Adam Wenceslaus, Duke of Cieszyn
Encyclopedia
Adam Wenceslaus of Cieszyn , was a Duke of Cieszyn
since 1579 until his death.
He was the second but only surviving son of Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn
, by his second wife Sidonia Katharina, daughter of Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg. His older half-brother, Frederick Casimir
, only son of Wenceslaus III Adam's first marriage, died a few years before he was born, in 1571.
; but because he was a minor at that time, the regency was held by his mother and the Dukes George II of Brzeg
and Karl II of Ziębice
. This triple regency continued until 1586, when the Dowager Duchess Sidonia Katharina remarried with the Hungarian
nobleman Imre III Forgach, Obergespan [Count] of Trenčín
(17 February) and the eldest regent, Duke George II of Brzeg, died (7 May). Despite her new marriage, Sidonia Katharina retained her influence in Cieszyn. Duke Karl II of Ziębice ruled since them as sole regent.
In 1586 Cieszyn Silesia
suffered a very serious epidemic of plague who caused the death of several residents of the Duchy. One year later, in 1587, Cieszyn became in the center of the fight between Piastów other scourge for example, in 1587 the area became a duchy terrain fighting between the Archduke Maximilian III of Austria and Jan Zamoyski
during the War of the Polish Succession.
In view of the continuing threats, in 1587 Adam Wenceslaus was sent in 1587 to the Electoral court in Saxony
. There, the young Duke received a careful education, particularly in the military affairs. It was only in 1595 when he returned to Cieszyn
, and, because, he was legally an adult, he began his independent government.
Since the beginning of his personal rule, Adam Wenceslaus took part in the wars with Turks
and also declared political sympathies towards to the Emperor Rudolf II
; this resulted in the need to build, in the southern part of the Duchy, some defensive fortifications. This case has special significance during the emergence of Bocskai during 1604-1606, when the Hungarian anti-Habsburg army almost defeated the Cieszyn troops.
In 1609 Adam Wenceslaus was in the middle of the conflict between Emperor Rudolf II and his brother Archduke Matthias
. The Duke of Cieszyn stood at the side of the former. Finally, Rudolf II gave his brother the Bohemian crown, which placed to Adam Wenceslaus in a particularly awkward situation, who had submitted in 1611 when he had to paid homage to the new King in Wrocław.
For other reasons, the year of 1611 had a significant importance in Adam Wenceslaus's life. His time in Saxony made him a determined Protestant and in several times he issued decrees aimed at promotion of Lutheranism
in Cieszyn (for example, in 1598 the Duke decreted a Privilege, under which his successors were in the obligation to estimulated the Lutheran faith among his subjects and built churches with this purprose). However, some of his relatives, who like him where educated in the Electoral court, opted for converted to the Catholicism
. Adam Wenceslaus had a total variation in his Protestant politics —in accordance with the principle of "cuius regio, eius religio
"— and started the fight with the Church, followed the evangelical spirit of the Counter-Reformation
(one of the first decisions of Adam Wenceslaus after his conversion to the Catholic faith was the cancellation of the Privilege of 1598). This caused hard resistance between the nobility and burghers; however, a large part of the population also shifted to Roman Catholicism. Soon after, the Duke resored to the expelled Catholic Orders (like the Dominican
s and Franciscan
s) their former monasteries. The exact reasons for the Duke of Cieszyn's conversion are unknown, but this was probably in order to amended his relations with his sovereign, King Matthias of Bohemia, since 1612 also Holy Roman Emperor
. However, Adam Wenceslaus wasn't a fervent Catholic and didn't force the part of the Cieszyn population who remained Protestant to shift to the Catholic faith.
This radical step in fact improved the Duke's relations with Emperor Matthias, who on 6 February 1617 appointed Adam Wenceslaus as Landeshauptmann
General of Silesia.
The rule of Adam Wenceslaus over Cieszyn proved to be less favorable. The constant trips, expensive military expeditions, and finally the change of faith, led the Duchy in the imminent bankruptcy. Two examples of his expensive lifestyle were the trip to Wrocław to paid homage to the King Matthias —his suite, composed by 285 people, were richly furnished by him—, and in 1614, after a vote for his miraculous conversion, Adam Wenceslaus went on a pilgrimage to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
. This trip, according to contemporarie sources, wasn't religious: the Duke's only desire was to show his wealth. At the end, his debts were often paid by the towns and chivalry
.
Adam Wenceslaus died on 13 July 1617 in Brandýs
, a Cieszyn suburb, and was buried in the Dominican church of Cieszyn. In 1617 Adam Bysiński z Bysiny, heir of Iłownicy, accused three Cieszyn noblemen to poisoned Adam Wenceslaus: Erazm Rudzki, speaker of the Chancellor, Waclaw Pelhrzim (von Pelchrzim), a Judge court, and Piotr Gureckiego z Kornic na Jaworzu. On 21 December 1622 both parties concluded an agreement, and the allegations of Bysiński were dismissed.
, Duke of Courland. They had five children:
In addition to his legitimate offspring, he had an illegitimate son, born from his relationship with Margareta Kostlachówna (b. ca. 1584 - d. Cieszyn, 3 January 1617):
—Baron Wenceslaus Gottfried of Hohenstein (b. 1608/12 - d. aft. 1672).
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
since 1579 until his death.
He was the second but only surviving son of Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn
Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn
Wenceslaus III Adam of Cieszyn was a Duke of Cieszyn since 1528 until his death.He was the second but only surviving son of Wenceslaus II, co-Duke of Cieszyn, by his wife Anna, daughter of Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach...
, by his second wife Sidonia Katharina, daughter of Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg. His older half-brother, Frederick Casimir
Frederick Casimir of Cieszyn
Frederick Casimir of Cieszyn also known as of Frysztat , was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast in the Cieszyn branch and ruler over Fryštát, Skoczów , and Bielsko ....
, only son of Wenceslaus III Adam's first marriage, died a few years before he was born, in 1571.
Life
After his father's death in 1579, Adam Wenceslaus inherited the Duchy of CieszynCieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
; but because he was a minor at that time, the regency was held by his mother and the Dukes George II of Brzeg
George II the Pious
George II of Brieg , was a Duke of Brzeg since 1547 until his death.He was the second son of Frederick II, Duke of Legnica-Brzeg, by his second wife Sophie, daughter of Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach.-Life:After the death of his father in 1547, George II inherited the Duchy of Brzeg...
and Karl II of Ziębice
Ziebice
Ziębice is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Ziębice. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany...
. This triple regency continued until 1586, when the Dowager Duchess Sidonia Katharina remarried with the Hungarian
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
nobleman Imre III Forgach, Obergespan [Count] of Trenčín
Trencín
Trenčín is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 56,000, which makes it the ninth largest municipality of the country and is the seat of the Trenčín Region and the Trenčín District...
(17 February) and the eldest regent, Duke George II of Brzeg, died (7 May). Despite her new marriage, Sidonia Katharina retained her influence in Cieszyn. Duke Karl II of Ziębice ruled since them as sole regent.
In 1586 Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...
suffered a very serious epidemic of plague who caused the death of several residents of the Duchy. One year later, in 1587, Cieszyn became in the center of the fight between Piastów other scourge for example, in 1587 the area became a duchy terrain fighting between the Archduke Maximilian III of Austria and Jan Zamoyski
Jan Zamoyski
Jan Zamoyski , was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, magnate, 1st duke/ordynat of Zamość. Royal Secretary since 1566, Lesser Kanclerz ) of the Crown since 1576, Lord Grand-Chancellor of the Crown since 1578, and Grand Hetman of the Crown since 1581...
during the War of the Polish Succession.
In view of the continuing threats, in 1587 Adam Wenceslaus was sent in 1587 to the Electoral court in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. There, the young Duke received a careful education, particularly in the military affairs. It was only in 1595 when he returned to Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
, and, because, he was legally an adult, he began his independent government.
Since the beginning of his personal rule, Adam Wenceslaus took part in the wars with Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and also declared political sympathies towards to the Emperor Rudolf II
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...
; this resulted in the need to build, in the southern part of the Duchy, some defensive fortifications. This case has special significance during the emergence of Bocskai during 1604-1606, when the Hungarian anti-Habsburg army almost defeated the Cieszyn troops.
In 1609 Adam Wenceslaus was in the middle of the conflict between Emperor Rudolf II and his brother Archduke Matthias
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias of Austria was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 and King of Bohemia from 1611...
. The Duke of Cieszyn stood at the side of the former. Finally, Rudolf II gave his brother the Bohemian crown, which placed to Adam Wenceslaus in a particularly awkward situation, who had submitted in 1611 when he had to paid homage to the new King in Wrocław.
For other reasons, the year of 1611 had a significant importance in Adam Wenceslaus's life. His time in Saxony made him a determined Protestant and in several times he issued decrees aimed at promotion of Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
in Cieszyn (for example, in 1598 the Duke decreted a Privilege, under which his successors were in the obligation to estimulated the Lutheran faith among his subjects and built churches with this purprose). However, some of his relatives, who like him where educated in the Electoral court, opted for converted to the Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
. Adam Wenceslaus had a total variation in his Protestant politics —in accordance with the principle of "cuius regio, eius religio
Cuius regio, eius religio
Cuius regio, eius religio is a phrase in Latin translated as "Whose realm, his religion", meaning the religion of the ruler dictated the religion of the ruled...
"— and started the fight with the Church, followed the evangelical spirit of the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
(one of the first decisions of Adam Wenceslaus after his conversion to the Catholic faith was the cancellation of the Privilege of 1598). This caused hard resistance between the nobility and burghers; however, a large part of the population also shifted to Roman Catholicism. Soon after, the Duke resored to the expelled Catholic Orders (like the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
s and Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
s) their former monasteries. The exact reasons for the Duke of Cieszyn's conversion are unknown, but this was probably in order to amended his relations with his sovereign, King Matthias of Bohemia, since 1612 also Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
. However, Adam Wenceslaus wasn't a fervent Catholic and didn't force the part of the Cieszyn population who remained Protestant to shift to the Catholic faith.
This radical step in fact improved the Duke's relations with Emperor Matthias, who on 6 February 1617 appointed Adam Wenceslaus as Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann is a former German gubernatorial title equivalent to that of a governor of a province or a state....
General of Silesia.
The rule of Adam Wenceslaus over Cieszyn proved to be less favorable. The constant trips, expensive military expeditions, and finally the change of faith, led the Duchy in the imminent bankruptcy. Two examples of his expensive lifestyle were the trip to Wrocław to paid homage to the King Matthias —his suite, composed by 285 people, were richly furnished by him—, and in 1614, after a vote for his miraculous conversion, Adam Wenceslaus went on a pilgrimage to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a town in southern Poland with 4,429 inhabitants . It is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship ; previously it was in the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship ....
. This trip, according to contemporarie sources, wasn't religious: the Duke's only desire was to show his wealth. At the end, his debts were often paid by the towns and chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
.
Adam Wenceslaus died on 13 July 1617 in Brandýs
Brandys
Brandys may be a surname, and may refer to:*Kazimierz Brandys , Polish essayist and screenwriter*Marian Brandys , Polish writer*Pascal Brandys , French engineerBrandys may also refer to these places:...
, a Cieszyn suburb, and was buried in the Dominican church of Cieszyn. In 1617 Adam Bysiński z Bysiny, heir of Iłownicy, accused three Cieszyn noblemen to poisoned Adam Wenceslaus: Erazm Rudzki, speaker of the Chancellor, Waclaw Pelhrzim (von Pelchrzim), a Judge court, and Piotr Gureckiego z Kornic na Jaworzu. On 21 December 1622 both parties concluded an agreement, and the allegations of Bysiński were dismissed.
Marriage and issue
On 17 September 1595 Adam Wenceslaus married with Elisabeth (d. 19 November 1601), daughter of Gotthard KettlerGotthard Kettler
Gotthard von Kettler was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia....
, Duke of Courland. They had five children:
- Adam Gotthard (b. 27 July 1596 - d. 25 May 1597).
- Anna Sidonia (b. 2 March 1598 - d. 13 March 1619), married on 1 November 1616 to Count Jakob Hannibal II of HohenemsHohenemsHohenems is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, in the Dornbirn district. It lies in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With a population of 15,200 it is the fifth largest municipality in Vorarlberg...
. - Elizabeth Lucretia (b. 1 June 1599 - d. 19 May 1653).
- Christian Adam (b. 1600 - d. 12 March 1602).
- Frederick William (b. 9 November 1601 - d. Köln, 19 August 1625).
In addition to his legitimate offspring, he had an illegitimate son, born from his relationship with Margareta Kostlachówna (b. ca. 1584 - d. Cieszyn, 3 January 1617):
—Baron Wenceslaus Gottfried of Hohenstein (b. 1608/12 - d. aft. 1672).