Kingdom of Poland
Poland, 1025–1385. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Kingdom of Poland was a state in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods from 1025 until 1795. In 1025, Bolesław I the Brave of the Piast dynasty was crowned the first King of Poland at Gniezno Cathedral, elevating Poland from a duchy to a kingdom with the approval of Pope John XIX. Casimir I the Restorer managed to reunite parts of the kingdom following the crisis and moved the capital to Kraków.
Seat of power: Kraków
Rulers
Mieszko II
King of Poland, 1025–1031
He organized two devastating invasions of Saxony in 1028 and 1030. Mieszko II was very well educated for the period. He was able to read and write and knew both Greek and Latin.
Portrait of Mieszko II: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Bolesław II the Generous
King of Poland, 1076–1079
In 1075, he re-established the Archdiocese of Gniezno (consecrated in 1064) and founded the Diocese of Płock. Bolesław II was also the first Polish monarch to produce his own coinage in quantity great enough to replace the foreign coins prevalent in the country during the reigns of the first Piast kings.
Portrait of Bolesław II the Generous: Gabinet Numizmatyczny D. Marciniak, CC BY 3.0, file
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Henry I the Bearded
King of Poland, 1201–1238
A competent ruler, he supported the development of mining, carried out a monetary reform, granted the first town charters, and attempted to reunite an internally divided Poland. Henry supported monasteries and churches and promoted the settlement of German-speaking communities in Silesia.
Portrait of Henry I the Bearded: Nicolaus of Prussia (attributed), Public domain, file
Przemysł II
King of Poland, 1295–1296
He was the first to obtain the hereditary title of king, and thus to return Poland to the rank of kingdom. Working with the Archbishop of Gniezno, Jakub Świnka, he sought the unification of the principalities of the Piast dynasty.
Portrait of Przemysł II: Anonymous plate, Public domain, file
Wenceslaus II of Bohemia
King of Poland, 1300–1305
After Przemysł's death in 1296, Wenceslaus became overlord of Poland and, in 1300, had himself crowned its king.
Portrait of Wenceslaus II of Bohemia: Master of the Codex Manesse (Additional Painter I), Public domain, file
Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
King of Poland, 1305–1306
Wenceslaus succeeded his father in Bohemia and Poland on 21 June 1305. A local claimant to the Polish throne, Władysław I Łokietek, who had started conquering Polish territories during the rule of Wenceslaus's father, captured Kraków in early 1306.
Portrait of Wenceslaus III of Bohemia: Szilágyi Sándor, Public domain, file
Henry of Bohemia
King of Poland, 1306–1310
Henry of Bohemia was King of Bohemia, Margrave of Moravia and titular King of Poland.
Rudolf I of Bohemia
King of Poland, 1306–1307
Rudolf I was the King of Bohemia and titular King of Poland.
Portrait of Rudolf I of Bohemia: Karl von Sava, Public domain, file
John of Bohemia
King of Poland, 1310–1333
John of Bohemia was the King of Bohemia and titular King of Poland. A rival of King Władysław I the Elbow-high to the Polish crown, John supported the Teutonic Knights in the Polish–Teutonic War from 1326 to 1332.
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Władysław I the Elbow-high
King of Poland, 1320–1333
Perhaps his greatest achievement was gaining papal permission to be crowned king of Poland in 1320, which occurred for the first time at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. Władysław was a skilled military leader, but also an administrator; he conquered Gdańsk Pomerania, and left it to familial governors.
Portrait of Władysław I the Elbow-high: Bornholm, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Casimir III the Great
King of Poland, 1333–1370
Casimir's reign was marked by a pragmatic foreign policy that prioritised stability over military expansion. He codified Polish law in the Statutes of Wiślica and Piotrków, reducing legal division and reinforcing royal authority. His reforms of the judiciary gained him the unofficial title "the Polish Justinian".
Portrait of Casimir III the Great: Bornholm, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Louis I of Hungary
King of Poland, 1370–1382
For this purpose, he issued the Privilege of Koszyce (now Košice in Slovakia) in 1374, spelling out the liberties of Polish noblemen. However, his rule remained unpopular in Poland.
Portrait of Louis I of Hungary: Márk Kálti, Public domain, file
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Jadwiga I of Poland
King of Poland, 1384–1399
After that, Jadwiga marched into the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which had been under Hungarian rule, and persuaded most of the inhabitants to become subjects of the Polish Crown. She mediated between her husband's quarrelling kin and between Poland and the Teutonic Order.
Portrait of Jadwiga I of Poland: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, file
Culture
- The current castle was built in the 14th century, and expanded over the next hundreds of years.
- Some of Wawel's oldest stone buildings can be traced back to 970 CE, in addition to the earliest examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in Poland.
- Złotoryja was the first town in Poland to be granted town privileges in 1211 under Henry.
Picture
The complex includes the Wawel Cathedral where Polish monarchs were crowned and buried.
Image: Monika Towiańska, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
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Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.