Wrocław (Otmuchów)

Who holds it

Name

Jarosław of Opole

Title

Bishop of Wrocław; also duke of Opole in his own right

Since

1198 (duke of Opole since 1172-73)

Confidence

high

Eldest son of Bolesław the Tall, duke of Silesia. His revolt of 1172, with his uncle Mieszko Tanglefoot, forced Bolesław to carve out the duchy of Opole for him, on condition that he follow a church career. Father and son were reconciled when he was elected bishop of Wrocław in 1198, and on his appointment his father gave him the land around Nysa. He dies on 22 March 1201: Opole then goes back to his father (who dies on 7 or 8 December 1201) and in 1202 to Mieszko Tanglefoot, while Henry the Bearded leaves Nysa and Otmuchów with the see.

What it holds

• Castellany of Otmuchów: castle and villages, the see's property, first mentioned in 1155
• Land of Nysa: given to Jarosław by his father on his appointment in 1198; it stays with the see after his death
• The see's other villages and tithes across Silesia (not drawn)
• Not church land: the duchy of Opole, which Jarosław holds as a Piast duke

How it was acquired

Otmuchów: a ducal grant before 1155. Nysa: Bolesław the Tall's gift of 1198, kept by the see in 1201 by Henry the Bearded's decision. Full princely rights came only from Henry IV Probus in 1290.

How things stand that morning

Held. Father and son are reconciled and there is no open quarrel over Otmuchów or Nysa.

Wealth

The fertile Nysa valley and the roads south to Moravia and Bohemia; river crossings and markets. Nysa gets its town charter about 1223.

Threats

• Jarosław's death on 22 March 1201 could reopen the question of Nysa
• Mieszko Tanglefoot's claim to Opole

Advocates and rivals

His father Bolesław the Tall, duke of Silesia at Wrocław, and his half-brother Henry the Bearded, Bolesław's heir; his uncle Mieszko Tanglefoot of Racibórz, who wants Opole. The see's land still owes the duke dues and services.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 22 March 1201Jarosław dies. Opole reverts to Bolesław the Tall and in 1202 passes to Mieszko Tanglefoot; Nysa and Otmuchów stay with the see.Depends on: His natural death and Henry the Bearded's choice to leave Nysa with the church. Stopped by: A duke who reclaimed Nysa as ducal land.

Places of note

• Otmuchów castle: Castellany seat of the bishops
• Nysa: Castellany stronghold; later the bishops' capital

Where the sources disagree

• The campaign notes call Jarosław Bolesław the Tall's 'estranged' eldest son. Wikipedia's article on Bolesław says father and son were reconciled when Jarosław was elected bishop (1198), and its article on the duchy of Nysa says Bolesław gave him the Nysa land on his appointment. On 1 January 1200 they look reconciled. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_I_the_Tall and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Nysa

Evidence: Otmuchów as church land since 1155 and the Nysa gift of 1198 rest on Wikipedia's articles. Whether Nysa was given to the see or to Jarosław in person is not pinned; either way it ends with the see.

On the map: Communes stand in for the castellanies. The duchy of Opole, which Jarosław holds as a lay duke, is deliberately not drawn.

Primary sources for Silesia (Bolesław the Tall)

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of the Poles, by Master Vincent (Wincenty Kadłubek), Wincenty Kadłubek (about 1190 to 1208). Book 4 is a contemporary's account of the fight for the senior throne of Kraków. Read online
• The annals of the Kraków chapter and the other Polish annals (kept from the 11th century; the Kraków chapter annals continued to 1266). Short dated entries that fix the chronology Kadłubek blurs: the deaths of dukes and bishops, Mieszko the Old's captures of Kraków, Prussian raids on Masovia, church consecrations. Read online