Wenceslaus I of Zator

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Wenceslaus I of Zator (Polish: Wacław I Zatorski; c.  1418 – before 29 July 1468), was a Duke of Oświęcim during 1434–1445 (with his brothers as co-rulers) and Duke of Zator from 1445 until his death.

He was the eldest son of Duke Casimir I of Oświęcim by his first wife Anna, daughter of Duke Henry VIII of Żagań.

Life

At the time of his father's death in 1434 Wenceslaus I was already grown enough to assume the government of the Duchy by himself and to take the guardianship of his younger brothers Przemysław and Jan IV.

For unknown reasons he didn't assisted to the Congress of Będzin on 15 October 1434, where, among other things, were defined the frontiers between Lesser Poland and Silesia; which more surprising that there was present his stepmother Margareta.

However, this doesn't mean that the Dukes of Oświęcim avoided contacts with Poland, as already on 6 October 1438 in Toszek they undertook to consider the Polish King Casimir IV as King of Bohemia, though at least two other Silesian Dukes were also candidates for the throne. Thanks to their support to King Casimir IV, Wenceslaus I and his brothers received the land of Zator.

On 9 February 1440, the castellan Dziersław z Rytwian made a military expedition against the Dukes of Oświęcim, which took place probably due for the treaty of Toszek. The surprise of Wenceslaus I and his brothers was so great that the Polish forces managed to take Zator virtually without resistance. The peace was finally signed on 26 October of that year; under the terms of the peace treaty, Zator returned into the hands of the Dukes of Oświęcim, in return for which Dziersław z Rytwian received the Polish town and fortress of Barwałd. The next step was done on 8 January 1441, when Wenceslaus I was compelled to pay homage to the Polish king and a further diminution of his power in the government on behalf of his younger brothers.

The common rule of Casimir I's sons over Oświęcim lasted until 19 January 1445, when, at the request of Duke Nicholas V of Karniów, the duchy was divided into three separate sections: Jan IV took Oświęcim, Przemysław obtained Toszek and Wenceslaus I received Zator; it is unknown why Wenceslaus I, as the oldest son, didn't receive the main town of the Duchy and obtained the relative small town of Zator.

As a duke of Zator, Wenceslaus I tried to lead a policy of approaching to Poland, despite his still existing ties with the Bohemian Kingdom (he was formally a vassal of Bohemia).

In 1448, Wenceslaus I promised to support the Polish efforts to defend the country's frontiers. Five years later, he and his brother Jan IV privately gave their military services to the king.

The informal relationship between the Duke of Zator and the Polish crown was confirmed in 1456 when Wenceslaus I paid homage to King Casimir IV. This step was made public only in 1462 in the Congress of Głogów.

Wenceslaus I's exact date of death is unknown, but is generally ranked between 1465[1][2][3] and before 29 July 1468.[4] His place of burial is also unknown, but presumably was in the Church of Saint Adalbert and Saint George in Zator.[citation needed]

Marriage and issue

Around 1450 Wenceslaus married with Maria [also named Margareta] (d. aft. 1468), daughter of Urban Kopczowski, a noblemen from the Duchy of Siewierz. According to the chronicler Jan Długosz, this non-dynastic marriage was concluded for love, in an extraordinary exception between the Silesian Dukes and the House of Piast in general. They had seven children:

  1. Casimir II (b. ca. 1450 – d. 8 January/7 July 1490)
  2. Wenceslaus II (b. ca. 1450/55 – d. bef. 5 October 1487)
  3. Jan V (b. bef. 1455 – d. 17 September 1513)
  4. Władysław (b. 1455 – d. by 28 May/21 September 1494)
  5. Sophie (d. ca. 1466)
  6. Katharina (d. ca. 1466)
  7. Agnes (d. aft. 21 October 1465).

Ancestry

Family of Wenceslaus I of Zator
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. Casimir I, Duke of Cieszyn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Przemyslaus I Noszak, Duke of Cieszyn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Euphemia of Czersk-Warsaw
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Przemysław of Oświęcim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. Bolesław of Bytom
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Elisabeth of Koźle-Bytom
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Margareta of Sternberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Casimir I of Oświęcim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Wenceslaus I of Zator
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. Henry IV the Faithful
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Henry V of Iron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25. Matilda of Brandenburg-Salzwedel
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Henry VIII the Sparrow
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26. Wenceslaus of Płock
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Anna of Płock
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27. Elisabeth of Lithuania
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Anna of Żagań
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28. Bolko II of Opole
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14. Vladislaus II of Opole
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29. Elisabeth of Świdnica
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Katharina of Opole
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30. András Lackfi, Voivode of Transylvania or Nicolae Alexandru Bassaraba, Voivode of Wallachia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Elisabeth
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[self-published source][better source needed]
  2. Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.,[better source needed]
  4. WACŁAW I ZATORSKI (OŚWIĘCIMSKI)
Wenceslaus I of Zator
Born: c. 1418 Died: before 29 July 1468
Regnal titles
Preceded by Duke of Oświęcim
with Przemysław and Jan IV

1434–1445
Succeeded by
Jan IV
Preceded by
new creation
Duke of Zator
1445–1468
Succeeded by
Casimir II
Wenceslaus II
Jan V
Władysław