Nicholas II of Niemodlin
Nicholas II of Opole (Polish Mikołaj II Opolski; Czech Mikuláš II Opolský, † June 27, 1497 in Neisse ) was 1476-1497 Duke of Opole. He came from the Opole Silesian branch of the Piast dynasty, which became extinct in 1532 with the death of his brother John II.
Origin and family
His parents were Nicholas I of Opole (1420-1476) and Magdalena († 1497 ), daughter of Duke Louis II of Brieg from his second marriage to Elizabeth of Brandenburg. The oldest brother Ludwig ( about 1450-1475/76 ) died shortly before his father, the younger brothers Boleslaw and Bernhard died around 1477 in childhood. In addition, Nicholas had four sisters:
- Machna († 1468/72 ), since 1462 married to Duke Przemislaus of Tost († 1484 )
- Elisabeth ( † 1507), Poor Clare in Wroclaw
- Magdalena († 1501), since about 1478 married to Duke Johann III. ( Opava - Ratibor ) | John III. of Opava († 1493 )
- Catherine ( † 1507), a nun in Wroclaw
Life
After the death of his father in 1476 Nicholas took over together with his older brother John II the regency over the Duchy of Opole. Already in 1477 the brothers acquired the area around Neustadt, which had heard before Conrad of oil. Like her father, Nicholas and John were first on the side of the Allies of the King Matthias Corvinus, which they paid homage in 1479. In the 1480s she turned away from him, because they were dissatisfied with the tax policy and the states hostile centralization measures. At the Diet of Nuremberg requested Nicholas and his brother in April 1487 the Emperor Frederick III. for support against Matthias Corvinus. After returning they were taken during a day in Prince Cosel by Johann Bjelik of Kornitz, which had been used by King Matthias as governor for the Upper Silesian duchies, caught. Only after the homage of the king and the payment of 30,000 florins they were released. Nevertheless, Nikolaus and Johann occurred in a later directed against the king Matthias Lower Silesia alliance, which include the Dukes of Sagan John II and Henry the Elder. heard by Münsterberg. After the Lower Silesian princes had lost to King Matthias Corvinus the struggle for Glogau, gave Nicholas and his brother in 1489 the hostile position against Corvinus on and accepted its demand for a payment of 15,000 florins and the pledge of three castles. After Corvin death they enlarged their sphere of influence through the acquisition of the rule Gliwice 1492 by William II of Pernštejna and 1497 with the purchase of the castle and town of Tost.
Probably in an irresponsible state committed Nicholas 1497 in Neisse, where the Silesian princes held a meeting, a stop on the Teschen Duke Casimir II, who exercised the office of chief provincial governor. After the failed attack he should have tried to hurt even the Breslau Bishop John Roth. Immediately after, he was convicted and beheaded by the Municipal Court in Neisse in an instant kill. In his last hours he be court chaplain, Auxiliary Bishop of Wrocław Heinrich von fill block stood by, who wrote his will according to the instructions of the condemned. His body was interred in the family vault in the Franciscan monastery Opole. Nicholas was never married and had no children.
Although Duke Johann initially intended to avenge the tragic death of his brother, he refrained, after he found no support for this plan of King Vladislav II.