Bolko III of Ziębice or Bolko III of Münsterberg ( – 13 June 1410) was a Duke of

Ziębice Ziębice () is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies on the Oława River, approximately east of Ząbkowice Śląskie and south of the regional capital Wrocław. It is the seat of t ...

(Münsterberg) from 1358 until his death, and ruler over

Gleiwitz Gliwice (; , ) 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 River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

(Gliwice) during 1369–1373. He was the eldest son of

Nicholas the Small Nicholas the Small (Mikołaj Mały) (1322/1327 – 23 April 1358) was a Duke of Ziębice from 1341 until his death. He was the only son of Duke Bolko II of Ziębice and his wife Guta. He was born between 1322 and 1327. He had a sister, Małgorzat ...

, Duke of Münsterberg, by his wife Agnes, daughter of Herman Krušina of Lichtenberg.

Life

A minor at the time of his father's early death in 1358, Bolko III and his younger brother

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

were placed under the regency of their mother, the Dowager Duchess Agnes. By 1360, Bolko III was able to rule by himself and take the guardianship of his brother, who in fact never participated actively in the government of the Duchy. Bolko III followed the politics of both his father and grandfather, and sold most parts of his domains. In order to secure his marriage with the daughter of Duke

Bolesław of Bytom Bolesław of Bytom (1330 – ) was a duke of Koźle from 1347 and Duke of Bytom from 1352 to his death. He was the second son of Duke Władysław of Bytom but the eldest by his second wife Ludgarda, daughter of Henry II the Lion, Prince of Meckl ...

, Euphemia, Bolko III was forced to pledge his main city of Münsterberg. However, thanks to this union, Bolko III could take possession over Gleiwitz in 1369; but four years later, in 1373, he sold the district to

Konrad II the Gray Konrad II the Gray () (c. 1340 – 10 June 1403) was a Duke of Oleśnica, Koźle and half of Bytom since 1366 and Duke of half of Ścinawa since 1397 until his death. He was the second child but only son of Duke Konrad I of Oleśnica by his sec ...

, Duke of Oels (Oleśnica). In 1379 Bolko III also sold the town of Kanth (Kąty Wrocławskie) to Konrad II the Gray, by the amount of 4,000 fines. Six years later, in 1385, he sold Strehlen (Strzelin) to

Przemyslaus I Noszak, Duke of Cieszyn Przemysław I Noszak (, , ; 13 February 1334 – 23 May 1410), was a Duke of Cieszyn-Bytom-Siewierz from 1358 (during 1359–1368 he lost Siewierz and in 1405 also lost Bytom), from 1384 ruler over half of both Głogów and Ścinawa (except during ...

. In 1368, after the death of Bolko II the Small without issue, Bolko III claimed his succession as the next male relative. However, without resources to pressed his claims, he finally renounced to all his pretensions on 28 January 1370 for a monetary compensation. Bolko III was a faithful vassal of

Emperor Charles IV Charles 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 Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...

, in whose court he spent some time. His contact with the House of Luxembourg permitted him to hold during 1396–1400 the post of Court Judge, under the reign of Charles IV's son,

King Wenceslaus IV Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; ; , nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he was deposed in 1400. As he ...

. Bolko III died on 13 June 1410 and was buried in the ( Henryków).

Marriage and issue

In 1369 Bolko III married with Euphemia (born c. 1350/52 – died 26 August 1411), daughter of Duke

and widow of Duke Wenceslaus of Falkenberg. They had eight children: #Nicholas (born c. 1371 – died 9 November 1405) #

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(born c. 1380 – killed in battle, Altwilmsdorf (Stary Wielisław), 27 August 1428) #

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 ...

(born c. 1385 – died 17 November 1447), married in 1397 to Count Frederick III of Oettingen #Katharina (born c. 1390 – died 23 April 1422), married by 1410 to Duke Przemko I of

Troppau 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 is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Silesia. Administr ...

(Opawa) #

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

(born c. 1396 – died 11 March 1420) #Agnes (born c. 1400? – died bef. 25 April 1443) #Hedwig (d. young) #Elisabeth (d. young).

References

*
Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolko 03 of Munsterberg 1340s births 1410 deaths Piast dynasty