Civil war in Greater Poland (1382–1385)

The Greater Poland Civil War (Polish: Wojna domowa w Wielkopolsce) refers to the conflict that took place during 1382–1385[note 1] in the Greater Poland province of the Kingdom of Poland during the interregnum period following the transition of power between the Piast dynasty, Angevin dynasty and the Jagiellon dynasty.

Duke Siemowit negotiating ceasefire with Queen Jadwiga, dated 12 December 1385

Another name for the conflict is the Grzymała-Nałęcz Family War (Polish: Wojna Grzymalitów z Nałęczami), as a major part of the conflict involved the struggle between the Grzymała and Nałęcz families (clans) for the dominant position in the Greater Poland.[2]

The civil war

The death of Casimir III the Great in 1370 marked the end of the Piast dynasty in Poland.[4] He was succeeded by Louis I of Hungary of the Angevin dynasty, who was Casimir's nephew.[4][5] Louis' death in 1382, without a male heir, left a power vacuum (interregnum).[1][6] Although the Privilege of Koszyce stipulated that one of his daughters would succeed him on the Polish throne, Louis' selection of his daughter Mary proved controversial, as her husband, Sigismund of Luxembourg, was not popular in Poland.[7][8] The different factions in Poland could not agree on the succession, and a conflict erupted.[1][7][9] The faction gathered around the Grzymała clan supported Sigismund, while the Nałęcz clan instead favored the Duke of Masovia, Siemowit IV.[9]

As the clans in Greater Poland warred, those in Lesser Poland succeeded in gathering support for a different solution.[9][10][11] In 1384, Louis' 10-year-old daughter Jadwiga was crowned King of Poland, upon the condition that the Polish-Hungarian Union was dissolved.[6][7][11] Her coronation marked the end of most civil war hostilities;[10] Norman Davies notes that "the disappointed candidates battled each other's candidacy into oblivion".[7] As Jadwiga's fiance, William, Duke of Austria, was also unpopular in Poland, the Lesser Poland faction succeeded in arranging for her to marry Władysław Jagiełło (Jogaila), Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1386.[10][11] Jagiełło had just emerged victorious from a civil war in Lithuania.[6][12] Their marriage began the period of the Polish-Lithuanian Union and the ascension of the Jagiellon Dynasty to the thrones of Poland and Lithuania.[6]

The war is said to have been bloody; Davies writes of "much slaughter", and Sobczak notes that "entire clans perished in it".[7][13]

See also

• Duchy of Greater Poland
• Warfare in Medieval Poland

Notes

1. Some historians, ex. Nicolle,[1] give Jadwiga's coronation date, 1384, as the end date for this conflict, but in Polish historiography most historians prefer the date 1385,[2] marking the year when Siemowit IV and other feuding Polish lords signed a ceasefire.[3]

References

1. David Nicolle (21 February 2012). Medieval Polish Armies 966-1500. Osprey Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-78096-456-0.
2. Kronika Wielkopolski (in Polish). Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. 1983. p. 195. Nazywanie wojny domowej w Wielkopolsce tzw. wojną Grzymalitów z Nałęczami polega na nieporozumieniu i nieznajomości najnowszej literatury. Główną przyczyną zbrojnego konfliktu nie była sprawa wyboru Dobrogosta z Nowego Dworu na arcybiskupa gnieźnieńskiego (s. 149) czy też przyczyny wyszczególnione na s. 147, a wśród nich walki pomiędzy Grzymalitami a Nałęczami o "palmę pierwszeństwa w Wielkopolsce", lecz zupełnie inne problemy wewnętrzne.
3. Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu. Instytut Historii (2007). Pierwsze Polsko-Czeskie Forum Młodych Mediewistów: materiały z konferencji naukowej, Gniezno, 27-29 września 2005 roku (in Polish). Instytut Historii UAM. p. 280. ISBN 978-83-89407-22-1. Dnia 12 grudnia 1385 roku Siemowit IV zawarł w Krakowie pokój z królową Jadwigą i wycofał się z rywalizacji o tron polski
4. HALINA LERSKI (30 January 1996). Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945. ABC-CLIO. pp. 249–250. ISBN 978-0-313-03456-5.
5. HALINA LERSKI (30 January 1996). Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945. ABC-CLIO. p. 316. ISBN 978-0-313-03456-5.
6. HALINA LERSKI (30 January 1996). Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945. ABC-CLIO. pp. 214–215. ISBN 978-0-313-03456-5.
7. Norman Davies (24 February 2005). God's Playground A History of Poland: Volume 1: The Origins to 1795. Oxford University Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-0-19-925339-5.
8. Francis Dvornik (1962). The Slavs in European History and Civilization. Rutgers University Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-8135-0799-6.
9. Marcin Spórna; Piotr Wierzbicki (2003). Słownik władców Polski i pretendentów do tronu polskiego (in Polish). Wydawn. Zielona Sowa. p. 483. ISBN 978-83-7220-560-5.
10. W. J. Stankiewicz (1981). The Tradition of Polish ideals: essays in history and literature. Orbis Books. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-901149-18-3. after the death of Louis in 1382, controversy over the succession led to a civil war throughout the whole country, especially in Greater Poland. Fortunately, Jadwiga's arrival and coronation two years later terminated all fratricidal fighting... It is usually assumed that this was achieved by the lords of Lesser Poland; it is considered that Jadwiga was their passive tool and a mere figurehead
11. Oskar Halecki; W: F. Reddaway; J. H. Penson. The Cambridge History of Poland. CUP Archive. pp. 194–196. ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4.
12. Saulius A. Suziedelis (7 February 2011). Historical Dictionary of Lithuania. Scarecrow Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-8108-7536-4.
13. Jerzy Sobczak (2002). Duchy i zjawy wielkopolskie (in Polish). Zysk i S-ka wydawn. p. 199. ISBN 978-83-7298-303-9. była tak ponoć krwawa, że wyginęły całe stare rody

Further reading

• Jerzy Łojko (1987). "Wojna domowa w Wielkopolsce w latach 1382—1385". In Zygmunt Boras (ed.). Gniezno. Studia i Materiały Historyczne. Państwowe Wydawn. Nauk., Oddz. w Poznaniu.
• M. Palczewski, Walka Siemowita IV o tron Polski (1382-1385), Prace Naukowe WSP w Częstochowie, Seria: Zeszyty Historyczne, nr 1, Częstochowa 1993, s. 7-21