Wenceslaus II, Duke of Opava-Ratibor (also known as ''Wenceslaus I of Ratibor and Krnov''; ; – 29 October 1456) was a member of the Opavian branch of the

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemysl (, , ) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–1306), as well as in parts of Poland (including Silesia ...

. He was Duke of Ratibor and Kronov jointly with his brother

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 afte ...

from 1424 to 1437 and the sole Duke of Ratibor from 1437 until his death.

Life

His parents were John II "the Iron" and his wife Helen of Lithuania, a niece of King Jogaila of Poland. Wenceslaus fought together with his father and other Silesian princes on the Polish side against the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in the

Hunger War The Hunger War (, ) or Famine War was a brief conflict between the allied Kingdom of Poland, and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, against the Teutonic Knights in summer 1414 in an attempt to resolve territorial disputes. The war earned its name from d ...

in 1414. Although Wenceslaus and his older brother Nicholas V were probably already adults when their father died in 1424, their mother, Helen of Lithuania, acted as regent until 1428. From 1428 to 1449, she styled herself as ''Lady of Pleß''; presumably Pleß was her ''

Wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

''. From 1428 to 1437, Wenceslaus and Nicholas V ruled their territory jointly. In 1437, it was divided, with Wenceslaus taking Ratibor and Nicholas taking

Duchy of Krnov The Duchy of Krnov (, , ) or Duchy of Jägerndorf () was one of the Duchies of Silesia, which in 1377 emerged from the Duchy of Troppau (Opava), itself a fief of the Bohemian Crown. Its capital was at Krnov in the present-day Czech Republic. H ...

Bruntál Bruntál (; ) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; ) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 mi) from the Czech Republic, Czech border. It i ...

, Pleß and Baborów. In late 1437, a majority of the Bohemian Estates elected Albert II from the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

as the new King of Bohemia. A minority favoured his eleven-year-old rival

Casimir Casimir is a Latin version of the Polish male name Kazimierz (). The original Polish feminine form is Kazimiera, in Latin and other languages rendered as Casimira. It has two possible meanings: "preacher of peace" or alternatively "destroyer of p ...

, the son of King Jogaila of Poland. In 1438, Poland invaded Silesia and devastated the Duchies of Opole and Ratibor. After this, Duke Wenceslaus of Ratibor, as well as Duke

Wenceslaus I of Zator Wenceslaus I of Zator (; – before 29 July 1468), was a Duke of Oświęcim during 1434–1445 (with his brothers as co-rulers) and Duke of Zator from 1445 until his death. He was the eldest son of Duke Casimir I of Oświęcim by his first wife ...

and his brothers Duke

Przemysław of Toszek Przemysław of Toszek () (1425 – December 1484) was a Duke of Oświęcim during 1434–1445 (with his brothers as co-rulers) and Duke of Toszek since 1445 until his death. He was the second son of Duke Casimir I of Oświęcim by his first wife ...

and Duke

Jan IV of Oświęcim Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Nu ...

, were willing to accept Casimir as King, under certain conditions. Nevertheless, all Silesian Dukes paid homage to Albert II in

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 ...

in November 1438.Rudolf Žáček: ''Dějiny Slezska v datech'', p. 104. After Nicholas V died in 1452, Wenceslaus took up the guardianship over his underage sons John IV "the Elder" and Wenceslaus III, jointly with their step-mother, Barbara Rockenberg, until 1464. From 1452 to 1462, she styled herself ''Lady of Pleß''; presumably Pleß was her ''

''. Duke Wenceslaus of Ratibor died in 1456 and was buried in the church of the Dominican monastery at Ratibor.

Marriage and issue

In 1437, Wencelsaus married Margaret (d. 1464), a daughter of Vincent of Szamotuły,

Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of Międzyrzecz and widow of

Casimir II of Belz Casimir II of Belz (; or 1403 – 15 September 1442), was a Polish prince and member of the Masovian branch of the House of Piast. He was the duke of Płock, Rawa Mazowiecka, Gostynin, Sochaczew, Belz, Płońsk, Zawkrze and Wizna. From 1426 to ...

. They had the following children: # John III "the Younger" (d. 1493), married to Magdalena (d. 1501), daughter of Duke Nicholas I of Opole # Catherine (d. 1480), married Władisław of Danaborz (d. 1467) # Helena (d. 1480), married John of Ostroróg (d. 1501),

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

# Anna (d. 1480)

References

* Ludwig Petry and

Josef Joachim Menzel Josef Joachim Menzel (born 19 June 1933 in Miłowice, Opole Voivodeship, died 29 August 2020 in Mainz) was a German historian. He was born on June 19, 1933, in Mühlsdorf near Neustadt, Germany (nowadays Miłowice, Opole Voivodeship, Poland). Aft ...

(eds.): ''Geschichte Schlesiens'' vol. 1: ''Von der Urzeit bis zum Jahre 1526'', 5th revised edition, Thorbecke, Stuttgart, 1988, , pp. 188, 191, 201 ff and 218 * Hugo Weczerka (ed.): ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten — Schlesien'', in the series ''Kröners Taschenausgabe'', vol. 316, Kröner, Stuttgart 1977, , genealogical tables at p. 600/601

External links

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenceslaus 02 Duke of Opava-Ratibor Opavian Přemyslids 1400s births 1456 deaths 15th-century Polish people