KB, Poland, Duke Henry Probus, elephant, medieval, Silesia, Korski

Description: This medal is a part of my medals collection Visit my page with the offers, please. You will find many interesting items related to this subject. If you are interested in other medals, related to this subject, click here, please. Poland; Rulers Medieval Motives Historic Battles Poland; History The artist - Prof Witold Korski (1918 - 2003), one of the most famous Polish artist, architect, sculptor and medalist. See the link; http://warszawa.sarp.org.pl/php/galeria/barucki_witold-korski.htm. The information is in Polish, and the medals are published there, as the finest of his works. His imagination regarding the medieval motives is the most creative I ever seen on the contemporary medals. The Polish Kings and Royals and Their Coins Series by Profs. Witold Korski This series consists of 44 medals; if you are interested in the complete set, please contact me. Henry IV nicknamed Probus (Latin for righteous), (Polish: Henryk Probus, German: Heinrich von Breslau; ; c. 1258 – 1290), was a Duke of the Silesian territory of Wrocław c. 1270, and senior prince of Poland from 1288 until his death in 1290. His cousin Venceslaus II of Bohemia inherited his territory upon his death. av. The coin of the Duke Henry Probus the ELEPHANT; DVX HENRICVS / IIII PROBVS / POLONIAE REGNVM RESTITVERE / IN ANIMO HABEBAT + MORS SVBITA EIVS ANNIHILAT. rv. The figure of the duke with the symbols of the power; sword, shield, the letters H / IIII / P. The coat of arms; the Eagle of Silesia and of the city of Cracow diameter - 70 mm (2 ¾ “) weight – 128.40 gr, (4.53 oz) metal – bronze, authentic patina Henry IV, High Duke of Poland On 30 September 1288, Leszek II the Black, Duke of Sieradz and High Duke of Poland, died without issue. This event opened an opportunity for Henry IV to realize his ambitious plans to gain Kraków and the title of High Duke. With this purpose, he began to find suitable allies from 1287, when he reconciled with Przemysł II, returning him Wieluń. According to the Professor and Historian Oswald Balzer, shortly before began the preparations to the First Coalition of Piast Dukes formed by Leszek II the Black, Henry IV, Przemysł II and Henry III of Głogow, which had the intention to make the unification of Poland. Notwithstanding the veracity of this theory, after hearing the news of Leszek II's death, Henry IV was ready for action. Henry IV's major contenders for the Kraków throne were Leszek II's half-brother Władysław I the Elbow-high and Duke Bolesław II of Płock, who counted on the support of the Lesser Poland nobility. However, the Duke of Płock failed to obtain the decisive support of the Castellan Sulk the Bear (Sułk z Niedźwiedzia), who was the Governor of the city. On 26 February 1289, the bloody Battle of Siewierz took place between the troops of the Dukes of Płock and Kuyavia, and Henry IV's troops, supported by King Rudolph I and the Dukes of Opole, Głogów and Ścinawa (Steinau). The battle ended with a victory for the Masovia-Kuyavia coalition; from two of Henry IV's allies, Duke Przemko of Ścinawa was killed in the battle, and Duke Bolko I of Opole was seriously injured and captured by Władysław I the Elbow-high. Despite this success, Duke Bolesław II of Płock unexpectedly resigned his pretensions, leaving all the Kraków inheritance to Wladyslaw I the Elbow-high. As the war turned favorable to him, Wladyslaw I, with the assistance of the Bishop of Kraków, Paul of Półkozic (who was later imprisoned after rebelled against him), managed to besiege and capture Wawel castle and forced the Silesian troops to retreat to Skała. However, Henry IV regrouped his forces and marched against Kraków in person at the head of his army in August 1289. Thanks to the betrayal of the Kraków townspeople and the help of the Franciscans (who even hid him in their monastery), Henry IV took the city and was recognized as High Duke. Despite his victory, Henry IV decided to remain in Sandomierz. Internal Politics During his reign, Henry succeeded in strengthening central power across his duchy, as well as improving its economy. He supported progress of mining and cities, many of which received German city law and various privileges. He was also an educated man, fluently spoke several languages and actively supported Western court culture and chivalric ethos. Henry himself was a talented poet; two of his poems were recorded in Codex Manesse. Death Henry IV died suddenly in 1290, aged no more than thirty-two years. The details of his death, given by the chronicler Ottokar of Styria, are seen by some historians as very reliable and by others as doubtful. The year of his death is widely accepted, and confirmation for this can be found in numerous sources. However, the exact day was variously given by the sources. One, the most supported by far of the largest number of sources, and given by the Church of St. John the Baptist, was 23 June. There are, however, other proposals: 24 June, 22 July, and even in April. Poisoning About the real cause of Henry IV's death, there are several independent sources: these are the tombs of the Silesian Dukes, the Chronicle of Jan Długosz, and later chroniclers, like the Bohemian Chronicle of Pulkawy and the Chronicle of Ottokar of Styria. According to Ottokar of Styria, who seems to be the most accurate in details, Henry IV aspired to the title of the King of Poland, asking the Pope for permission for a coronation. The negotiations were successful, and he sent to Rome 12,000 grzywnas as a present to the Pope. But when the envoy reached Italy it was noted that 400 grzywnas were stolen during the trip, and the Pope, infuriated, cancelled all negotiations with Henry IV. Although the embezzler was able to escape from the papal fury and the justice of the Doge of Venice, it is known that Henry IV wanted to punish him. In order to prevent the imminent revenge of the Duke it was decided to get rid of him: a false lawyer (brother of one of the Duke's doctors) was employed at the court of Wrocław, and slowly poisoned Henry IV. While another doctor, called Guncelin, recognizing the symptoms of poisoning, was able to rescue the Duke from an imminent death, causing severe vomiting and cleansing the body; but the assassin was not discovered, and this time put the poison in the knife used by Henry IV to cut his bread. The poison was finally detected, but it was too late to save the Duke. Henry IV died in the Catholic faith, deciding not to prosecute or punish his killers. This is a very long story of the Duke's death and only some elements are confirmed by other sources. Ottokar of Styria told the story in many details in agreement with that provided by the Kronika Zbrasławska. Other sources related that a chaplain named Aleksy, as a deputy of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia had betrayed Henry IV's interests and tried to give the crown to the "King of Kalisz" Przemysł II. In this story the theft of the envoy to Rome was also mentioned, only the epilogue was a little different: here, the thief was killed by his own servants in the streets of Rome. Killers Following the version of Ottokar of Styria, should be sought among the Wrocław townspeople (just like Henry IV's father) two brothers, one of them was lawyer and the other doctor. The only two persons who could be identified as the brothers were John (who was an adviser of the Duchy and a lawyer) and Jakob (known as Magister, so probably a doctor), sons of one Goćwina, who was a doctor in the court of Henry III the White. They still in their posts at the time of Henry IV's death. It's assumed that they acted on behalf of Henry V the Fat, who wanted to obtain Kraków and with this the title of High Duke, but wasn't any evidence to support this. There is no other person who will take advantage of the Duke's death, and could be linked to the circumstances of the death of Henry IV. Henry IV's Testament According to the chroniclers, the dying Henry IV made two documents. One to the Wrocław church (which give the desired permissions to the Bishop to obtain the full sovereignty over the Duchy of Nysa–Otmuchów) and other politic (who regulated the issue of his inheritance). Under this will, he bequeathed the Duchy of Wrocław to Duke Henry III of Głogów, and Kraków -with the title of High Duke- to Przemysł II. In case of the death of one of the princes, the other could take possession over his districts, which further arrangements according to custom. Many historians, however, believed the existence of a third document. If it was true, this would be a step towards the reunification of Poland, and Henry IV, who was denigrated particularly in the earlier literature, was really a conscious promoter of Poland interests and a true patriot (apart from the merits of raising the awareness of the problems of ethnic and linguistic diversity in the Middle Ages). Only the testament to the Church (who wasn't count with the return of Kłodzko to King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia as an excuse for mixing in the Silesian affairs) was fully implemented. Henry IV was buried in the Kolegiata of the Holy Cross and St. Bartholomeus in Wrocław, which he founded. Henry V the Fat could take Wrocław with support of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, after the local nobility refused to accept the rule of Henry III of Głogów. Wenceslaus II himself gained the Seniorate Province, but Duke Przemysł II could retain the title of High Duke. During World War II German anthropologists wanted to prove the "Germanic look" of Henry IV. To this end, his remains were removed and were to be tested. Unfortunately, they were lost during the war. The sarcophagus is now in the National Museum in Wrocław.

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Location: Sliema,

End Time: 2025-01-28T02:11:26.000Z

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