Nicholas II of Niemodlin
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Nicholas II of Niemodlin ( pl, Mikołaj II Niemodliński; – 27 June 1497), was a Duke of Opole-
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 t ...
- Strzelce-
Niemodlin Niemodlin (; german: Falkenberg O.S., Falkenberg Oberschlesien; szl, Ńymodlin) is a town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,315 inhabitants (2019). History The community was first mentioned as ''Nemodlin'' in a 1224 deed and r ...
in 1476 (as co-ruler of his father) and sole Duke of Niemodlin from 1476 until his death. He was the third son of Duke
Nicholas I of Opole Nicholas I of Opole ( pl, Mikołaj I; – 3 July 1476) was a duke of Opole since 1437 (until 1439 with his brother as co-ruler), Duke of Brzeg from 1450, ruler over Kluczbork from 1451 and Duke of Strzelce, Niemodlin and Olesno from 1460. He was ...
by his wife Agnes, daughter of Duke Louis II of Brzeg.


Life

After his father's death in 1476, Nicholas II inherited Opole, Brzeg, Strzelce and Niemodlin together with his older brothers
Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...
and
Jan II the Good Jan II of Opole ( pl, Jan II Dobry) ( – 27 March 1532) was a Duke of Opole-Brzeg (until 1481)- Strzelce-Niemodlin in 1476 (with his brothers as co-rulers during 1476), ruler over Gliwice (in 1494), Toszek (in 1495), Niemodlin (again, in 1497), By ...
as co-rulers. However, soon Louis died and Nicholas II maintained the co-government with Jan II. It is unknown the exact date of the division of the duchy between the surviving brothers, and even if this division really existed; however indirect sources inferred that Nicholas II became in the independent ruler of Niemodlin shortly after Louis's death, maybe only as a formal rule. In any case, most of the inheritance (included Opole) was retained by Jan II. The now Duke of Niemodlin supported his brother in his politics: in 1477 the brothers bought
Prudnik Prudnik (, szl, Prudnik, Prōmnik, german: Neustadt in Oberschlesien, Neustadt an der Prudnik, la, Prudnicium) is a town in southern Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship near the border with the Czech Republic. It is the ...
to Duke Konrad X of Oleśnica, in 1494 they acquired
Gliwice Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capi ...
and in 1495
Toszek Toszek (german: Tost) is a small town in southern Poland. It is situated within Gliwice County in the Silesian Voivodeship (province), and its population was estimated at 3,600 inhabitants in 2019. History The beginning of the settlement and fo ...
. The only territorial loss was in 1481, when Duke
Frederick I of Legnica Frederick I of Liegnitz (3 May 1446 – 9 May 1488), was a Duke of Chojnów and Strzelin from 1453, of Oława and Legnica from 1454, of Brzeg from 1481 and of Lubin from 1482. Biography Frederick was born in Brzeg. He was the only son of Jan I o ...
purchased
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 t ...
(pledged by his father in 1450) by the amounts of 8,500 fines and 1,500 ducats. In foreign politics, Nicholas II sought to strike a balance between the powerful
King of Hungary The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 175 ...
Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...
and competitor and eventual co-ruler in the
Bohemian Kingdom 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 ...
, Władysław II Jagiellon. Ultimately, however, aggressive politics towards the Hungarian ruler in favor of the Polish candidate resulted in his imprisonment in 1487 in
Koźle Koźle (german: Cosel) is a district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle (since 1975), Poland and is at the junction of the Kłodnica and Oder rivers, km southeast of Opole. The district has a Roman Catholic church, a medieval chateau, remains of a 19th-cent ...
. Nicholas II regained his freedom only after the payment of 15,000 Hungarian złoty as a ransom. Despite the participation of the Dukes of Opole in the
Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...
reunited in
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
later in that year, the relations with the Hungarian Kingdom remained tense until the death of Matthias Corvinus in 1490.


Death

In June 1497, in order to end the disputes between the Duchies of Opole and Cieszyn, a meeting was arranged in
Nysa Nysa may refer to: Greek Mythology * Nysa (mythology) or Nyseion, the mountainous region or mount (various traditional locations), where nymphs raised the young god Dionysus * Nysiads, nymphs of Mount Nysa who cared for and taught the infant ...
. The issue of the Turkish threat to Hungary was also to be discussed. The gathering was attended by Nicholas II, Duke Casimir II of Cieszyn, Wiktoryn of Poděbrady and his brother Henry I, Duke of Ziębice and the Bishop of Wrocław,
Jan IV Roth Johann Roth ( pl, Jan Roth; 30 November 1426 – 21 January 1506) was Bishop of Lavant from 1468 to 1482 and Prince-Bishop of Wrocław (Breslau) from 1482 until his death. He was known as a brilliant speaker, humanist and supporter of the arts ...
, among others. On 26 June, Nicholas II tried to stab both Duke Casimir II and Bishop Jan IV Roth. The reason for his act is unknown, although some sources believed that Nicholas feared of the growing importance of Duke Casimir II. With the help of servants and nobles, the attack was defeated. Nicholas II tried to avoid the responsibility of the Town Hall and found refuge in the nearby church of St. Jakob, where he asked for sanctuary. He was nevertheless taken by force from the altar and put in a dungeon. The nobles reunited (who included the victims of the Duke of Niemodlin) and long wondered what to do with the prisoner. Eventually, they decided to apply the common law of Nysa, although the Duke of Niemodlin was a royal prince. His attempts to obtain his freedom (which included an offer to pay the huge sum of 100,000 Hungarian złoty) produced no results, thanks to the clear opposition of the Duke of Cieszyn (at that time also Starost General of Silesia). Rather, the Duke successfully sought a death sentence for Nicholas. The trial was performed entirely in the German language, which Nicholas II apparently did not understand (there is some evidence that he and his brother Jan II only knew the Polish and Czech languages). The Duke of Niemodlin was only allowed to write a letter to his brother, in which he left him all his domains. The court ruled that the sentence would take place almost immediately, in order to avoid a negative reaction from the Opole citizens and the Duke's brother. Nicholas II was beheaded by sword in the Nysa market on 27 June 1497. According to the tradition, his last words were: "''Nysa! Nysa! You punish me because my ancestors had given you to the Church, and now you force me to pay the price?''".


Legacy

Nicholas II never married nor did he have children. According to his last wish, he was buried in the
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
church in Opole. On his tombstone was written the epitaph, "Here lies who fell for his true principles and give courageously his neck under the sword". At the news of the execution of his brother, Jan II started to gather an army and prepared for a brutal retaliatory expedition against the Duchy of Cieszyn; however, the war ultimately did not occur as a result of the diplomatic moves of King Władysław II Jagiellon, saving Silesia from the civil war.


References

*
Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan


Further reading

* Piotrowicz K.: Tragiczny zgon Mikołaja II, księcia opolskiego. Katowice 1938. , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas 02 of Niemodlin 1460s births 1497 deaths Piast dynasty Executed monarchs Dukes of Opole