Ancestral Trails 2016 » Przemysl II of POLAND (1257-1296)

Personal data Przemysl II of POLAND 

• He was born on October 14, 1257 in Poznan, Lubelskie, Poland.
• He died on February 8, 1296, he was 38 years old.
• A child of Przemysl I of POLAND and Elizabeth von WROCLAW

Household of Przemysl II of POLAND

(1) He is married to Richeza of SWEDEN.

They got married on October 11, 1285 at Nyköping, Södermanland, Sweden, he was 27 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Richeza Elizabeth of POLAND  1288-1335 

(2) He is married to Ludgarda von MECKLENBURG.

They got married in the year 1273 at Stettin, Szczecin, Pomerania, Poland, he was 15 years old.

(3) He is married to Margaret von BRANDENBURG-SALZWEDEL.

They got married before April 13, 1293 at Gniezno, Wielkopolskie, Poland.

Notes about Przemysl II of POLAND

Przemysł II also given in English and Latin as Premyslas or Premislaus or less properly Przemysław; 14 October 1257 - 8 February 1296, was the Duke of Poznań from 1257-1279, of Greater Poland from 1279-1296, of Kraków from 1290-1291, and Gdańsk Pomerania (Pomerelia) from 1294-1296, and then King of Poland from 1295 until his death. After a long period of Polish High Dukes and two nominal kings, he was the first to obtain the hereditary title of King, and thus to return Poland to the rank of Kingdom.

A member of the Greater Poland branch of the House of Piast as the only son of Duke Przemysł I and the Silesian princess Elisabeth, he was born posthumously; for this reason he was brought up at the court of his uncle Bolesław the Pious and received his own district to rule, the Duchy of Poznań in 1273. Six years later, after the death of his uncle, he also obtained the Duchy of Kalisz.

In the first period of his government, Przemysł II was involved only in regional affairs, first in close collaboration and then competing with the Duke of Wrocław, Henryk IV Probus. This policy caused the rebellion of the prominent Zaremba family and the temporary loss of Wieluń.

Working with the Archbishop of Gniezno, Jakub Świnka, he sought the unification of the principalities of the Piast dynasty. Unexpectedly, in 1290, under the will of Henryk IV Probus, he managed to obtain the Duchy of Kraków and with this the title of High Duke of Poland; however, not having sufficient support from the local nobility (who supported another member of the Piast dynasty, Władysław I the Elbow-high) and faced with the increasing threats of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, Przemysł II finally decided to retreat from Lesser Poland, which was then under the rule of Přemyslid dynasty.

In 1293, thanks to the mediation of Archbishop Jakub Świnka, he joined into a close alliance with the Kuyavian princes Władysław the Elbow-high and Casimir II of Łęczyca. This alliance was anti-Bohemian, and his goal was to recover Kraków, then in the hands of King Wenceslaus II.

After the death of Duke Mestwin II in 1294, and according to the Treaty of Kępno signed in 1282, Przemysł II inherited Pomerelia. This strengthened his position and enabled his coronation as King of Poland. The ceremony was held on 26 June 1295 in Gniezno, and was performed by his ally Archbishop Jakub Świnka.

Only nine months later, on 8 February 1296, Przemysł II was murdered during a failed kidnapping attempt made by men of the Margraves of Brandenburg, with some help from the Polish noble families of Nałęcz and Zaremba.

Przemysł II was born on 14 October 1257 in Poznań as the fifth child and only son of Duke Przemysł I of Greater Poland and his wife Elisabeth, daughter of Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia. It is known that he was born in the morning, because according to the Chronicle of Greater Poland, when Dowager Duchess Elisabeth gave birth to a son, the vicars and canons of the city were singing morning prayers. At the news of the birth, the local clergy chanted the Te Deum laudamus. Shortly after his birth, the prince was baptized by the Bishop of Poznań, Bogufał III.

At the time of his birth, Przemysł II was the nominal ruler of the Duchy of Poznań. The guardianship of the Duchy, probably alongside with his mother Elisabeth, was taken by his uncle Duke Bolesław the Pious and his wife, the Hungarian princess Jolenta (Helena). In consequence the prince remained at the court in Poznań, where his mother raised him. On 16 January 1265 Dowager Duchess Elisabeth died at her estate in Modrze, and the orphaned Przemysł together with his sisters were later cared for by their uncle and aunt.

In 1272, his uncle Duke Bolesław the Pious appointed him the nominal commander of an armed expedition against Brandenburg. The true commanders of the expedition were the Governor of Poznań, Przedpełk and the Castellan of Kalisz, Janko. The expedition was launched on 27 May; in addition to the specific purpose to acquire and destroy the newly built fortress in Strzelce Krajeńskie (or, in case it proved to be impossible, at least the desolation of Neumark). The young prince was to be educated in the art of war. The project, as detailed in the Chronicle of Greater Poland, was a great success. The city of Strzelce Krajeńskie after a short, but extremely fierce battle, was defeated and captured by the Greater Poland army. According to the Chronicle, while gaining command of the fortress, Przemysł II ordered the slaughter of the defenders, and only a few managed to save the life of the prince from the angered citizens.

Shortly after completing the expedition and with the majority of his forces in his way back, Przemysł II received a confidential message that the fortress of Drezdenko was protected by only a few German knights. The young prince, despite the fact that he only had a part of his forces, decided to make a quick attack. This completely surprised the defenders and fearing the same fate of soldiers from Strzelce Krajeńskie, they decided to surrender the fortress in exchange for a full pardon. After this, Przemysł II took the fortress in the name of his uncle and triumphantly returned home.

In the same year, Przemysł II concluded his first alliance with Duke Mestwin II of Pomerelia. At first an ally of the Margraves of Brandenburg, Mestwin II could expel his brother and uncles from Pomerania and became sole ruler in 1271, but shortly after he was defeated and even imprisoned by them; this caused him to cede the province of Gdańsk to Margrave Conrad of Brandenburg in exchange for aid against his foes. Despite Mestwin II retaining the feudal sovereignty over the territory, the Brandenburg Margraviate still occupied the main castles and fortresses of the city even after the restoration of Mestwin II in the ducal throne. With his knowledge that his forces are too weak against Brandenburg, the Pomeranian Duke decided then to make an alliance with the Greater Poland rulers, Bolesław the Pious (who probably was his first-cousin) and Przemysł II.

The Greater Poland-Pomerania alliance ended up in regaining the fortresses in Gdańsk and the complete expulsion of the Brandenburg forces from Pomerania. Although soon after Mestwin II decided to conclude a separate peace with the Margraviate, the alliance with Greater Poland signed in 1272 remained in force. The continuous threat of Brandenburg and the uncertainty of the alliance with Mestwin II, caused that Bolesław the Pious began to seek new allies in case of war. For this purpose, Bolesław decided to seek an agreement with Duke Barnim I of Pomerania.

Marriage with Ludgarda of Mecklenburg
As a part of the new alliance with Pomerania, marriage was arranged between Przemysł II and Barnim I's granddaughter Ludgarda, daughter of Henry I the Pilgrim, Lord of Mecklenburg and Anastasia of Pomerania. Apparently, the young prince was pleased with his young bride, as stated in the Chronicle of Greater Poland:

"And when he saw her, he liked her person. And there in the country of the said Duke Barnim, in the city of Szczecin, took her as a wife. And this happened in his sixteenth year of life (1273)."

After the wedding the couple was briefly separated. Przemysł II came to Greater Poland, where together with his uncle prepared the ceremonial arrival of his wife to Poznań. Finally, together with his uncle, his aunt Jolenta, Bishop Mikołaj I of Poznań and other Greater Poland dignitaries the prince went to the border frontier in Drezdenko, where solemnly brought Ludgarda to her new home. The alliance between Greater Poland and Pomerania was directed against Brandenburg and in 1274, resulted in more than one retaliatory expedition against Greater Poland; taken by surprise, the princes watched how without major obstacles the Brandenburg army came to Poznań, and burned the main fortress of the city. Only after this, the Greater Poland knighthood was hastily organized and was able to expel the invaders.

In December 1283 in Gniezno, at the age of 22 or 23 years, Ludgarda, wife of Przemysł II, died unexpectedly. Relations between the spouses for some time before her death weren't very good; perhaps there had even been a separation between them. The reason for this was the supposed infertility of Ludgarda, more apparent after ten years of marriage. The actual period of marital intercourse between the spouses given their age (both are quite young at the time of their wedding) could actually be shorter. Indeed, there is no direct proof about Ludgarda's barrenness beyond the lack of offspring; the childlessness in marriage was usually considered to be the woman's fault, although in this case (due to the birth of a daughter from Przemysł II's second marriage), it seems more likely. It wasn't a surprise when accusations began to emerge against the Duke of Greater Poland of the suspected murder of his wife. It must be noted, however, that no contemporary source mentions this, a fact more surprising because Przemysł II had bitter enemies who certainly would use this crime against him. Also any reactions from church or public penance would noticed.

Marriage with Rikissa of Sweden
In 1285 Przemysł II decided to marry again. The chosen bride was Rikissa, daughter of the deposed King Valdemar of Sweden and Sophia of Denmark, daughter of King Eric IV. Due to the lack of contacts between Greater Poland and Sweden, the negotiations were probably concluded through the mediation of the House of Ascania. The marriage by proxy took place in the Swedish city of Nyköping on 11 October 1285; in the ceremony, the Duke of Greater Poland was represented by the notary Tylon, who received from Przemysł II the village of Giecz in gratitude for his services. It's unknown when and where the formal wedding between Przemysł II and Rikissa took place, or who administered the sacrament of marriage: it could be either Bishop Jan of Poznań or Jakub Świnka, Archbishop of Gniezno.

The first and only child of Przemysł II was born in Poznań on 1 September 1288: a daughter, named Ryksa, who later became in Queen consort of Bohemia and Poland as a wife of Wenceslaus II and after his death, of Rudolph III of Habsburg. The news of the birth of her daughter was also the last mention of Duchess Rikissa. She certainly died after that date and before 13 April 1293, when Przemysł II entered into his third and last marriage. It seems that Przemysł II had deep and strong feelings for his second wife. This is evidenced not only by the fact that he gave their daughter the name of her mother, but also by a document issued on 19 April 1293 where he ceded to the Bishopric of Poznań the village of Kobylniki as payment for a lamp lit eternally at Rikissa's tomb.

Marriage with Margaret of Brandenburg
Around the time of the Congress of Kalisz, Przemysł II decided to remarry, as his beloved wife Rikissa was certainly dead by that time (probably the year before). The chosen bride was Margaret, daughter of Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel and Matilda of Denmark, daughter of King Christopher I. This marriage was concluded for political reasons and was expected to secure the succession of Przemysł II in Pomerelia. Due to the relatively close relationship between the Duke and his bride (they are both great-grandchildren of King Ottokar I of Bohemia), a papal dispensation was needed for the marriage. The wedding ceremony took place shortly before 13 April 1293; according to some historians, it was probably on this occasion that the betrothal between Przemysł II's daughter Ryksa and Otto of Brandenburg-Salzwedel, Margaret's brother, was also celebrated .
SOURCE: Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przemys%C5%82_II

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Timeline Przemysl II of POLAND

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