Casimir III the Great

Casimir III the Great (Polish: Kazimierz III Wielki; 30April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King ofPoland from 1333 to 1370. He was the the son of KingWładysław I (“the Elbow-high”) and Duchess Hedwig ofKalisz, and the last Polish king from the Piast dynasty.[1]

Casimir inherited a kingdom weakened by war and madeit prosperous and wealthy. He reformed the Polish armyand doubled the size of the kingdom through conquest.He reformed the judicial system and introduced a legalcode, gaining the title “the Polish Justinian”. Casimirbuilt extensively and founded the University of Kraków,the oldest Polish university. He also confirmed privilegesand protections previously granted to Jews and encour-aged them to settle in Poland in great numbers.Casimir left no lawful male heir to his throne, producingonly daughters. When Casimir died in 1370 from an in-jury received while hunting, his nephew, King Louis I ofHungary, succeeded him as king of Poland in personalunion with Hungary.

1 The Great King

Poland (red) at the end of the reign of Casimir III (1370); Silesia(yellow) had been lost, but the Kingdom was expanding to theeast

When Casimir attained the throne in 1333, his positionwas in danger, as his neighbours did not recognise his titleand instead called him “king of Kraków". The kingdomwas depopulated and exhausted by war, and the economy

was ruined. In 1335, in the Treaty of Trentschin, Casimirwas forced to relinquish his claims to Silesia “in perpetu-ity”.Casimir rebuilt and his kingdom became prosperous andwealthy, with great prospects for the future. He wagedmany victorious wars and doubled the size of the king-dom, mostly through addition of lands in modern-dayUkraine (then called the Duchy of Halych). Casimir builtextensively during his reign, including Wawel Castle andOrle Gniazda, and he reformed the Polish armyAt the Sejm in Wiślica, on 11 March 1347, Casimir in-troduced reforms to the Polish judicial system and sanc-tioned civil and criminal codes for Great and LesserPoland, earning the title “the Polish Justinian”. Hefounded the University of Kraków, the oldest Polish Uni-versity, and he organized a meeting of kings in Kraków in1364 at which he exhibited the wealth of the Polish king-dom. Casimir is the only king in Polish history to bothreceive and retain the title of “Great” (Bolesław I Chro-bry is also called “Great”, but more commonly “Valiant”).

1.1 Succession

In 1355, in Buda, Casimir designated his nephew LouisI of Hungary as his successor should he produce no maleheir, as his father had with Charles I of Hungary to gainhis help against Bohemia. In exchange Casimir gainedHungarian favourable attitude, needed in disputes withthe hostile Teutonic Order and Kingdom of Bohemia.Casimir at the time was still in his early years and hav-ing a son did not seem to be a problem (he already had afew bastard children).

The Second Taking of Ruthenia. Wealth and Education, JanMatejko

1

2 4 RELATIONSHIPS AND CHILDREN

Casimir left no legal son, however, bearing five daugh-ters instead. He tried to adopt his grandson, CasimirIV, Duke of Pomerania, in his last will. The child hadbeen born to his second daughter, Elisabeth, Duchess ofPomerania, in 1351. This part of the testament was in-validated by Louis I of Hungary, however, who had trav-eled to Kraków quickly after Casimir died and bribed thenobles with future privileges. Casimir III had a son-in-law, Louis VI of Bavaria, Margrave and Prince-electorof Brandenburg, who was considered a possible succes-sor, but he was deemed ineligible as his wife, Casimir’sdaughter Cunigunde, had died in 1357 without issue.Thus King Louis I of Hungary became successor inPoland. Louis was proclaimed king upon Casimir’sdeath in 1370, though Casimir’s sister Elisabeth (Louis’smother) held much of the real power until her death in1380.

2 Society under the reign ofCasimir

Wiec in reign of Casimir the Great

Casimir was facetiously named “the Peasants’ King”. Heintroduced the codes of law of Greater and Lesser Polandas an attempt to end the overwhelming superiority of thenobility. During his reign all three major classes — thenobility, priesthood, and bourgeoisie — were more orless counterbalanced, allowing Casimir to strengthen hismonarchic position. He was known for siding with theweak when the law did not protect them from greedy no-bles and clergymen. He reportedly even supported a peas-ant whose house had been demolished against his ownmistress, after she ordered it to be pulled down becauseit disturbed her enjoyment of the beautiful landscape.

3 Relationship with Polish Jews

Casimir was favorably disposed toward Jews. On 9 Oc-tober 1334, he confirmed the privileges granted to JewishPoles in 1264 by Bolesław V the Chaste. Under penalty

Wojciech Gerson, Casimir the Great and the Jews

of death, he prohibited the kidnapping of Jewish childrenfor the purpose of enforced Christian baptism, and heinflicted heavy punishment for the desecration of Jewishcemeteries. While Jews had lived in Poland since beforehis reign, Casimir allowed them to settle in Poland in greatnumbers and protected them as people of the king.[2]

4 Relationships and children

Casimir III was born in Kowal, and hemarried four times.Casimir first married Anna, or Aldona Ona, the daugh-ter of Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania. The mar-riage produced two daughters, Cunigunde (d. 1357), whowas married to Louis VI the Roman, the son of LouisIV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elisabeth, who was mar-ried to Duke Bogislaus V of Pomerania. Aldona died in1339, and Casimir then married Adelaide of Hesse. Hedivorced Adelaide in 1356, married Christina, divorcedher, and while Adelaide and possibly Christina were stillalive (ca. 1365), he married Hedwig of Głogów andSagan. He had three daughters by his fourth wife, andthey were still very young when he died, and regarded asof dubious legitimacy because of Casimir’s bigamy.

4.1 Aldona of Lithuania

On 30 April or 16 October 1325, Casimir marriedAldona of Lithuania. She was a daughter of Gediminasof Lithuania and Jewna. They had two children:

• Elisabeth of Poland (ca. 1326–1361); marriedBogusław V, Duke of Pomerania

• Cunigunde of Poland (1334–1357); married LouisVI the Roman

Aldona died on 26 May 1339. Casimir remained a wid-ower for two years.

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4.2 Adelheid of Hesse

On 29 September 1341, Casimir married his second wife,Adelaide of Hesse. She was a daughter of Henry II, Land-grave of Hesse, and Elizabeth of Meissen. They had nochildren. Casimir started living separately from Adelaidesoon thereafter. Their lovelessmarriage lasted until 1356.

4.3 Christina

Casimir effectively divorced Adelaide and married hismistress Christina Rokiczana, the widow of Miklusz Ro-kiczani, a wealthy merchant. Her own origins are un-known. Following the death of her first husband shehad entered the court of Bohemia in Prague as a lady-in-waiting. Casimir brought her with him from Pragueand convinced the abbot of the Benedictine abbey ofTyniec to marry them. The marriage was held in a se-cret ceremony but soon became known. Queen Adelaiderenounced it as bigamous and returned to Hesse with-out permission. Casimir continued living with Chris-tine despite complaints by Pope Innocent VI on behalfof Queen Adelaide. The marriage lasted until 1363–64when Casimir again declared himself divorced. They hadno children.

4.4 Hedwig of Żagań

In about 1365, Casimir married his fourth wife Hedwigof Żagań. She was a daughter of Henry V of Iron, Dukeof Żagań and Anna of Mazovia. They had three children:

• Anna of Poland, Countess of Celje (1366 – 9 June1422); married firstly William of Celje; their onlydaughter was Anne, who married Jogaila of Lithua-nia (later King of Poland). Anne married, secondly,Ulrich, Duke of Teck; they had no children

• Kunigunde of Poland (1367 – 1370)

• Hedwig of Poland (1368 – ca. 1407).

With Adelaide still alive and Christine possibly surviv-ing, the marriage to Hedwig was also considered biga-mous. The legitimacy of the three last daughters was dis-puted. Casimir managed to have Anne and Cunigundelegitimated by Pope Urban V on 5 December 1369. Hed-wig the younger was legitimated by Pope Gregory XI on11 October 1371.

4.5 Cudka

Casimir had three illegitimate sons by his mistress Cudka,wife of a castellan.

• Niemierz (last mentioned alive in 1386); oldest son;survived his father, inherited lands around Stopnica

• Pelka (1342–1365); married and had two sons; pre-deceased his father

• Jan (d. 28 October 1383); youngest son; survivedhis father, inherited lands around Stopnica

5 Ancestry

6 Title and style

Casimir’s full title was: Casimir by the grace of God kingof Poland and Russia (Ruthenia), lord and heir of theland of Kraków, Sandomierz, Sieradz, Łęczyca, Kuyavia,Pomerania (Pomerelia). The title in Latin was: Kaz-imirus, Dei gratia rex Polonie et Russie, nec non Cracovie,Sandomirie, Siradie, Lancicie, Cuiavie, et PomeraniequeTerrarum et Ducatuum Dominus et Heres.[3]

7 Popular Culture

• Featured as a playable leader in the computer strat-egy game Civilization V: Brave New World

8 Gallery

• The King’s sarcophagus at Wawel Cathedral

• Effigy of Casimir from his own tomb erected by hisnephew around 1371

• Kazimierz the Great, by Marcello Bacciarelli

• Kazimierz the Great, by Jan Matejko

• The Cracow Gate in Szydłów, part of the city wallsestablished by the King

• Będzin Castle; in 1348 the King upgraded it from awooden fortress to a stone one

• Ruins of the Ogrodzieniec Castle, built on the King’sorder[1]

• Ruins of the Castle in Kazimierz Dolny; the Kingextended it in the 1340s

• Statue of the King in Niepołomice near his huntingcastle

• Basilica in Wiślica, funded by the King, and built inthe third quarter of the 14th century

• Saint Ladislaus Church in Szydłów, established bythe King in 1355

• Saint Catherine Church in Kazimierz, founded bythe King in 1363

4 11 EXTERNAL LINKS

• Latin Cathedral, Lviv, construction began in 1360on the King’s order

• the Castle in Sanok, built on the King’s order

• Herma of Saint Sigismund of Burgundy, founded bythe King for Płock Cathedral

• Casimir’s profile on the 50 złoty note

1. ^ [1], ogrodzieniec.pl; accessed 11 March 2014.(Polish)

9 See also• History of Poland (966–1385)

• Jagiellonian University

• Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz

• Kazimierz

• Kazimierz Dolny

• List of Poles

10 References[1] Halina Lerski (1996). “Casimir III the Great”. Histori-

cal Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945. ABC-CLIO Press.pp. 249–250. ISBN 0313034567. Retrieved 8 Septem-ber 2012.

[2] “In Poland, a Jewish Revival Thrives—Minus Jews”. NewYork Times. 12 July 2007. Probably about 70 percentof the world’s European Jews, or Ashkenazi, can tracetheir ancestry to Poland — thanks to a 14th-century king,Casimir III, the Great, who drew Jewish settlers fromacross Europe with his vow to protect them as “peopleof the king”,

[3] Document Nr 1340 (CODEX DIPLOMATICUSMAIORIS POLONIA). POZNANIAE. SUMPTIBUSBIBLIOTHECAE KORNICENSIS. TYPIS J. I.KRASZEWSKI (Dr. W. ŁEBIŃSKI). 1879.

11 External links• His listing in “Medieval lands” by Charles Caw-ley. The project “involves extracting and analysingdetailed information from primary sources, includ-ing contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrolo-gies and testaments.”

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