Hynek Krušina of Lichtenburg
Hynek Krušina of Lichtenburg | |
---|---|
Kladsko | |
Buried | Augustinian monastery in Kladsko |
Noble family | Lichtenburg |
Spouse(s) | Anna Zajíc of Hasenburg Anna of Coldice |
Father | Jan Krušina of Lichtenburg |
Mother | Jitka |
Hynek Krušina of Lichtenburg (also: Henry Kruschina of Lichtenburg, in Czech: Hynek Krušina IV. z Lichtenburka; 1392 – 4 March 1454, Kłodzko (Czech: Kladsko, German: Glatz)) was a Hussite commander and governor and lien holders of the County of Kladsko, the Duchy of Münsterberg and the city of Ząbkowice Śląskie (German: Frankenstein).
Origin, family and possessions
Hynek Krušina was a member of the Lichtenburg family, which in turn was a branch of the powerful Ronov dynasty. His father was John Krušina of Lichtenburg, who was a Royal Colonel and Chamberlain and Burgrave of the Duchy of Jawor.
After his father died, Hynek was influenced by
In 1420 at
In 1425 or later Hynek married to Anna Zajíc of Hasenburg, a daughter of William Zajíc of Hasenburg, who was an outspoken opponent of the Hussites and sided with emperor Sigismund. Anna and Hynek had a son named William (born before 1430; died around 1487), whom they had named in honor of his maternal grandfather.
Hynek opposed the atrocities committed by the Taborites, but nevertheless participated in the Battle of Aussig in 1426. In 1428, he changed sides and submitted himself to the emperor. He then returned to his own estates.
Hynek's brother Jan was murdered in 1434, after a dispute with the city council of Broumov. After Jan's death, the estate of Hostinné fell back to Hynek.[2] In 1437, King Sigismund gave him the Lordship of Miletín, which his father had already held from 1404 to 1407.
Career
In February 1437 he attended the coronation of Emperor Sigismund's wife
In the late 1430s, Hynek tried to expand his possessions in eastern Bohemia. On 6 September 1440, he purchased the liens over the estate of Kladsko, the Duchy of Münsterberg, the city of Ząbkowice Śląskie and some East Bohemian possessions, from Anna of Koldice, the widow of Půta III of Častolovice. Her East Bohemian possessions included Nové Hrady, Rychmberk Castle, Potštejn, Albrechtice, Choceň, Hummel and Častolovice. Anna's mother-in-law, also named Anna (died in 1454 or earlier), the daughter of Jan II of Oświęcim and the widow of Půta II of Častolovice, still resided in Častolovice; Hynek conceded the usufruct of Častolovice to her for the rest of her life. He also took over Půta III's debt and undertook to raise Půta's three daughters, Anna, Catherine and Salome, befittingly.
The negotiations for the sale seem to have been accelerated by the kidnapping of Anna's eldest daughter (who was also called Anna). In the summer of 1440, she was taken by Sigismund of Reichenau from Kladsko Castle to
In July 1441, Emperor Sigismund's widow Barbara returned to Bohemia to take possession of her
Discord remained between Hynek and Bishop Konrad, probably because of Hynek's utraquist sympathies and his Hussite past. Over the next few years, it led to military conflicts in which other Silesian princes were involved. Most of them rejected Hynek's claim on Duchy of Münsterberg, with the Estates of Münsterberg, headed by Captain Frederick Stosch playing a crucial role. In order to deter them and underline his claims on Münsterberg, Hynek sacked on 20 July 1442, the monastery at Henryków, to which the citizens of Münsterberg had a special relationship. When Hynek attacked again, aiming to conquer the Duchy, the citizens of Münsterberg were able to repel him.
On 25 April 1443, the citizens of Münsterberg elected Duke
On 15 and 16 July 1443, Duke William of Opava and Münsterberg, Bishop Konrad of Wrocław and their allies besieged Chałupki Castle and took it. The city of Ząbkowice Śląskie, which at the time belonged to the Lordship of Kladsko, was also besieged. Karpień Castle, which Hynek has used as his base when he attacked the Diocese of Wrocław, was captured and destroyed.
The situation calmed down in the summer of 1444. By the end of 1444, the dispute between Hynek and William of Münsterberg, although he never gave up his claim on Münsterberg. Also in 1444, Hynek finally gained control over the Lordship of Hummel, which he had legally owned since 1440. Hummel Castle, however, remained a den of thieves. Soldiers holding he castle charged high tariffs from merchants and travellers who passed the castle on their way to Hummel Pass.
In 1446 in the parliament at Prague, Hynek signed a petition to the Pope, asking him to acknowledge the Compact of Prague and recognize Jan Rokycana as archbishop.
On 27 April 1452, Hynek attended the parliament at Prague where
Legacy
Hynek spent his final years in Kladsko, and died there in 1454. In Kladsko, he was respected, because he had managed to keep the country out of the wars in the 1441 to 1445 time frame. He also enjoyed a reputation of religious tolerance. He was buried in the Augustinian monastery in Kladsko. He had been the monastery's benefactor and had always had good relationships with it. On 9 December 1455 Hynek's widow Anna endowed a benefice that hymns may be sung at Krušina's grave every Tuesday. In an obituary published by the monastery at Kamieniec Ząbkowicki, Hynek was described as a loyal patron (fidelis fautor monasterii).
A few weeks after Hynek's death, his son William — probably due to a preliminary contract concluded by Hynek — sold the possessions that had belonged to the Častolovice family, including the estate of Hummel, the lien of Kladsko and the city of Ząbkowice Śląskie to George of Poděbrady, who would later be elected King of Bohemia and who already owned the adjacent estate of Náchod. This allowed George to extend his family's possessions in Eastern Bohemia. In 1456, he purchased the Duchy of Münsterberg from Ernest of Opava, thereby increasing his influence in Silesia. In 1459, George raised the Lordship of Kladsko to a County, known in German as the County of Glatz.
William did not initially sell the estate of Hostinné and Kumburk, the original possessions of the Lichtenburg family. For reasons unknown, William later sold Hostinné to his stepmother, Anna of Coldice. He only retained the estate of Kumburk with Kumburk Castle, which his heirs retained until the end of the 15th century, and the estate of Miletín, which his heirs sold in 1522.
William Krušina's sons Jan, Hynek, Bernhard and Smil acquired Trutnov in 1527. Bernhard had two sons, also named Hynek and Jan. Jan died childless in 1539,[3] leaving Hynek's son Jan Bernhard (who died in 1590), as the last member of the Krušina branch of the Lichtenburg family.
References
- Jan Urban: Lichtenburkové. Vzestupy a pády jednoho panského rodu = Šlechtické rody Čech, Moravy a Slezska, vol. 2, Lidové Noviny, Prague, 2003, ISBN 80-7106-579-X, p. 290–318.
- Franz Albert: Die Geschichte der Herrschaft Hummel und ihrer Nachbargebiete. Archivalische Studien zur Geschichte der Grafschaft Glatz, part 1: Die Herrschaft Hummel bis zum Jahre 1477, self-published, Münster, 1932, p. 161–165.
- Hugo Weczerka (ed.): Handbuch der historischen Stätten — Schlesien = Kröners Taschenausgabe, vol. 316, Kröner, Stuttgart 1977, ISBN 3-520-31601-3, p. 340 and 394.
External links
- ISBN 3-520-32901-8, p. LXXII.
- ^ V. Maiwald: Das Braunauer Ländchen zur Husitenzeit, in: Die Husitennot im Glatzer Lande. Gedenkblätter zum Fünfhundertjahrtag des Gebiets am Roten Berge = Glatzer Heimatschriften, vol. 30, ZDB-ID 2520906-1 Archived 2015-11-24 at the Wayback Machine, Verein für Glatzer Heimatkunde, Kłodzko, 1928, p. 63–68
- ^ Friedrich Bernau: Ritter Christof von Gendorf und seine Töchter, in: Karl Prätorius and Hellmut Weber (eds.): Schatzlar. Eine sudetendeutsche Stadt im böhmischen Riesengebirge und die Bezirksgemeinden. Ein Heimatbuch mit Einzelbeiträgen, Weber, Beckingen, 1993, p. 99–101