Henry II the Pious

Henry II (also: Henry the Pious, Henry of Silesia, Polish: Henryk II the Pious; * 1196/1207, † April 9, 1241 ) was from 1238 Duke of Silesia and princeps of Poland.

Family

Henry came to the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty. His parents were Duke Henry I of Silesia ( † 1238 ) and later canonized Hedwig († 1243 ), daughter of Count Berthold Andechs IV

1216 Henry married Anna, daughter of the Bohemian King Ottokar I. Přemysl and Constance of Hungary. The couple had five daughters and five sons:

  • Boleslaw II († 1278 ), Duke of Legnica
  • Mieszko of Lubusz († 1242 ), Duke of Lebus
  • Henry III. († 1266 ), Duke of Silesia
  • Conrad II († 1273/74 ), Duke of Silesia, from 1251 Duke of Glogau
  • Vladislav of Silesia ( † 1270), Duke of Silesia, elected Bishop of Bamberg and Passau, Archbishop of Salzburg and administrator of Wroclaw

Biography

Like his father fought Henry II 1222/23 against the Baltic tribe of Old Prussians. 1226 he was appointed by his father as co-regent. After his death in 1238 he was succeeded as Duke of Silesia - Wrocław and Duke Senior and Duke of Poland.

Henry led his father's policy continued and was in good agreement with his brother, the Czech king Wenceslas I. To secure its position as the Duke and Senior Duke of Poland, he fought against Duke Barnim of Pomerania. An attack of the Margrave of Brandenburg, and the Archbishop of Magdeburg, he fended off at the castle Lebus. He managed to run from his father quarrel with the Archbishop of Gniezno and the Breslau Bishop Thomas I. to the tithe achievements of the German settlers settle peacefully.

1241 was a Mongolian army of generals Batu Khan and Subutai in Poland, overran large parts of Silesia and besieged Legnica. Henry II presented at the April 9, 1241 the Mongols in the Battle of Legnica, in which he suffered a crushing defeat and fell. His body was buried in Breslau Vincent Church.

After Henry's death, the Silesian Piast dynasty could no longer maintain its supremacy in Poland. By inheritances among his descendants and the associated fragmentation of the empire in Silesia was considerably weakened for centuries.

Seniorate Province Silesian Piasts Henry I the Bearded Hedwig of Silesia Counts of Andechs Berthold, Duke of Merania Bolesław II Rogatka Mieszko, Duke of Lubusz Konrad I, Duke of Głogów Duchy of Pomerania Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno Golden Horde Neue Deutsche Biographie Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie Konrad I of Masovia Integrated Authority File
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