Jarosław of Opole (; aft. 1143 – 22 March 1201) was a Duke of

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

from 1173 and Bishop of Wrocław from 1198 until his death. He was the oldest son of

Bolesław I the Tall Bolesław I the Tall (; 1127 – 7 or 8 December 1201) was Duke of Wrocław from 1163 until his death in 1201. Early years Boleslaw was the eldest son of Władysław II the Exile by his wife Agnes of Babenberg, daughter of Margrave Leopold II ...

, by his first wife Zvenislava, daughter of Vsevolod II Olgovich, Grand Prince of

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. His Russian name was given by his mother.

Life

It is unknown whether he was born already in Silesia or in exile, but he was brought up in

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and spent his childhood in the court of Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

. After the recovery of Silesia by his father and uncle Mieszko I Tanglefoot in 1163, he moved there with the rest of his family and was there when probably began his activity in politics. However, the second marriage of his father to the German lady Christina changed diametrally his situation. Jarosław's stepmother began to intrigue her, and Bolesław the Tall increasingly began to favour his younger sons. Jarosław was forced into a religious career (in the 1160s or the 1170s) and his father decided to leave his inheritance to his sons from his second marriage. However, Jarosław wasn't content with being removed from power (because, as the firstborn son he should have inherited Bolesław the Tall's part of the

Duchy of Silesia The Duchy of Silesia (, ) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval provincial duchy of Poland located in the region of Silesia. Soon after it was formed under the Piast dynasty in 1138, it fragmented into various Silesian duchies. In 1327, t ...

) and began to intrigue his uncle Mieszko Tanglefoot. His opportunity to reassume his rights comes over soon. As a result of the civil war during 1172–1173, Bolesław the Tall was exiled to

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

. Fortunately for him, Frederick Barbarossa decided to intervene, and through his mediation Bolesław could regain the power in Lower Silesia, but was forced to create the Duchies of

Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...

(to Mieszko) and

(to Jarosław). The next information found in Jarosław was in the 1190s. In 1195 Jarosław supported his uncle

Mieszko III the Old Mieszko III ( 1122/25 – 13 March 1202), sometimes called the Old, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death. He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław III W ...

in the Battle of Mozgawą, there the Silesian troops (then unnecessary because Mieszko III fled the battle before they arrived) were defeated by the Sandomierz Komes Goworek of Rawa. Three years later (1198) Jarosław accepted entirely his religious condition and has been elected 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 ...

. Since then, the Duke-Bishop reconciled with his father. A further sign of the reconciliation between father and son was that in that period the Silesian coins showed their names together. Jarosław died on 22 March 1201, a few months before his father, who took control of the Duchy of Opole. Ultimately, however, Opole was taken by Mieszko Tanglefoot at the beginning of the next year (1202), after a surprise attack on Henry I the Bearded, Bolesław the Tall's youngest son and successor. Jarosław was probably buried in Wroclaw.

References

*Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny, Cracow 1999,
Chronological Dates in Stoyan
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaroslaw, Duke of Opole 12th-century births 1201 deaths 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland Dukes of Opole Bishops of Wrocław Polish expatriates in Germany People of Byzantine descent 13th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland