Nicholas II of Niemodlin

Nicholas II of Niemodlin (Polish: Mikołaj II Niemodliński; c. 1462 – 27 June 1497), was a Duke of Opole-Brzeg-Strzelce-Niemodlin in 1476 (as co-ruler of his father) and sole Duke of Niemodlin from 1476 until his death.

He was the third son of Duke

.

Life

After his father's death in 1476, Nicholas II inherited Opole, Brzeg, Strzelce and Niemodlin together with his older brothers

(pledged by his father in 1450) by the amounts of 8,500 fines and 1,500 ducats.

In foreign politics, Nicholas II sought to strike a balance between the powerful

later in that year, the relations with the Hungarian Kingdom remained tense until the death of Matthias Corvinus in 1490.

Death

In June 1497, in order to end the disputes between the Duchies of Opole and Cieszyn, a meeting was arranged in

Jan IV Roth

, among others.

On 26 June, Nicholas II tried to stab both Duke Casimir II and Bishop Jan IV Roth. The reason for his act is unknown, although some sources^[who?] believed that Nicholas feared of the growing importance of Duke Casimir II. With the help of servants and nobles, the attack was defeated. Nicholas II tried to avoid the responsibility of the Town Hall and found refuge in the nearby church of St. Jakob, where he asked for sanctuary. He was nevertheless taken by force from the altar and put in a dungeon.

The nobles reunited (who included the victims of the Duke of Niemodlin) and long wondered what to do with the prisoner. Eventually, they decided to apply the common law of Nysa, although the Duke of Niemodlin was a royal prince. His attempts to obtain his freedom (which included an offer to pay the huge sum of 100,000 Hungarian złoty) produced no results, thanks to the clear opposition of the Duke of Cieszyn (at that time also

General of Silesia). Rather, the Duke successfully sought a death sentence for Nicholas. The trial was performed entirely in the German language, which Nicholas II apparently did not understand (there is some evidence that he and his brother Jan II only knew the Polish and Czech languages).

The Duke of Niemodlin was only allowed to write a letter to his brother, in which he left him all his domains. The court ruled that the sentence would take place almost immediately, in order to avoid a negative reaction from the Opole citizens and the Duke's brother. Nicholas II was beheaded by sword in the Nysa market on 27 June 1497. According to the tradition, his last words were: "Nysa! Nysa! You punish me because my ancestors had given you to the Church, and now you force me to pay the price?".

Legacy

Nicholas II never married nor did he have children. According to his last wish, he was buried in the

. On his tombstone was written the epitaph, "Here lies who fell for his true principles and give courageously his neck under the sword".

At the news of the execution of his brother, Jan II started to gather an army and prepared for a brutal retaliatory expedition against the Duchy of Cieszyn; however, the war ultimately did not occur as a result of the diplomatic moves of King Władysław II Jagiellon, saving Silesia from the civil war.

References

• Marek, Miroslav. "Complete Genealogy of the House of Piast". Genealogy.EU.[
  better source needed
  ]
• Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
• Genealogy of Dukes of Opole

Further reading

• Piotrowicz K.: Tragiczny zgon Mikołaja II, księcia opolskiego. Katowice 1938.

Nicholas II of Niemodlin House of Piast Born: c. 1462 Died: 27 June 1497
Regnal titles
Preceded by Nicholas I	Duke of Niemodlin 1476–1497 With: Louis and Jan II (until 1476)	Succeeded by Jan II the Good
	Duke of Opole 1476 With: Louis and Jan II
	Duke of Brzeg 1476 With: Louis and Jan II
	Duke of Strzelce 1476 With: Louis and Jan II