Jan III of Oświęcim ( pl, Jan III oświęcimski) (1366-1376 – by 19 August 1405) was a Duke of

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...

since 1376 until his death. He was the eldest child and only son of Duke Jan II of Oświęcim by his wife Hedwig, daughter of

Ludwik I the Fair Louis I the Fair, also known as the Wise or the Righteous ( pl, Ludwik I Sprawiedliwy, ''Roztropny'', or ''Prawy'') or Louis I of Brzeg (''Ludwik I brzeski''; – 6/23 December 1398), a member of the Silesian Piasts, was a Silesian duke of Legn ...

, Duke of

Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the ...

. Initially, historians thought that Dukes Jan II and Jan III are the same person, until the discovery of further sources who confirmed Jan III's existence.

Life

Little is known about Jan III's rule. It is possible that, like his grandfather Jan I the Scholastic, he was initially designed to the Church. This is confirmed by a document dated from 1379, where Jan III is called Scholastic of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

(although this could be a confusion with Jan I). Another proof of the presumed destination of Jan III to the spiritual career was the agreement in 1372, under which Jan II ensured the inheritance of Oświęcim to Przemysław I Noszak, Duke of

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitant ...

on his death. However, after Jan II's death in 1376, his son could succeed him, but under the guardianship of Przemysław I Noszak. This is confirmed by a document from 25 November 1377 in which the Duke of Cieszyn approves the Oświęcim succession. Despite his sujetion to the Duchy of Cieszyn, Jan III tried to hold an independent policy. In 1394 he married Hedwig (died aft. 13 May 1400), daughter of

Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his bro ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

and sister of King

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. w ...

of Poland, which enabled him to improve the relations between

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and his relative

Władysław Opolczyk Vladislaus II of Opole ( pl, Władysław Opolczyk, german: Wladislaus von Oppeln, hu, Oppelni László, uk, Владислав Опольчик; ca. 1332 – 18 May 1401), nicknamed Naderspan, was Duke of Opole from 1356, Count palatine of Hu ...

. In 1397, together with the other Silesian Dukes and the 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 ...

, Jan III signed in

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda (Kaczawa), Czarna Woda ...

an arrangement with the Polish King, to guarantee the common action against robbery. In 1399, Jan III tried to appease the anger of King Władysław II Jagiełło against the Bishop-Duke of Opole

Jan Kropidło Jan Kropidło (1360 or 1364 – 3 March 1421), was an ecclesiastic leader in Poland during the late Middle Ages. Jan was the eldest son of Duke Bolko III of Strzelce and his wife Anna. Jan was titled Duke of Strzelce (1382–96, with his broth ...

. In the internal politics, Jan III promoted and supported the development of the cities (granting privileges, among others, to the districts of

Kęty Kęty is a town in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland with 18,955 inhabitants (2012). The town located in Silesian Foothills dates its earliest document from 1277 when Polish prince of Opole Władysław confirmed sale of the ...

and Zator) and the Church (in particular, like his father and grandfather, to the Dominicans). The last document in which Jan III appears dated from 1402. However, the historians conclude that Jan III died around three years later. He was buried in the Dominican monastery in Oświęcim. On his death without issue, Oświęcim was annexed to the Duchy of

.''This article was translated from his original in Polish Wikipedia.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jan 03 Of Oswiecim 1366 births 1405 deaths Polish Roman Catholics Piast dynasty