of Namslau/Namysłów, was a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

between King

Charles IV of Bohemia Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

and King

Casimir III of Poland Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He wa ...

. It was signed at

Namysłów Namysłów (pronounced , german: Namslau) is a historic town in southern Poland, within Opole Voivodeship. Located along the Widawa River, it is the capital of Namysłów County. Its population was 16,551 in 2019. History The town began to dev ...

(german: Namslau) in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, on 22 November 1348 after the Polish-Bohemian War of 1345–1348. Since the restoration of a Polish kingdom under Przemysł II in 1295, the Crown had again disputed sovereignty over the many

Duchies of Silesia The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the King ...

with the neighbouring

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

. As King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia had been crowned Polish king in 1300, his successors from the House of Luxembourg, Bohemian rulers since 1310, also claimed the Polish Crown as their heritage. They took advantage of the tensions within 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 ...

and the fragmentation of the former

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 ...

north of the Bohemian borders. By promises as well as by pressure, with the exception of Duke

Bolko II the Small Bolko II the Small (c. 1312 – 28 July 1368), was the last independent Duke of the Piast dynasty in Silesia. He was Duke of Świdnica from 1326, Duke of Jawor and Lwówek from 1346, Duke of Lusatia from 1364, Duke over half of Brzeg and Oława ...

, an increasing number of the Silesian Piasts had recognized the sovereignty of Charles' father and predecessor, King

John the Blind John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...

, from 1327–35. When King Casimir III succeeded his father Władysław I the Elbow-high in 1333, he found the Polish borders threatened not only by the Bohemian kingdom, but also by the

Margraves of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the Hol ...

, who had extended their territory further eastwards into the ''

Neumark The Neumark (), also known as the New March ( pl, Nowa Marchia) or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945. Calle ...

'' region, and foremost by the State of the Teutonic Order, whose plans for expansion had sparked the

Polish–Teutonic War (1326–1332) The Polish–Teutonic War (1326–1332)Various sources differ, giving either 1326 or 1327 as the starting date of this conflict was the war between the Kingdom of Poland and the State of the Teutonic Order over Pomerelia, fought from 1326 to 13 ...

over

Pomerelia Pomerelia,, la, Pomerellia, Pomerania, pl, Pomerelia (rarely used) also known as Eastern Pomerania,, csb, Pòrénkòwô Pòmòrskô Vistula Pomerania, prior to World War II also known as Polish Pomerania, is a historical sub-region of Pome ...

, Kuyavia and the

Dobrzyń Land Dobrzyń Land ( pl, ziemia dobrzyńska) is a historical region in central-northern Poland. It lies northeast of the Vistula River, south of the Drwęca, and west of the Skrwa. The territory approximately corresponds with the present-day powiats ...

. In view of the hostile superiority, the Polish king sought for peaceful conflict resolutions: he concluded the

Treaty of Trentschin The Treaty of Trentschin was concluded on 24 August 1335 between King Casimir III of Poland and King John of Bohemia as well as his son Margrave Charles IV. The agreement was reached by the agency of Casimir's brother-in-law King Charles I of Hu ...

in 1335, renouncing the suzerainty over Silesia, and in 1343 signed the Treaty of Kalisz with the Teutonic Order, which sealed the loss of Pomerelia. After tensions had settled, Casimir acted cleverly in the rising conflict between the Luxembourgs and the Imperial

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

around the heritage of Countess

Margaret of Tyrol Margaret, nicknamed ''Margarete Maultasch'' (1318 – 3 October 1369), was the last Countess of Tyrol from the House of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner''), and an unsuccessful claimant to the Duchy of Carinthia. Upon her death, Tyrol became united with the ...

. He was able to convert Emperor Louis IV to his column and occupied several Silesian territories south of the Polish border, including the castle of Namysłów. However, the Luxembourgs gained the upper hand, when King John's son Charles IV was elected

King of the Romans King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German k ...

in 1346. Casimir III had to sign the peace treaty at Namysłów, which affirmed the previous Treaty of Trentschin ratified at Cracow (1339) and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

(1341). In the Namslau treaty, Casimir again renounced all Polish claims on Silesia, in return for Charles waiving all Bohemian claims on the Polish throne. After the 1368 death of Duke Bolko II, all of Silesia passed to the

Lands of the Bohemian Crown The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of B ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Namslau, Treaty of 1348 in Europe

Treaty of Namslau A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

Peace treaties of Poland 1340s treaties Treaties of the Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)

See also

References