Stanisław of Masovia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Stanisław of Masovia (pl: ''Stanisław mazowiecki''; 17 May 1501 – 8 August 1524), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast in the Masovian branch. He was a Duke of Czersk,
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Liw,
Zakroczym Zakroczym (; yi, זאקראטשין ''Zakrotshin'') is a small town in the Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. It is located at around . The Vistula River flows through the town. Zakroczym has a long and rich history: in the Kingdom of Poland and the ...
and Nur during 1503-1524 (under regency until 1518) jointly with his brother. He was the eldest son of Konrad III the Red and his third wife
Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...
, a daughter of Mikolaj Radziwiłł ''the Old'', Voivod of Vilnius and the first Grand Chancellor of
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
.


Life

After the death of their father on 28 October 1503, Stanisław and his younger brother
Janusz III Janusz III of Masovia (pl: ''Janusz III mazowiecki''; ca. 27 September 1502 – 9/10 March 1526), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast in the Masovian branch. He was a Duke of Czersk, Warsaw, Liw, Zakroczym and Nur during 1503-152 ...
inherited his domains but, because they were minors, remained under the regency of their mother. Most of the Masovian inheritance (except Czersk, which had already been given to Konrad III as a hereditary fief in 1495) was seriously threatened by the Kingdom of Poland at the time of Konrad III's death, and was not secured in his sons' hands until 14 March 1504, when by a ruling of King Alexander, the young princes received their whole patrimony as a fief. Stanisław and his brother took the government in 1518, because of the constant riots of the local nobility. Despite this, Anna Radziwiłł retained the real power in Masovia until her death in 1522. In the same year when they attained their majority, both princes attended the wedding of King
Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...
to
Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...
in
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 ...
. In 1519, fulfilling their duties as Polish vassals, Stanisław and Janusz III intervened in the Polish-Teutonic War, sending auxiliary troops to the Polish King, and in the winter of 1519-1520 they personally captured several towns in
Masuria Masuria (, german: Masuren, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ'') is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the ...
. At the same time, Stanisław secretly entered into talks with the Teutonic Knights for a ceasefire, which finally took place in December 1520, a few months before a peace treaty ended the war between Poland and the Teutonic Order. In their private lives, both Stanisław and his brother were heavily inclined to drink and women; however, in order to continue his bloodline, in 1523 Stanisław started negotiations for marriage with Princess
Hedwig of Poland Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig ( hu, Hedvig), was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. She was the youngest daughter of Louis the Great, ...
, only surviving daughter of King Sigismund I and his first wife,
Barbara Zápolya Barbara Zápolya ( hu, Szapolyai Borbála, 1495–1515) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the first wife of King Sigismund I the Old from 1512 to 1515. Marriage to Barbara represented an alliance between Sigismund and the ...
. The wedding never took place; one year later, and likely as a result of his dissolute lifestyle, Stanisław died on 8 August 1524. He was buried at
St. John's Archcathedral, Warsaw St John's Archcathedral ( pl, Archikatedra św. Jana w Warszawie) is a Roman Catholic church within the Old Town precinct in Warsaw, Poland. The Brick Gothic structure stands on , adjacent to the Jesuit Church. St John's is one of three major ca ...
. The sudden death of Stanisław, and that two years later of his younger brother Janusz III, were considered suspicious at the time. The main suspect was a Płock lady called Katarzyna Radziejowska, who after being seduced and abandoned by both princes, was believed to have poisoned firstly Anna Radziwiłł, then Stanisław and finally Janusz III in revenge. Declared guilty, she and her supposed accomplice were ''tied naked to poles and beaten for hours, and finally burned alive''. The hurry where the sentence was carried raised even more suspicion that in fact the real instigator of the crimes was Queen Bona. The controversy was so intense that King Sigismund I, in order to clarify the matter once and for all, ordered an investigation, as a result of which a special edict was declared on 9 February 1528 which ruled that the princes "''weren't victims of a human hand, but was the will of the Almighty Lord that caused their deaths''". According to Jan Długosz, the real cause of the death of both princes could be an inherited disease of the Masovian princes:
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanislaus Of Masovia 1501 births 1524 deaths Piast dynasty People of the Polish–Teutonic War (1519–1521) 16th-century Polish nobility Burials at St. John's Archcathedral, Warsaw