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

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

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 (, ''Roztropny'', or ''Prawy'') or Louis I of Brzeg (''Ludwik I brzeski''; – 6/23 December 1398) was Duke of Legnica from 1342 to 1346 (jointly with his elder brother Wenceslaus I unt ...

, 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 t ...

. 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 , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

(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 ( , ; ; ) 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 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...

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 (; , ; – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the pre ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

and sister of King

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...

of Poland, which enabled him to improve the relations between

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and his relative

Władysław Opolczyk Vladislaus II of Opole (, , , ; ca. 1332 – 18 May 1401), nicknamed Naderspan, was Duke of Opole from 1356, Count palatine of Hungary (1367–1372), Duke of Wieluń (1370–1392), Governor of Ruthenia (1372–1378), Count palatine of Poland ...

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

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Jan III signed in

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

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. 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 se ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jan 03 Of Oswiecim 14th-century births 1405 deaths Polish Roman Catholics Piast dynasty