Nicholas II of Niemodlin
Encyclopedia
Nicholas II of Niemodlin , was a Duke of Opole
-Brzeg
-Strzelce
-Niemodlin
in 1476 (as co-ruler of his father) and sole Duke of Niemodlin from 1476 until his death.
He was the third son of Duke Nicholas I of Opole
by his wife Agnes, daughter of Duke Louis II of Brzeg.
and Jan II the Good
as co-rulers. However, soon Louis died and Nicholas II maintained the co-government with Jan II. It's unknown the exact date of the division of the Duchy between the surviving brothers, and even if really existed this division; however indirect sources inferred that Nicholas II became in the independent ruler of Niemodlin shortly after Louis's death, maybe only as a formal rule. In any case, most of the inheritance (included Opole) was retained by Jan II. The now Duke of Niemodlin supported his brother in his politics: in 1477 the brothers bought Prudnik
to Duke Konrad X of Oleśnica
, in 1494 they acquired Gliwice
and in 1495 Toszek
. The only territorial loss was in 1481, when the Duke Frederick I of Legnica purchased Brzeg
(pledged by his father in 1450) by the amounts of 8,500 fines and 1,500 ducats.
In foreign politics, Nicholas II sought to strike a balance between the powerful King of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus and competitor and eventual co-ruler in the Bohemian Kingdom, Władysław II Jagiellon. Ultimately, however, the aggressive politics towards the Hungarian ruler in favor of the Polish candidate caused in 1487 his imprisonment in Koźle
. Nicholas II regained his freedom only after the huge payment of 15,000 Hungarian złoty as a ransom. Despite the participation of the Dukes of Opole in the Sejm
reunited in Nuremberg
later in that year, the relations with the Hungarian Kingdom remained tense until the death of Matthias Corvinus in 1490.
In June 1497, in order to ended the disputes between the Duchies of Opole and Cieszyn was arranged a meeting in Nysa
(were also discuss the issue of the Turkish risk over the Hungary). At the convention assisted, among others, Nicholas II, Duke Casimir II of Cieszyn, Wiktoryn of Poděbrady and his brother Henry I, Duke of Ziębice and the Bishop of Wrocław, Jan IV Roth. During the conversations, on 26 June, the tragedy occurred. For unknown reasons (although some sources believed that the reason was the fear of the growing importance of Duke Casimir II over Nicholas I's sons) Nicholas II tried to stab both Duke Casimir II and Bishop Jan IV Roth. After the attacks, with the help of the servants and nobles, failed, Nicholas II tried to avoid the responsibility of the Town Hall and found refuge in the nearby church of St. Jakob, were he asked for sanctuary, but was taken by force from the altar and put in a dungeon. The nobles reunited (who included the victims of the Duke of Niemodlin) long wondered what to do with the prisoner; at the end, they decided to apply against him the common law of Nysa, despite of the fact that the Duke of Niemodlin was a royal prince. The attempts to obtain his freedom (who included the offer to pay the huge sum of 100,000 Hungarian złoty) gave no results, thanks to the clear opposition of the Duke of Cieszyn (at that time also Starost General of Silesia), who obtain the heaviest sentence for Nicholas II: the death. All the process was performed in the German language, which Nicholas II apparently didn't know (there are some evidence that him and his brother Jan II only known the Polish and Czech languages). The Duke of Niemodlin was only allowed to write a letter to his brother, where he leaves him all his domains. The court ruling that the sentence would took place almost immediately in order to avoid the reaction of the Opole citizens and the Duke's brother. Nicholas II was beheaded by a sword cut in the Nysa market on 27 June 1497. According to the tradition, his last words were: "Nysa! Nysa! You punish me because my ancestors had given you to the Church, and now you force me to paid the price?".
Nicholas II never married or had children. According to his last wish, he was buried in the Franciscan
church in Opole
. In his tombstone was written the epitaph: "Here lies who fell for his true principles and give courageously his neck under the sword".
At the news of the execution of his brother, Jan II started to collect a good army and began the preparations of a brutally retaliatory expedition against the Duchy of Cieszyn; however, the war ultimately didn't occur as a result of the diplomatic moves of King Władysław II Jagiellon, and save Silesia from the civil war.
Opole
Opole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
-Brzeg
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
-Strzelce
Strzelce Opolskie
Strzelce Opolskie is a town in south-western Poland with 19,628 inhabitants , situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce County. Strzelce Opolskie is one of the biggest centers of German minority in Poland....
-Niemodlin
Niemodlin
Niemodlin is a town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,911 inhabitants .It was first mentioned as Nemodlin in a 1224 deed and received town privileges in 1283. Originally a part of the Duchy of Opole, after the death of Duke Bolko I Niemodlin became the capital of a duchy in his...
in 1476 (as co-ruler of his father) and sole Duke of Niemodlin from 1476 until his death.
He was the third son of Duke Nicholas I of Opole
Nicholas I of Opole
Nicholas I of Opole was a Duke of Opole since 1437 , Duke of Brzeg from 1450, ruler over Kluczbork since 1451 and Duke of Strzelce, Niemodlin and Olesno from 1460....
by his wife Agnes, daughter of Duke Louis II of Brzeg.
Life
After his father's death in 1476, Nicholas II inherited Opole, Brzeg, Strzelce and Niemodlin together with his older brothers LouisLouis of Opole
Louis of Opole , was a Duke of Opole-Brzeg-Strzelce-Niemodlin during 1466-1476 and briefly in 1476 ....
and Jan II the Good
Jan II the Good
Jan II of Opole was a Duke of Opole-Brzeg -Strzelce-Niemodlin in 1476 , ruler over Gliwice , Toszek , Niemodlin , Bytom , Koźle , and Racibórz .He was the second son of Duke Nicholas I of Opole by his wife Agnes, daughter of Duke Louis II of...
as co-rulers. However, soon Louis died and Nicholas II maintained the co-government with Jan II. It's unknown the exact date of the division of the Duchy between the surviving brothers, and even if really existed this division; however indirect sources inferred that Nicholas II became in the independent ruler of Niemodlin shortly after Louis's death, maybe only as a formal rule. In any case, most of the inheritance (included Opole) was retained by Jan II. The now Duke of Niemodlin supported his brother in his politics: in 1477 the brothers bought Prudnik
Prudnik
Prudnik is a town in Poland, located in the southern part of Opole Voivodeship. Its population numbers 26,400 inhabitants . It is the capital of Prudnik County.- Education :* * * II Liceum Ogólnokształcące w Prudniku...
to Duke Konrad X of Oleśnica
Konrad X the White
Konrad X the White was a Duke of Oleśnica, Koźle, and half of both Bytom and Ścinawa during 1450–1452 , since 1452 sole ruler over half of Ścinawa, during 1471–1472 sole ruler over Koźle and whole Bytom, and since 1478 sole ruler over Oleśnica.He was the second son of Konrad V Kantner, Duke of...
, in 1494 they acquired Gliwice
Gliwice
Gliwice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Gliwice is the west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
and in 1495 Toszek
Toszek
Toszek is a town in Poland, in Gliwice County, Silesian Voivodeship, with 4,000 inhabitants.- History :The beginning of the settlement and fortified keep is dated in the 9th and 10th centuries when the area was ruled by the Piasts, Mieszko I of Poland and later Bolesław I the Brave.The fortified...
. The only territorial loss was in 1481, when the Duke Frederick I of Legnica purchased Brzeg
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
(pledged by his father in 1450) by the amounts of 8,500 fines and 1,500 ducats.
In foreign politics, Nicholas II sought to strike a balance between the powerful King of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Matthias Corvinus and competitor and eventual co-ruler in the Bohemian Kingdom, Władysław II Jagiellon. Ultimately, however, the aggressive politics towards the Hungarian ruler in favor of the Polish candidate caused in 1487 his imprisonment in Koźle
Kozle
Koźle is a district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle and is at the junction of the Kłodnica and Odra rivers, 29 Ifl. southeast of Opole by rail. The district has a Roman Catholic church, a medieval chateau, remains of a 19th century fortress and a high school...
. Nicholas II regained his freedom only after the huge payment of 15,000 Hungarian złoty as a ransom. Despite the participation of the Dukes of Opole in the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
reunited in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
later in that year, the relations with the Hungarian Kingdom remained tense until the death of Matthias Corvinus in 1490.
In June 1497, in order to ended the disputes between the Duchies of Opole and Cieszyn was arranged a meeting in Nysa
Nysa
- People :*Nysa , daughter of Laodice IV and Antiochus, wife of Pharnaces I of Pontus* Nysa of Cappadocia, daughter of Pharnaces I of Pontus and Nysa, wife of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia and mother Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia...
(were also discuss the issue of the Turkish risk over the Hungary). At the convention assisted, among others, Nicholas II, Duke Casimir II of Cieszyn, Wiktoryn of Poděbrady and his brother Henry I, Duke of Ziębice and the Bishop of Wrocław, Jan IV Roth. During the conversations, on 26 June, the tragedy occurred. For unknown reasons (although some sources believed that the reason was the fear of the growing importance of Duke Casimir II over Nicholas I's sons) Nicholas II tried to stab both Duke Casimir II and Bishop Jan IV Roth. After the attacks, with the help of the servants and nobles, failed, Nicholas II tried to avoid the responsibility of the Town Hall and found refuge in the nearby church of St. Jakob, were he asked for sanctuary, but was taken by force from the altar and put in a dungeon. The nobles reunited (who included the victims of the Duke of Niemodlin) long wondered what to do with the prisoner; at the end, they decided to apply against him the common law of Nysa, despite of the fact that the Duke of Niemodlin was a royal prince. The attempts to obtain his freedom (who included the offer to pay the huge sum of 100,000 Hungarian złoty) gave no results, thanks to the clear opposition of the Duke of Cieszyn (at that time also Starost General of Silesia), who obtain the heaviest sentence for Nicholas II: the death. All the process was performed in the German language, which Nicholas II apparently didn't know (there are some evidence that him and his brother Jan II only known the Polish and Czech languages). The Duke of Niemodlin was only allowed to write a letter to his brother, where he leaves him all his domains. The court ruling that the sentence would took place almost immediately in order to avoid the reaction of the Opole citizens and the Duke's brother. Nicholas II was beheaded by a sword cut in the Nysa market on 27 June 1497. According to the tradition, his last words were: "Nysa! Nysa! You punish me because my ancestors had given you to the Church, and now you force me to paid the price?".
Nicholas II never married or had children. According to his last wish, he was buried in the 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....
church in Opole
Opole
Opole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
. In his tombstone was written the epitaph: "Here lies who fell for his true principles and give courageously his neck under the sword".
At the news of the execution of his brother, Jan II started to collect a good army and began the preparations of a brutally retaliatory expedition against the Duchy of Cieszyn; however, the war ultimately didn't occur as a result of the diplomatic moves of King Władysław II Jagiellon, and save Silesia from the civil war.