Henry IV the Faithful
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Henry IV the Faithful | |
---|---|
Duke of Żagań | |
Born | c. 1292 |
Died | 22 January 1342 |
Henry V of Iron Salome Agnes | |
Father | Henry III, Duke of Głogów |
Mother | Matilda of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
Henry IV (II) the Faithful (Polish: Henryk IV (II) Wierny) (c. 1292 – 22 January 1342) was a Duke of Żagań and parts of Greater Poland from 1309 until 1317 (with his brothers in all the lands except Głogów in different divisions among them), Duke of Głogów from 1318 until 1321 (with his brother as co-ruler) and sole ruler over Żagań from 1321 until his death.
He was the oldest son of
Life
Henry III prepared his eldest son in political affairs from his early years. In 1296 he took the four-year-old Henry with him to peace negotiations with the Duke
Henry III died on 9 December 1309 and Henry IV succeeded him over all his lands except Głogów, which was taken by his mother Matilda as her dower. Although he was seventeen years old, an age considered enough to rule alone according to the Piast dynasty customs, for unknown reasons, he remained, with his immediate younger brother Konrad, under the regency of their mother until 1312.
In 1312 Henry IV made the first division of the duchy: the eastern part, consisting of the towns of
.The situation of the dukes of Głogów was difficult from the beginning of their rule, mostly because of the revived pretensions of Władysław I the Elbow-high over all Greater Poland and the inheritance of
In
Also, the alliance with the dukes of Legnica proved to be totally inadequate. The war of 1312–1317 was finally ended with the settlement of 8 January 1317, by which the dukes of Głogów were forced to cede the territory between the Oder River and Wołów, with Uraz and Lubiąż.
After the death of their mother Matilda in 1318, Głogów was inherited by Henry IV and his brother Przemko II. Three years later, in 1321, the final territorial division was made between them: Przemko II received Głogów as sole ruler, Henry IV obtained Żagań and Jan obtained Ścinawa and Lubin. The other brothers, Konrad and Bolesław, retained Oleśnica and Namysłów.
In 1322 the sons of Henry III joined the coalition of the Silesian dukes (
One year later, in order to avoid the intervention of
After 1327 the political situation in Silesia was to change greatly.
In 1331 Przemko II of Głogów died without issue, poisoned by one of his vassals. According to the agreement previously concluded, his duchy was divided between Henry IV and Jan of Ścinawa. Przemko II's widow only retained the main city of Głogów and Bytom Odrzański. King John of Bohemia, however, had other plans; shortly after, he invaded the duchy, depriving the widow and brothers of their inheritance. In order to validate this action, the king purchased from Jan of Ścinawa his rights over the half of Głogów for 2,000 fines. King John's conduct infringed the rights of Przemko II's widow and Henry IV, who never could retake Głogów.
In order to prevent Jan from selling his Duchy of Ścinawa to Bohemia, on 25 July 1334 Henry IV and Konrad I entered into an arrangement with him, under which Jan was forbidden to sell any part of Ścinawa without the consent of his brothers. Finally, years later the brothers bought Jan his Duchy, which was returned to him only during his life. On 30 April 1341 Henry IV received from his brother Jan the town of Wschowa.
Henry IV died on 22 January 1342 in Żagan, and was buried in the local Augustinian church.
Marriage and issue
By 5 January 1310, Henry IV married Matilda (c. 1296 – c. 31 March 1329), daughter of Herman, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel. They had four children:
- Hedwig (b. ca. 1316 – d. 28 May? 1348), Abbess of Trebnitz.
- Henry V of Iron(b. ca. 1319 – d. aft. 8 April 1369).
- Salome (b. aft. 1320 – d. aft. 12 June 1359), married by 1335 to Henry II Reuss, Vogt of Plauen.
- Agnes (b. ca. 1321 – d. 7 July 1362), married by 1332 to Duke Leszek of Racibórz and secondly by 1341 with Duke Louis I of Brzeg.
References
- Marek, Miroslav. "Complete Genealogy of the House of Piast: Głogów". Genealogy.EU.[better source needed]
- Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
- HENRYK IV (II) WIERNY
- This article was translated from his original version in Polish Wikipedia