Rudolf of Żagań () (ca. 1418 – 18 September 1454) was a Duke of

Żagań Żagań (French language, French and , ) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019), capital of Żagań County in the Lubusz Voivodeship, located in the historic region of Lower Silesia. Founded in the 12th ce ...

- Przewóz since 1439 (with his brothers as co-rulers until 1449), from 1449 Duke of Żagań (as co-ruler of his older brother). He was the second son of Duke

Jan I of Żagań Jan I of Żagań () ( – 12 April 1439) was a duke of Żagań-Głogów from 1397 (until 1412 with his brothers as co-rulers), from 1403 Duke of Żagań, Krosno Odrzańskie and Świebodzin (again, until 1412 with his brothers as co-rulers) and fro ...

by his wife Scholastika, daughter of Rudolf III, Duke of Saxe-Wittemberg and Elector of Saxony. He was named after his maternal grandfather. Rudolf was born between 1411 and 1418.

Life

At the time of his father's death (1439), Rudolf inherited the Duchy of Żagań-Przewóz jointly with his older brother Balthasar and his younger brothers

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Slavic names#In Slovakia and Czech_Republic, Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are , , , , , , among others. It origina ...

and

Jan II the Mad Jan II the Mad also known as the Bad, the Wild or the Cruel (16 April 1435 – 22 September 1504), was a Duke of Żagań- Przewóz since 1439 (with his brothers as co-rulers until 1449), from 1449 Duke of Przewóz (as co-ruler of his younger brot ...

. In 1449 the Duchy was divided in two parts:

and Przewóz. Rudolf and Balthasar received Żagań as co-rulers while Przewóz was given to Jan II and Wenceslaus also as co-rulers. In 1450 Rudolf went along with his older brother on a pilgrimage to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Here, he vowed to fight for the Christian faith, evidencing his strong religious beliefs. This is also confirmed by the written sources, specifically in the "Chronicle Żagań Abbots" (''Kronika opatów żagańskich''), where he is defined as a pious man. In 1454 he participated in the Thirteen Years' War at the side of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

. With approximately 1,900 soldiers and horses he went to

Świdwin Świdwin (; ) is a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship of northwestern Poland. It is the capital of Świdwin County, and the administrative seat - though not part - of the Gmina Świdwin. Świdwin is situated in the historic Pomerania region on t ...

. He wasn't the only Silesian ruler fighting on the Teutonic side. Together with the Bohemian leader Bernard Szumborski (''Bernhard von Zinneberg'') he fought in the Battle of Chojnice, where the Poles suffered a complete defeat. In the battle almost 3,000 Polish were killed, and about 300 knights were captured. Rudolf didn't survive the battle: he died on 17 September 1454 in his initial phase, facing the charge of the strong Polish cavalry. It is unknown where he was buried. After his death without issue (he never married), his older brother Balthasar assumed the full sovereignty over Żagań. This unilateral decision left their younger brother Jan II bitterly disappointed and caused later his further revolts against Balthasar.

Footnotes

References

* *''This article was translated from his original in Polish Wikipedia.'' , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolf of Zagan 1410s births 1454 deaths Dukes of Żagań